BY SEYIFUNMI LUMEKO
Joint United Nations has decried the emergence of COVID-19, adding that the pandemic has been threatening the 20 years gains made against HIV.
The Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Winnie Byanyinma said: ”COVID-19 is threatening the progress that the world has made in health and development over the past 20 years, including the gains made against HIV.”
According to Byanyinma, over 12 million infected persons are waiting to access HIV treatment while 1.7 million people became infected with HIV in 2019 because they could not access essential services.
The statement was contained in a release by UNAIDS marking the HIV on the occasion of World Aids Day 2020.
She said, “I am proud that over the past year the HIV movement has mobilised to defend our progress, to protect people living with HIV and other vulnerable groups, and to push the coronavirus back.”
“Whether campaigning for multimonth dispensing of HIV treatment, organising home deliveries of medicines, or providing financial assistance, food, and shelter to at-risk groups, HIV activists and affected communities have again shown they are the mainstay of the HIV response. I salute you!
“It is the strength within communities, inspired by a shared responsibility to each other, that has contributed in great part to our victories over HIV.”
“Today, we need that strength more than ever to beat the colliding epidemics of HIV and COVID-19.
“Friends, in responding to COVID-19, the world cannot make the same mistakes it made in the fight against HIV when millions in developing countries died waiting for treatment.
“Even today, more than 12 million people are still waiting to get on HIV treatment and 1.7 million people became infected with HIV in 2019 because they could not access essential services. That is why UNAIDS has been a leading advocate for a People’s Vaccine against the coronavirus.
“As the first COVID-19 vaccine candidates have proven effective and safe, there is hope that more will follow, but there are serious threats to ensuring equitable access. We are calling on companies to openly share their technology and know-how and to wave their intellectual property rights so that the world can produce the successful vaccines at the huge scale and speed required to protect everyone and so that we can get the global economy back on track.
“Our goal of ending the AIDS epidemic was already off track before COVID-19. We must put people first to get the AIDS response back on track. We must end the social injustices that put people at risk of contracting HIV. And we must fight for the right to health. There is no excuse for governments to not invest fully in universal access to health. Barriers such as up-front user fees that lock people out of health must come down.”
