HIV infection rates not decreasing fast enough: UNAIDS

Infection rates of HIV are not slowing fast enough to reach the goal of eradicating AIDS by 2030, a report by the United Nations group to fight the disease said Monday.

Published two days ahead of World AIDS Day, the report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS said shortcomings in the pandemic response can also be seen in the fight against the decades-old disease.

"Many of these missing pieces to fight HIV are also allowing the COVID-19 pandemic to continue and leaving us dangerously unprepared for pandemics of the future," said UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima.

In June, UNAIDS set new targets to reach by 2025: bringing HIV services to 95 percent of those who need them; reducing annual HIV infections to fewer than 370,000; and reducing AIDS-related deaths to fewer than 250,000 by 2025.

But the report said the world is off-track to meet those goals.

"UNAIDS data show that the curves of HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths are not bending fast enough to end the pandemic," it said.

This article originally appeared in The East African.

Photo: NMG