Worldwide Aids-Related Deaths Fall Drastically

A UN report released this week says the number of new infections is on the decline.

A United Nations report released on Monday, September 23, 2014 says the number of AIDS-related deaths recorded worldwide in 2012 fell to 1.6 million, down from 1.7 million in 2011 and 2.3 million in 2005, Reuters news agency reported.

On the other hand, the number of newly infected people dropped to 2.3 million in 2012, down from 2.5 million in 2011. According to the report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), since 2011, there has been a 52 per cent drop in annual new HIV infections among children. UNAIDS says the disease now affects 35.3 million people worldwide, but also discloses that the global rate of HIV infections and the number of AIDS-related deaths has been drastically reduced, thanks to access to treatment. In 2011, UN member states agreed to get HIV treatment to 15 million people by 2015.

In Cameroon, the fight against HIV/AIDS is on with the government, private sector and the civil society playing frontline roles. The 2004 and 2011 Demographic and Health Surveys indicated that the HIV prevalence rate dropped from 5.4 per cent to 4.3 per cent. Treatment based on Anti-retroviral Drugs (ARV) is now available in treatment centres across the country. A recent working mission by a delegation from the Global Fund against AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, affirmed the latter's commitment to continue funding the acquisition of ARVs. The US Global AIDS Coordinator, Eric Goosby, recently promised a more efficient ARV distribution system for Cameroon at the end of a visit.

In the area of sensitisation and screening, civil society organisations such as the African Synergy Against AIDS and Suffering, under the stewardship of Cameroon's First Lady, Mrs. Chantal Biya, has undertaken "AIDS-free Holiday" campaigns since 2003. A total of 800,000 boys and girls were sensitised, over 300,000 people screened and 6,000 peer educators trained. Furthermore, the Chantal Biya International Reference Centre for Research on the Prevention and Management of HIV/AIDS (CIRCB), is engaged in HIV research to enable Cameroon stay involved in the downward global HIV-infection trend.