World AIDS Day is celebrated on the 1st of December every year to pay tribute to those who have died from AIDS related illnesses.
Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first global health day. Here are 8 important facts you need to know about HIV-AIDS challenges globally.
1. About 12.6 million people living with HIV still don’t have access to treatment, and Covid-19 is exacerbating the challenges they face.
2. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was discovered by researchers Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier. Their attention was drawn to an alarming epidemic in 1982. They established it was HIV Months later in 1983.
3. One in four people living with HIV is a woman, of this ratio, 64% are black women. Every week, around 5500 young women aged 15-24 years become infected with HIV. When girls complete secondary school, their risk of getting HIV is reduced by 50%.
4. More than 38 million people have died of HIV/AIDS which makes it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.
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5. People infected with the virus go through 3 stages of infection; Acute infection, Clinical latency and AIDs.
6. According to UNAIDS, 38 million people globally are living with HIV as of 2019. Out of the estimated population, 36.2 million were adults and 1.8 million were children.
7. There is no cure for HIV. However, antiretroviral treatment can control the virus, meaning that people with HIV can live long and healthy lives.
8. With the advent of PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) and PEP (Post-exposure Prophylaxis), HIV-negative people who are at high risk of getting HIV can reduce the risk of infection through sex by 90 percent and through injection by 70 percent.
