New UNAIDS report highlights the effectiveness and need to continue and improve the Fast-track approach

UNAIDS has issued a new report "GET ON THE FAST-TRACK — THE LIFE-CYCLE APPROACH TO HIV". In this report, UNAIDS is announcing that 18.2 million people now have access to HIV treatment and thus demonstrates that the Fast-track response is indeed working.

Screen Shot 2016-11-24 at 4.44.28 PMThis 136-pages document is divided into sections based on the various stages of a person’s life (children, young people, key populations throughout the life cycle, adulthood and ageing (50+)) and provides key data on progress and gaps, country status, key challenges, the possible comprehensive approaches and opportunities and ways for closing the gaps for each period/group of people.

The life-cycle approach to HIV ensures that we need the best solutions for people throughout their lifetime. No one should be le behind through the life-cycle approach. Key populations, such as sex workers, people who inject drugs and men who have sex with men, prisoners and migrants, need access to the HIV treatment and prevention options that best meet their needs.

The insights revealed by the life-cycle approach must be leveraged to address one of the greatest challenges facing the global AIDS response: stalled progress on HIV prevention among adults. New infections among young women aged 15–24 years have declined by only 6% between 2010 and 2015, while the rate of new HIV infections among 25–49- year-old men and women is essentially flat. Meanwhile, new infections appear to be rising among people who inject drugs and men who have sex with men.

Measures to close this gap are readily available. A combination of HIV risk awareness, economic empowerment and oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) together with social protection measures, assisted partner notification and self-test kits have all proven to be effective. Cities and countries that have put in place truly comprehensive HIV programmes tailored to the needs of key populations have successfully reduced new HIV infections among sex workers, people who inject drugs and men who have sex with men. These evidence-informed, high-impact approaches must be consistently applied across the life cycle, using a location–population approach that prioritizes the geographical areas and populations in greatest need.

At the same time, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé stresses that resources will continue to be scarce and the need to show a return on investment will be stronger than ever before. And with no reduction in the global number of new HIV infections among adults in the past five years, and rising numbers of new infections in some regions of the world (incl. EECA), we need to realize that if there is a resurgence in new HIV infections now, the epidemic will become impossible to control.

On this World AIDS Day, he calls on world leaders, partners, activists, communities and people living with HIV to get on the Fast-Track to end this epidemic.


 The report features the following data on the EECA region:

Regional HIV data in 2015

People living with HIV (total) – 1.5 million [1.4 million–1.7 million]

New HIV infections

  • total – 190 000 [170 000–200 000]
  • Aged 15+ – 190 000 [170 000–200 000]
  • Aged 0–14 – NO DATA*

AIDS-related deaths –  47 000 [39 000–55 000]

Total number accessing antiretroviral therapy – 320 000

* this data isn’t available only in EECA and in Western and central Europe and North America

Regional antiretroviral therapy in 2015

Percentage of adults (aged 15+) living with HIV accessing antiretroviral therapy – 21% [19–22%]

The data for children of 14 and under and pregnant women was unavailable for our region at the time of publication.

Adults and children estimated to be living with HIV (2015) – 1.5 million [1.4 million–1.7 million] out of 36.7 million [34.0 million–39.8 million] worldwide

Estimated number of adults and children newly infected with HIV (2015) – 190 000 [170 000–200 000] out of 2.1 million [1.8 million–2.4 million] worldwide

As you can see from the graph presented below these numbers dramatically increasing for our region over the last 5 years.

Screen Shot 2016-11-24 at 5.53.41 PM

Estimated adult and child deaths from AIDS (2015) – 47 000 [39 000–55 000] out of 1.1 million [940 000–1.3 million] worldwide

The data for children (<15 years) estimated to be living with HIV, newly infected with HIV and the estimated deaths in children (<15 years) from AIDS up to 2015 was unavailable for our region at the time of publication.

On page AIDS by the numbers on pp. 104-131 you can see this data presented visually in comparison with data from other regions.


In this report UNAIDS also introduces the aidsinfo.unaids.org website, where you can get additional and more detailed data, including:

  • ƒ Additional Global AIDS Response Progress Reporting Indicators on prevention, mother-to-child transmission, 90–90–90 targets, stigma and discrimination
  • ƒ A Key Population Atlas of maps on key populations, including the latest available data on key populations at increased risk of HIV infection.
  • ƒ Estimates of new HIV infections, people living with HIV and AIDS-related deaths by different age groups, children (age 0–14 years), adolescents (age 10–19 years), young people (age 15–24 years), adults (age 15–49) older people (age 50 years and over), and by sex
  • ƒ Subnational data for selected countries
  • ƒ Data in different formats: spreadsheet, maps, graphics
  • ƒ Comparable data over multiple years, and across countries, which can also be extracted to spreadsheets for further analysis.

 

You can read the full version of the report in English here.