UNITED NATIONS, 22 June 2004 — No country is immune from the spread of HIV/AIDS, even though the epidemic is much lower in some countries, such as in the Middle East and Gulf states, says Stephen Lewis, United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/ AIDS, who is focusing on the AIDS emergency in Africa.
“It is a phenomenon about which each and every government must be alerted and alarmed to protect the citizenry,” he told Arab News recently. “What is happening now in Africa — even if it is not happening elsewhere, is something that must be watched carefully by other countries, to ensure that the virus does not get a grip in their land.”
Today an estimated 34-46 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS. Of these, two-thirds live in Africa, where one in 12 adults is infected. Asia has one-fifth of this total number, according the latest figures of UN specialized agencies: World Health Organization, and UNAIDS.
Although HIV/AIDS has been a familiar enemy for the past 20 years, it is only now being seen as a threat to human society, whose impact will be felt for generations, according to these UN specialized agencies. More than 20 million have died of AIDS in the past 20 years.
In 2003, three million people died from AIDS, and five million became infected with the virus. Of those infected, 700,000 were children, for whom HIV transmittal was during pregnancy and childbirth, or from breast-feeding.
Almost six million in developing countries will die in the near future, if they do not receive treatment now, say the UN specialized agencies. Out of this number, only 400,000 patients received treatment in 2003.
In September 2003, UN specialized agencies and their partner organizations dealing with HIV/AIDS, launched an initiative to provide 3 million people in developing countries with antiretroviral therapy and by the end of 2005.
Dubbed as the “3 by 5 initiative”, it is estimated to cost at least $5.5 billion by the end of 2005. This initiative includes other forms of treatment and prevention as well, together with programs for training of medical staff and community workers, and increased distribution of medicines.
More than 40 countries have expressed support and asked for technical cooperation in implementing the “3 by 5 initiative” in their countries.
A positive step for the development of an AIDS vaccine was the recent endorsement of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, by the G-8 meeting in the US this month. Clinical vaccine trials have yielded moderate results so far.
In 2003 two-thirds of the world’s population with HIV/AIDS was living in Africa, which has only 11 percent of the world’s total population, according to the UN specialized agencies.
Some countries in sub-Saharan Africa will face economic collapse, unless these can bring their epidemics under control. In Zambia about 1 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, of which 200,000 need antiretrovirals. In Kenya 1.8 people are infected, of whom 280,000 need antiretroval therapy.
Life expectancy in southern African countries is now reduced to 43 years.
“Swaziland now has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the world,” explained Lewis, who visited it recently. “AIDS is tearing apart the country.”
“It was a difficult trip for me, because death is so pervasive,” Lewis said. “About 10 percent of households are headed by AIDS orphans, sometimes under the age of eight.”
In a Swaziland hospital, “over 90 percent of beds were occupied by AIDS-related cases,” Lewis noted. “Women lie on hospital cots, and on the floor.”
In China, for 2003, an estimated 840,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS.
Intravenous drug use or faulty plasma collection has been the main mode of transmission, and 80 percent of infections are in men.
For India, official estimates for 2003 indicate that between 3.8 and 4.6 million people have been infected with HIV/AIDS, of which 600,000 are in urgent need of treatment.
“More than 50 percent of commercial sex workers in the state of Goa and the city of Bombay are HIV positive,” according to an official of the World Health Organization. “The city of Bombay alone has a larger population than Botswana and Zambia combined,” and such factors cause problems.
Increased efforts to combat AIDS are expected in six Indian states — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharahstra, Manipur, Nagaland and Tamil Nadu.
In Thailand, about 100,000 people are currently in need of treatment, according to UN estimates. However, the epidemic tends to be concentrated in drug injecting and commercial sex networks. Thailand has had a national comprehensive HIV/AIDS program since the 1990s.
In the US about 30,000 to 40,000 new infections occur each year, with African-Americans and Hispanics being most affected.
For Saudi Arabia, the latest estimates are in stark contrast to high figures in other parts of the world. The UN specialized agencies indicate that in Saudi Arabia no new cases of HIV/AIDS were reported since the year 2000, when 24 cases were registered. In 1999, the figure was also 24. The cases were mostly of men who had lived abroad, and then returned. Countries in the region, such as Yemen, Oman and UAE also have such low estimates.
When questioned if the methodology used had any bearing on the figures, Desmond John, director of UNAIDS at the United Nations in New York replied that methodology used for HIV/AIDS statistics is based on testimony from experts in the region, which has proved to be accurate in producing estimates which give a good indication about the epidemic.
“In many countries HIV/AIDS statistics are erroneously seen by some people as a reflection of national morality,” he explained. “So there is a huge moral, religious and political overhang not only in the Middle East but anywhere in the world.”
