AIDS is one of the most deadly infectious diseases. 1 million people will have died of AIDS in 2016 worldwide (up from 2 million in 2005), and 76.1 million since the beginning of the epidemic. ( FRM, 2019). AIDS was officially diagnosed in 1981 at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where American researchers published the first significant findings about the disease. The virus was first diagnosed in 5 homosexual men, but it spread rapidly between continents and scientists soon realised that heterosexuals were equally susceptible to the disease. The first name of the disease was Grids (Gay Related Immune Deficiency) and in 1983 the name Aids appeared: Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus.
It was not until six years later, in 1987, that the world health organization (WHO) established a program on aids. It aimed to raised awareness about the pandemic; formulated evidence-based policies; provided technical and financial support to countries which they did mainly in Uganda and Thailand; initiated relevant social, behavioral, and biomedical research; promoted participation by non-governmental organizations; and championed the rights of those living with HIV. (Merson, 2006). This need to raise awareness and for governments to take action is well expressed in the French movie 120BPM from Robin Campillo released in 2017 retracing the life of an AIDS activist.
In the mid-2000s, the global response accelerated rapidly with universal access to treatment becoming a major priority. Despite its achievements, the Global Programme to Fight AIDS has not mobilise enough the political will around the world. Therefore in 1996, the program was replaced by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), which is now sponsored by 10 UN agencies.
As we can see in the graph, there has been an important increase of the virus between 1980 and 2005. 2005 was a peak for the virus, new diagnoses have now been declining since then.
There were approximately 38 million people across the globe with HIV/AIDS in 2019 and approximately 81% of people with HIV globally knew their HIV status in 2019. (HIV gov, 2020)
Nevertheless, the UNAIDS program has in 2016 announced its plan to put more priority on the disease. They aim to have been able to end AIDS by 2030. These include a goal that by 2025 more than 90% of countries will have decriminalised sex work, possession of small amounts of drugs, and same-sex sexual behaviour. (The Guardian, 2020)
Comparing the policy response in the 1980s with that of today can give us much food for thought on global crisis management. Coronavirus was officially named as a global pandemic two months after its detection in China, researchers from all over the world came together to create a vaccine in about ten months, and the media have talked about this for a year now. Indeed, science is more developed today than it was in 1980 but it prompts a reflection on how politicians have been able to make this a non-priority for such a dangerous virus, while a less-lethal virus has taken on an unimaginable and unprecedented scale in the last year.
According to UNaids, the whole focus of covid 19 is to limit the creation and spread of drugs for people infected with AIDS, which could have serious consequences for the sick: has estimated that a six-month complete disruption in HIV treatment could lead to more than 500,000 additional deaths from AIDS-related illnesses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
the Guardian. 2020. This World Aids Day the global response to HIV stands on a precipice | Winnie Byanyima and Matthew Kavanagh. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/dec/01/this-world-aids-day-the-global-response-to-hiv-stands-on-a-precipice>
Merson, M., 2006. The HIV–AIDS Pandemic at 25 — The Global Response | NEJM. [online] New England Journal of Medicine. Available at: <https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp068074>
Tht.org.uk. 2020. HIV statistics | Terrence Higgins Trust. [online] Available at: <https://www.tht.org.uk/hiv-and-sexual-health/about-hiv/hiv-statistics>
Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM). 2020. Tout savoir sur le sida. [online] Available at: <https://www.frm.org/recherches-maladies-infectieuses/sida/focus-sida>