Despite the emergence of new diseases, scientists all over the world are still as determined to find a cure for the existing life-threatening conditions like HIV/AIDS. Nowadays, scientists are looking into other ways to end the disease on a global scale.

Research is still heavily underway to be able to develop a cure, and MedicalXpress reports that three experts in the field of infectious diseases are currently assessing potential drug candidates in the hopes that they can determine why and where a cure is needed the most and how they can deliver. The researchers; Dr. Steven G. Deeks from the University of California San Francisco, Dr. Thumbi Ndung’u from the African Research Institute in South Africa, and Dr. Joseph M. McCune from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, all found that majority of HIV/AIDS research is found in countries where the disease is not as prevalent but are high in resources.

The three researchers all explain that the breakthroughs made in the research of HIV/AIDS should also factor in the economies and needs of those who need it the most. The disease is especially prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, where the World Health Organization states, has the majority of the HIV/AIDS cases in the world. This is where 65 percent of new infections and 75 percent of deaths occur as well. They also point out that there has not been a lot of discussion regarding the practicalities of product development for the region that needs it the most. “Failure early on to define a target product profile risks developing a strategy that fails to be effective.”

Meanwhile, MedicalXpress also reports that a study conducted using animal models found a possible method for eradicating HIV/AIDS from the body. Researchers from the Yerkes National Primary Research Center of Emory University and the University of North Carolina found that the “shock and kill” strategy, which involves waking up the dormant virus from within the immune cells and killing it, may indeed be the way to go in eliminating HIV/AIDS.

The researchers conducted two studies using animal models of HIV/AIDS infection. Both studies had different approaches, but the results of both studies were promising. They found that both approaches disrupted viral latency at levels that exceeded expectations. However, their findings do not suggest a cure just yet as more tests are needed with human subjects should be in the plans.

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ISLAMABAD: Some 5,189 prisoners in jails across the country are suffering from HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases, showed a report submitted to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) by Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari.

The court had earlier formed a commission, headed by Shireen Mazari, for making a complete report about the facilities and recommendations for reforms in jails, The News reported.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah resumed the hearing of a petition filed by a prisoner Khadim Hussain against poor health facilities in jails.

The report revealed that some 425 prisoners were diagnosed of HIV/AIDS. A further breakdown of the cases showed that in Punjab 225 male and two female convicts were suffering from the disease, 115 male and one female in Sindh was found contracted with the disease, while 39 cases were found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and 13 in Balochistan.

Mazari’s report also showed that 65 per cent of the prisoners in jail are yet to be convicted as their cases are pending with the courts. The report shared that decisions of 55 per cent cases in Punjab, 71 per cent in KP, 70 per cent in Sindh and 59 per cent in Balochistan have not been announced. It further adds that 290 male and eight female prisoners in Punjab, 50 in Sindh, 235 in KP and 11 in Balochistan are mental patients.

Report further revealed that 1,832 prisoners have been diagnosed with Hepatitis, 173 are suffering from Tuberculosis, 594 are suffering from various mental disease, while 2,192 are suffering from other diseases.

The report shared that all district and central prisoners across Pakistan have access to hospitals but they lack important medical equipment such as ECG, X-Ray, ultrasound machines, oxygen cylinders, dental units, laboratories and beds in these prison hospitals.

Report revealed that 70 per cent of the prison staff is untrained and unaware of their duties under the Prison Rules. 

Report highlighted another important issue of obtaining permission from Home Department for medical treatment outside the jails. 245 cases of medically ill prisoners are pending before the respective Home Departments with 232 cases in Sindh and 12 in Punjab.

During the hearing, Mazari hailed Justice Minallah for taking up the issue.

Justice Minallah remarked that Shireen Mazari was performing well for controlling human violations.

Mazari was also informed by the court that she did not need to appear in person. However, the minister told Justice Minallah that she wanted to submit the report herself.

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MUREWA, Zimbabwe

The 46-year old Miranda Chihota’s life took a turn four years ago when her husband died in a tragic road accident. 

When she was still convalescing from the tragedy, she was forcibly married to her husband’s brother, whose wife, she claimed, had succumbed to AIDS two years before Miranda’s husband died.

As a result, Miranda now shares the disease with her new husband due to the culture of spousal inheritance still practiced across Zimbabwe.

“I had no choice, because in our culture if one loses a husband or wife, he or she is inherited by the relative of the spouse,” Miranda told Anadolu Agency.

Miranda, from Murewa — a rural district approximately 80 kilometers (49.7 miles) east of the Zimbabwean capital Harare — said she also now bears the brunt of nursing an HIV positive child.

Meanwhile, Tinashe Chipako, a Zimbabwean legal expert, said women in most cases are the lead victims when it comes to inheritance.

“Men can choose to marry without necessarily being forced to inherit the wife of a dead relative, unlike women who are given no choice, so this inheritance culture is very unfair,” Miranda told Anadolu Agency.

There is no specific legislation in the southern African nation forbidding wife or husband inheritance.

Sithembiso Mlauli of the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) based in Bulawayo — Zimbabwe’s second-largest city – said women are largely at the receiving end of the inheritance.

“A woman, the wife in particular, here in Zimbabwe, is being inherited like property after her husband dies even from AIDS, automatically becoming a wife of a husband’s relative who she never knew either had AIDS or not, thus putting herself at risk,” Mlauli told Anadolu Agency. 

Cultural fanaticism behind AIDS spread 

Despite culture fanatics insisting to continue the norms of spousal inheritance in this country, HIV/AIDS activists have fought tirelessly against the custom. 

“Inheritance of a wife or husband after either dies has contributed to the swift spread of HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe, especially in rural areas,” Trynos Tirivavi, who has been living with HIV for the past 16 years and also a member of the Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV (ZNNP plus), told Anadolu Agency.

He got the disease at the age of 23 after he inherited his late brother’s wife. “People just wade into inheriting someone’s wife or husband with no knowledge about what led to the death of their spouse, which is dangerous,” he said.  

Traditional leaders back inheritance 

Although many HIV positive individuals, like Trynos, testify about how they live their fate, some traditional leaders, including Elvis Mugumba from Maranda area in Mwenezi — a district in southern Zimbabwe – believes that the inheritance culture has to continue unhindered.

“Our forefathers lived and made sure the family continued to grow even after a husband died, by making sure his wife was inherited to keep bearing children with the help of the husband’s relative,” Mugumba told Anadolu Agency.

“One cannot, therefore, today tell us that this culture is responsible for spreading AIDS. People simply need to be faithful even in marriages resulting from an inheritance,” he said.

Yet, as traditional leaders like Mugumba maintain this stance, millions of Zimbabweans succumb to HIV and AIDS daily.

According to UNAIDS, an estimated 1.3 million Zimbabweans are currently living with HIV/AIDS.

In 2018 alone, 38,000 Zimbabweans were newly infected with HIV while 22,000 people died from an AIDS-related disease, it said.

This is despite the last year’s figures by UNAIDS, showing progress in the number of AIDS-related deaths since 2010, with a 60% drop from 54,000 to 22,000 deaths.

Even as cultural norms of inheritance threaten to thwart the gains made so far in combatting the sexually transmitted disease, UNAIDS last year also said the number of new HIV infections has fallen from 62,000 to 38,000.  

AIDS activists against inheritance custom

For many HIV/AIDS activists like Tirivavi, “to stop further spread of AIDS in family circles, the culture of wife or husband inheritance should stop forthwith.”

“Imagine how HIV keeps spreading in family circles through inheritance simply because it is a culture that people ought to uphold,” he said.

Typically, therefore, according to HIV/AIDS activists like Tirivavi, “in this era of HIV/AIDS, the inheritance custom is extremely risky.”

An official from the National AIDS Council (NAC) who spoke to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity, because she was not authorized to speak to the media, said the organization does not condone or condemn the practice of inheritance. 

”But we urge people to know their HIV status before they are inherited following their loss,” the official said.

“For as long as the inheritance cycle keeps going, so goes also the AIDS scourge in families that uphold the culture without precautions being taken,” said the NAC official.

NAC is a Zimbabwean organization enacted through an Act of Parliament in 1999 to coordinate and facilitate the national multi-sectoral response to HIV and AIDS. The organization is also mandated to administer the National AIDS Trust Fund collected through the AIDS levy.

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As of last year, an estimated 1.4 million Ugandans were living with HIV/Aids while another 23,000 died of HIV/Aids-related illnesses. As of 2018, Unaids estimated HIV/Aids prevalence among adults aged 15 to 49 at 5.7 per cent.

The judiciary isn’t spared in all this and in an effort, ostensibly, to mitigate effects of the pandemic in the sector, it set up a committee to sensitize and create awareness. But as DERRICK KIYONGA writes, power struggles in the institution are putting the fight against HIV/Aids at risk. 

In July 2019, a six-man judicial committee on HIV/Aids assembled at the High court in Jinja to evaluate its effort so far to create awareness on the scourge.

Chaired by the then Judiciary’s undersecretary Aggrey Wunyi, the committee comprised of the then inspector of courts Immaculate Busingye, who was appointed a judge recently. Others were the registrar in charge of planning Fred Waninda, principal human resource officer Apophia Tumwine Namutamba as well as communications officer Rehemah Nasuuna. 

The committee was in line with the Public Service Orders and President Museveni’s project dubbed ‘Presidential Fast-Track Initiative on Ending Aids in Uganda by 2030.’

It is also important to note that the president instructed all ministries to set aside 2.5 percent of their budgets to fighting HIV/Aids. So, the committee had an estimated annual budget of about Shs 250m.

In Jinja, they were armed with questionnaires and the intention was get reaction on how the committee can improve the services, going forward. “What would you love to know about HIV/Aids?” went one question; “What would you want us to improve?” went another question.

Unknown to this committee, Jinja would be their Waterloo. As the committee was going about its duties, things were falling apart; Expedito Kagole Kivumbi, the then secretary to the Judiciary, who was the brains behind the committee, was facing off with the Public Accounts Committee over illegal expenditure of Shs 34 billion in the financial year 2017/18.

Events unraveled quickly and on July 26, 2019, President Museveni sent Kivumbi on forced leave before replacing him with Pius Bigirimana.

From then onwards, The Observer understands that this critical committee has never done any more activities as they had envisioned due to lack of funds. When prodded about the fate of the committee, various officers of the judiciary either give contradictory responses or they simply have no ready answer.

Solomon Muyita, the judiciary’s senior communication officer, said such activities now fall under the institution’s human resource office. “I need to check the work plans of that office in order to ascertain if they have activities in respect to HIV/Aids,” Muyita said.    

Namutamba,  who also doubles as the acting commissioner, Human Resource, offered that the judiciary now holds a health camp at the judiciary’s headquarters at the Criminal division of the High court.

“People were told about non-communicable diseases.  HIV/Aids counseling was done. And also other diseases such as hypertension were treated,” she offered.

Though this health camp indeed happened in the middle of last year, judiciary staff interviewed for this story dismissed the effort as a one-off that can’t replace the works of the HIV/AIDS committee work – which emanates from a presidential order.    

“The HIV/Aids committee traversed the whole country,” a judiciary staffer explained, “You can’t say that it was replaced by a one-off event  …” the female staffer said.        

Meanwhile, a judiciary technocrat who sought anonymity since he isn’t authorized to speak to the media told The Observer: “Every regime comes with its own agenda and that committee and its work were not in the agenda of the current one.”

The source adds that the committee members were seen as Kivumbi’s favorites and thus a new regime couldn’t trust them. “It happens all the time.  When you look at that committee critically, all members were close to the previous permanent secretary [Kivumbi]. It was easy for the new regime to deal away with them,” the source said.

When contacted, Kivumbi declined to comment on the issue, saying that he was on leave and he prefers the current administration to execute its agenda. “I’m still in my leave,” he said, “You will have to seek an explanation from the people in charge now.”    

What next?

It remains to be seen whether the committee will be revived. Before its disbandment, it had traversed virtually the whole of Uganda since the judiciary essentially touches every part of the country through magistrate courts. Workshops were organized as far as Karamoja sub-region, West Nile, Kasese and Kabale, among others 

According to records that were seen by The Observer, the committee tapped into the knowhow of Dr Stephen Watiti, a doctor and counselor living with HIV/Aids, Tom Etii, a facilitator from Uganda Aids Commission, and Moses Nsubuga who is popularly known as Supercharger, an entertainer and motivational speaker living positively with HIV/Aids.

Watiti and Superchargers’ testimonies about living a productive life with HIV/Aids have moved millions and the committee felt that the same trick would work with the conservative judiciary staff – and seems it worked.     

“We were not coercing anybody to come out. We talked to staff and support staff about the advantages of coming out and many came out,” one of the members of the committee said, adding that each month staff who had come out as HIV/Aids positive would be given Shs 150,000. 

The key catchword for this committee was creating awareness because it seemed there was lack of knowledge among the staff. “We had to fight stigma,” one of the female members of the committee said, “Those who come out shouldn’t be stigmatized at work. They shouldn’t be laughed at it.”

That was not all the committee was offering at these workshops- testing and counseling, for HIV/Aids, testing for hypertension, hepatitis B and also treatment of tuberculosis.

“We had a lot to offer even in terms of food. Those who came out as HIV-positive were given nutritious food. I believe we were making a positive contribution,” a committee member opined. 

As the committee was doing its work of financing of HIV/Aids activities according to documents seen by The Observer, the amounts allocated varied depending on the moods of the judiciary’s finance committee – in total denunciation of the  presidential order. Over the years the figures have oscillated from Shs 60 million, 45 million to 25 million, depending on who seats on the sought-after finance committee.   

HIV/AIDS POLICY

Another issue under sharp contestation is a document called: ‘The judiciary’s policy on HIV/Aids. Before it was disbanded, the committee had come up with an HIV/Aids policy, records obtained by this paper indicate.  In a nutshell, the policy was hinged on issues such as non-discrimination, confidentiality, HIV testing at the workplace and promotion of prevention, support and care, among others.

Essentially, it spelt out how staff living HIV/Aids shouldn’t be sent to work in hard to reach areas, how they have a right to get sick leave with pay without any conditions or threats and the policy also institutionalized the HIV/Aids committee.

Those who drafted the policy insist that during their time in office it was validated by the Judiciary’s top honchos and all that remained was for it to be launched. Namutamba, who seems now to be in charge, when asked about the policy, had different narrative, “The policy isn’t ready,” she said, “There are a number of changes that have been made.

And we are still looking at it before it is launched.  I can’t give you a document which isn’t ready.”   

In its strategic plan that will be revisited this year, the judiciary had laid out plans of addressing HIV/Aids issues in the delivery of justice but as we speak now the committee that is supposed to do that work is grounded and future looks no so rosy.

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Cure for HIV/AIDS is under research for so many years and in meanwhile antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatments are discovered which could suppress the virus to a very low level and let infected people live a prolonged life. However, it has been more than two decades since the year 1996 when ART meds were developed and we still don’t have any permanent cure for HIV and AIDS.

While the modern drugs have been able to limit the virus growth and suppress it to a very low level, some of the dormant virus can sleep for years in cells and can come out and re-infect the patient and cause damage. It is why we need a permanent cure that can kill the virus for once and all, curing the HIV-AIDS disease permanently.

Cure for HIV by Smoking Out the Virus

Antiretroviral and the other modern drugs are only temporary solutions and we need to create an actual cure that would remove the viruses from our body completely. It is because the infected people after entering middle age show side effects including inflammation caused by the tiny amounts of HIV present in the blood, which is why doctors are looking for a viable cure.

Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Center of Molecular Inflammation Research (CEMIR) had found a new way to flush out the HIV virus. The method involves activating the virus so that it can start to replicate, hence making it visible to the immune system and thereby providing a way to kill it for permanent.

Research for Curing HIV holds Promise

Hany Zakaria Meås, a postdoc at CEMIR said, “It is the current idea for a cure. We are planning to activate the cells which are hiding away so that we can kill them by giving medicine that protects cells from infection. There will be more virus produced making it easier to spot them and kill them at the source.”

Although the initial research didn’t succeed in the trials, there is still promise to the cure. The scientists and researchers are working on other methods and new mechanisms to reverse HIV latency and cure the epidemic.

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Due to the inordinate delay in purchase of the HIV rapid test kits, it is feared that Punjab may reach epidemic proportions of the disease.

The percentagea of AIDS cases has increased by 57pc in Pakistan during the last eight years with a death rate of 369pc.

Among the provinces, Punj

ab is at its top with a major threat of an epidemic with 50pc of the total 36,902 HIV/AIDS cases across the country, followed by Sindh with 43pc, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 5pc and Balochistan 2pc. The estimated number of unregistered HIV cases in Pakistan was 165,000, according to a report of the National AIDS Control Programme, a copy of which is available with Dawn.

Pakistan is also one of the few countries in the World Health Organisation Eastern Mediterranean Region where HIV infections were increasing at an alarming rate.

In Punjab, 2,805 registered AIDS patients were reported in DG Khan DHQ Hospital, 2,548 in Mayo Hospital Lahore, 2,363 in Allied Hospital Faisalabad, 2,058 in Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Hospital Gujrat, 1,983 in Jinnah Hospital Lahore, 1,425 Civil Hospital Multan and 1,015 Services Hospital Lahore.

The province also housed 26 of the total 44 HIV treatment centres established across Pakistan. The total number of registered AIDS patients was recently complied by these centres in Punjab.

An official told Dawn that despite the serious situation the Punjab government’s failure to procure 100,000 rapid diagnostic kits for the screening of patients had increased the risks of an epidemic of the disease across the province. He said another major drawback of the Punjab Aids Control Programme (PACP) has been the discrepancy in the reported data of HIV/AIDS patients.

Shockingly, he claimed, that out of the total 18,556 registered patients in Punjab, the programme was providing treatment to 9,400 only. The reason was said to be lack of transparency in the reporting mechanism pertaining to the AIDS patients, he stated.

Similarly, the programme authorities were supposed to prepare and submit a new PC-I to set new targets to curtail the impact of the disease. Upon failure to submitting the new PC-I, the planning and development department extended the previous programme to June 2020.

According to the previous PC-I, the programme was to establish treatment centres in all 36 districts of Punjab by June 2019.

The official further said the programme had also constantly ignored the top five key populations living with HIV/AIDS for their screening and treatment. These included the injection drug users, transgender, male and female sex workers, and truck and bus drivers. It has mainly been focusing on the general population rather than underlining these five core groups that were one of the major reasons behind a surge in the reported cases, he said.

PACP Director Dr Munir Malik claimed that the dubious/double data entry of the AIDS patients in Punjab was caused by a faulty mechanism. “It is unfortunate that many dashboards are working in Punjab for data entry/reporting of the AIDS cases,” he added.

“The programme feels that reporting of such a large number of AIDS cases (18,556) could be the result of duplication of already registered patients during data entry by various dashboards,” Dr Malik claimed.

He said that the national and provincial officials associated with the programme had decided to review the data entry system by introducing biometric scanning and a designated dashboard to avoid duplication.

“The process of procurement of diagnostic kits is under way and I hope it is done till the end of this month,” he added.

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All roads leading to Obanta Avenue off Ajao Road were in upbeat mood, with an upsurge in human and vehicular traffic literally putting business and other activities on hold on the street and its adjoining areas for hours.

As early as 7.am, market women in resplendent attires, leaders of civil society organisations (NGOs) working towards HIV eradication, top government functionaries from federal and six states in the Southwest geo-political zone and virtually the country’s entire HIV community had converged on 8b Obanta Avenue. The mission: the inauguration of the zonal office of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), sited in Lagos.

An elated Director-General of NACA, Dr. Gambo Aliyu, said having NACA zonal office in Lagos means that “we have brought the entire might and weight of the Federal Government in HIV control and management activities to Lagos. It is easy to give money.

In my position, it is much easier for me to give money than to give time. In Mr. Governor’s position, it is much easier to give money than to give time.

We appreciate your gesture to disseminate the Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAISS) result in Lagos State. Let me assure that what you have disseminated is a part of the story.

The complete package of the story is coming; and it will come very soon. We have disseminated the NAISS result at the local government level.

“Next year, we will share the Lagos state current status in terms of HIV prevalence. And I can assure you that it is a promising result and it is something to be happy about.

And it is not by chance. It is not by coincidence. It is as a result of the resources you have committed into the war against HIV. It is the commitment.

It is the political will and the willingness and, above all, it is your physical presence in all HIV activities in pushing towards reaching the last mile,” Aliyu said.

While providing the rationale behind having zonal offices in the six geo-political zones in the country, Dr. Aliyu said the Act that gave birth to the agency also empowers it to operate in places outside its principal office in Abuja, as long as this will enhance proper discharge or performance of its functions.

Besides this, the DG explained that operational exigencies have also made it expedient for NACA to establish regional hubs to track and monitor HIV prevention, treatment and control programmes across the country.

Following a major restructuring taking place in the agency and the advent of the Nigeria AIDS (NAISS), NACA requires a decentralised monitoring structure to be more functional and effective in carrying out its mandate, since zonal offices will bring the agency’s activities closer to the communities.

Apart from Lagos, zonal offices are being established in Gombe for the North-west; Kano for the North-east; Lafia for the North-central; Umuahia for the South-east and Uyo for the South-south.

“The decision to have zonal office is a good development that will foster greater collaboration and reposition the state. It will also contribute to the national push for the last mile towards ending the HIV pandemic by 2030. The office will oversee the coordination of NCA’s activities in the South-west zone.

It is expected that the zonal officials would provide effective oversight of the agency’s activities in the cluster states within the zones and report accordingly to the head office in Abuja,” Dr. Aliyu said.

Noting that Nigeria has done remarkably well in stemming the tide of HIV in the last 15 years, resulting in the reduction of the prevalence of the disease, Dr. Aliyu stated that NACA’s focus is to ensure that HIV is 90 per cent under control in the country in the shorted possible time.

He disclosed that HIV is 60 per cent under control in Nigeria, adding that his agency is ready to collaborate with all stakeholders to take it to 90 per cent in the next few years so that by the time we arrive at the last mile in in 2030, HIV will be under total check.

While reminding the Lagos State government that it is holding fort for other states in the South-west, acting board of NACA, Senator Oladipo Odujinrin, said the country needs to focus its HIV awareness and prevention activities more on adolescents because they are the future of the country.

He stated that sensitisation campaigns condemning bad habits and dangerous sexual behaviours should be intensified so that HIV prevalence rate can be truly curbed, adding that everybody needs to come on board in achieving this objective.

In her goodwill message, Dr. Monsurat Adeleke, Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA), said her agency is the pioneer state AIDS control board in the country. She promised that LSACA will continue to collaoborate with NACA in the fight against HIV control.

Responding, Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, expressed his appreciation for recognising the state’s efforts in stemming the tide against HIV/AIDS, saying it is a responsibility the state cannot afford to shirk.

He welcomed NACA’s decision to site its zonal office in Lagos, saying it will bring closer the services of NACA to the people, particularly stakeholders and partners.

The zonal office will enhance NACA’s monitoring and coordination functions in the drive to reduce the prevalence of HIV, he added. “The decision to locate the South-west office of NACA in Lagos, I believe, is in recognition of the commitment and dedication of our government in eradicating the virus through the activities of the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency (LSACA). More importantly, this decision is consistent with the recent classification of Lagos State as one of the locations of interest in the fight against the menace of HIV/AIDS,” the Governor said.

Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by Prof Akin Abayomi, Commissioner for Health, said the zonal office will further expand the frontier of the agency in the achievement of its mandates as well as provide functional knowledge of the disease to the people living with the virus and how to obtain support and care from the agency.

The governor promised that his administration is willing and ready to further deepen partnership with NACA to achieve the collective goal of eradicating the HIV pandemic through various actions in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the project 90:90:90.

He noted that an HIV Consortium Group was recently inaugurated in Lagos as a demonstration of the state government’s commitment and to bring on board all stakeholders towards achieving meaningful result.

He said the zonal office will be a rallying point for all stakeholders within the South-west zone to key into the national goal being driven by NACA.

He also called for stronger collaboration among all stakeholders to eradicate the HIV pandemic in Nigeria so that the country can end the unenviable record of having the second largest HIV prevalence in the world. Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by Prof Akin Abayomi, Commissioner for Health, stressed that there is an urgent need for stakeholders to review strategies and deepen partnerships in the area of advocacy and expanding access to care, treatment and support for those living with the epidemic. “Let us move forward in a bold new spirit of partnership to overcome the cycle of HIV transmission and deliver health and wellbeing for all.

The progress made so far in ending this epidemic would not have been possible without dynamic advocacy, solidarity and a spirit of shared responsibility, which must be maintained,” Sanwo-Olu said.

He explained that the recently released report of the national and sub -national incidence rates, which indicated a reduction in prevalence of the disease, is a testament to the effort of all stakeholders.

Sounding a note of warning, Sanwo-Olu also stressed that is not yet time for celebration, noting that a lot of work still needs to be done to ensure further significant reduction as Nigeria still has an unenviable record of having the second largest HIV epidemic in the world and one of the highest rates of new infection in sub-Saharan Africa.

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The incidence of HIV infections has held steady for most of the decade, but experts say the number of new infections could drop dramatically if currently available medications reached those who are most at risk, particularly black and Hispanic gay and bisexual men. Some are even putting “end” and “AIDS epidemic” in the same sentence. “We essentially have tools to end the epidemic at this point even without a cure,” says Carlos Malvestutto, MD, the medical director of the Family AIDS Clinic and Education Services program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

For people who are already infected with HIV, antiretroviral therapy can suppress the virus to such a low level that it can’t be passed on. But government and public health officials and the pharmaceutical industry are talking up pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as perhaps the most potent weapon against ending the spread of HIV/AIDS. It consists of a daily pill that combines antiviral medications and prevents infection with HIV in those who are exposed to the virus. In this country, Gilead’s Truvada, a combination of two antivirals, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, has had the PrEP market to itself. In October, the FDA approved another Gilead product, Descovy, for PrEP. Descovy swaps out tenofovir disoproxil fumarate for tenofovir alafenamide and may have advantages over Truvada for people with kidney disease or osteoporosis.

There’s no question that PrEP can prevent HIV infection. Access to PrEP has already helped cut the rate of new infections significantly in big cities. However, “PrEP is not reaching the population who needs it most. We haven’t been able to scale up proven interventions,” says Greg Millett, vice president and director of public policy for amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, a high-profile HIV/AIDS advocacy organization that also funds research. Part of the problem, Malvestutto says, is the stigma still associated with the disease, particularly among the highest-risk population groups and in parts of the South, which has the highest rate of new infections. While people may be offered HIV testing, “they would rather not know,” he says. They are often concerned about what it would mean if the word got out that they were HIV positive. Bridget Calhoun, associate dean of health sciences at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, says that some health care providers resist prescribing PrEP because “they don’t want to encourage risky behavior.” 

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) supported a 2010 clinical trial called iPrEx, which was the first to establish the effectiveness of PrEP. It found that daily use of Truvada reduced the risk of acquiring HIV infection among men who had sex with men. For those who took the drug on a daily basis, the risk of acquiring HIV was 92% lower than those in the placebo group. But the main challenge was getting participants to take the medication daily. Overall, the risk was reduced by 44% because many failed to take the drug regularly. Because of the adherence challenges, NIAID is supporting research to find a longer-acting form of PrEP.

Patients resist PrEP—both sticking with it and refusing to start it in the first place—for a raft of interconnected reasons, ranging from distrust of health care providers to lack of health insurance coverage to marginalization of at-risk groups. “Without stable access to health insurance, access to PrEP is lost,” Millett says. And prophylaxis of any kind is a hard sell: You are asking people to do something—in the case of PrEP, taking a pill daily—to prevent an infection or disease that may not happen. 

Meanwhile, the opioid epidemic has created a new wave of people who are injecting drugs, says Millett, and intravenous drug use and the sharing of needles is one of the primary ways that HIV is transmitted. A recent outbreak of HIV infections in rural West Virginia has been linked to drug users sharing contaminated needles. PrEP is not routinely offered to IV drug users, notes Malvestutto.

Large racial disparity

Expense is also an obstacle for PrEP acceptance. Truvada’s list price is more than $20,000 per year, although payers often pay far less because of discounts and rebates. Gilead has come under fire because generic versions of the drug sell for about $60 a year in Africa. Several companies have tried to introduce generic versions of Truvada in the United States and Gilead has sued. Every case has ended in a settlement that has been kept secret.

This spring, Gilead announced a generic version of Truvada will be available next year. The company also announced it was donating up to 2.4 million bottles, each containing a month’s supply of Truvada, to the CDC annually for those who lack insurance. Some have criticized Gilead because Descovy has not been tested for those who have vaginal intercourse. 

Last year, CDC researchers reported research findings that showed that only 7% of the 1.1 million Americans who were at high risk of HIV infection in 2016 were prescribed PrEP. Presumably that percentage has increased, and earlier this year, Gilead said 200,000 Americans were taking Truvada for PrEP purposes. Still, the vast majority of Americans who might benefit from PrEP are not taking it.

The CDC researchers also highlighted another problem with PrEP: the glaring racial disparity of the prescription patterns. Although black men and women accounted for about 40% of the Americans for whom PrEP might be indicated, just 11% of the prescriptions were written for black Americans.

Government action at the federal and state levels may spur wider acceptance of PrEP. In June, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended HIV screening for everyone between the ages of 15 and 65. Part of that recommendation is that PrEP be prescribed for those who are at high risk of contracting HIV. Because it is a USPSTF recommendation, under the ACA, private health plans must start covering PrEP without copay beginning no later than 2021. This won’t help Americans without insurance coverage, but for those who do, it will remove one more barrier to PrEP. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill last month that allows specially trained pharmacists to dispense PrEP without a prescription. 

During this year’s State of the Union address, President Donald Trump announced a goal to eliminate the HIV epidemic within 10 years. This effort includes using PrEP to prevent new infections. The initial phase focuses on the areas of the country that account for more than half of new diagnoses, particularly urban areas and the South, which has a disproportionate number of cases in rural areas.

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The Union Health Ministry has planned to introduce a new drug for the treatment of patients suffering from HIV/AIDS. “Dolutegravir” is a new drug which is likely to be available in the market by February 2020. Dr Naresh Goel, Deputy Director-General of National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) said in an interview: “Previously, we have been using the combination drug of TLE. But now, the health ministry has decided to use TLD combination drug – known as Dolutegravir. It has fewer side effects and tolerance is better.”

Informing about the other advantages of Dolutegravir drug, the official said that the resistance to the new drug will develop late and adherence is better. “The viral suppression is faster with the use of this new drug. We have started training our doctors on how to prescribe the new drug to the patients. By January, it will be done and in February, we will launch the drug,” he added.

Nearly eight in every 10 persons living with HIV are under treatment, according to the government data, and efforts are underway to expand the coverage basket. The Ministry of Health recently reiterated its resolve to make India HIV/AIDS free by 2030 with stress on zero infections by then.

The National AIDS Control Organisation statistics for 2017-2018 show 79 per cent people living with HIV know their status which makes it easier to seek treatment. “Post treatment, around 79 per cent people have their viral load suppressed. We are on the right track to ridding India of HIV,” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said.

As of now the current estimates of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) is about 2.14 million, said the official. The health ministry has set the target to achieve the target of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) by eliminating the epidemic of HIV/AIDS from India by 2030.

According to Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, “During 2018-19, about 79 per cent people living with HIV knew their status and 82 per cent diagnosed with HIV are receiving free antiretroviral therapy and 79 per cent are virally suppressed. The basic target remains that of ‘’Three Zeros’’ — i.e. zero new infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero discrimination.”

As per the official data by NACO, every year about 88,000 new infections are added to their list. NACO has strengthened its monitoring mechanism with more than 35,000 reporting units providing information on completely IT-enabled system. Since 1980s NACO is playing a key role in fighting against the disease and reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the country. It has signed MOU with 18 Central government ministries to combat the disease.

Treatment access remains a challenge with most patients finding it difficult to use anti-retro viral dispensing facilities. Treatment gap remains the big challenge for HIV control.

The ambitious goal of ending HIV by 2030 notwithstanding, as per the latest HIV estimates published by the National Aids Control Organisation, India has reported only marginal improvements in the fight against the epidemic between 2015 and now. In real terms, there has been a rise in AIDS-related deaths between 2015 and 2017 with 69,110 dying of the infection in 2017 as against 67,612 two years ago.

The number of people living with the infection has risen from 21.17 lakh in 2015 to 21.40 lakh now. HIV prevalence in adults has declined over the years and is now 0.22 per cent as against 0.28 per cent in 2015. Experts working in the HIV sector say new infections remain a challenge with 40 per cent being reported among women. As of 2015, there were 89,000 new HIV infections in India. This has marginally reduced to 87,000, showing the slow  progress in the area.

India has pledged to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 by halting and reversing it and recently passed a law to ensure non-discrimination with people living with HIV. The apex court further aided the anti-HIV fight by reading down Section 377 of the IPC which criminalised same sex relationship between consenting adults. The section was leading to HIV burden among men having sex with men going unreported as the patients went underground for fear of punishment.

Regional scenario

India, China and Pakistan are among the 10 countries that accounted for more than 95 per cent of all new HIV infections in the Asia and the Pacific region in 2016, according to a UN report. Scales have tipped for the first time in the fight against AIDS as more than half of all people living with the HIV virus now have access to treatment, while AIDS-related deaths have nearly halved since 2005, said the report by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, ‘Ending AIDS: Progress towards the 90?-90-90 targets’.

In the Asia and the Pacific region, the majority of new infections are occurring in 10 countries led by India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietmnam, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia.

These 10 countries together accounted for more than 95 per cent of all new HIV infections in the region in 2016. The report gives a comprehensive analysis of the 2014 targets to accelerate progress so that by 2020, 90 per cent of all HIV-infected people know their status, 90 per cent of all HIV-diagnosed people are accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART) and 90 per cent of those taking ART are virally suppressed.

The region’s HIV epidemic remains largely concentrated among key populations, including sex workers and their clients, gay men and other men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, and transgender people. The annual number of new HIV infections in Asia and the Pacific has declined 13 per cent over the last six years, from 310,000 in 2010 to 270,000 in 2016.

The report added that in India, a respondent-driven sampling survey across 26 cities found that knowledge of HIV status was 41 per cent among people living with HIV who inject drugs. Of those who knew their HIV status, only 52 per cent were accessing antiretroviral therapy and 83 per cent of those accessing treatment were virally suppressed (55).

Among gay men and other men who have sex with men living with HIV who also were surveyed, 30 per cent knew their HIV status, 68 per cent of those who knew their HIV status were accessing treatment, and 78 per cent of those on treatment were virally suppressed.

The report added that last year, 19.5 million of the 36.7 million people living with HIV globally had access to treatment and AIDS-related deaths have fallen from 1.9 million in 2005 to one million. With continued scale-up, this progress puts the world on track to reach the global target of 30 million people on treatment by 2020, according to the report. “We met the 2015 target of 15 million people on treatment and we are on track to double that number to 30 million and meet the 2020 target,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidib. “We will continue to scale up to reach everyone in need and honour our commitment of leaving no one behind.”

Eastern and southern Africa, which account for more than half of all people living with the virus, are leading the way. Since 2010, AIDS-related deaths there have declined by 42 per cent and new HIV infections by 29 per cent, including a 56 per cent drop in new infections among children over that period. The report described it as a remarkable achievement of HIV treatment and prevention efforts aimed at putting the region on track towards ending epidemic.

In contrast, progress against the targets has been poor in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where AIDS-related deaths have pointedly risen. Exceptions, however, include Algeria, Morocco and Belarus, which have increased HIV treatment access from 2010 to 2016. The report also shows that globally, 30 per cent of people living with HIV still do not know their status, 17.1 million are unable to access ART and more than half are not virally suppressed.

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he number of HIV/AIDS patients in Pakistan currently stands at 1,65,000, the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) said, adding that 9,565 new cases were detected this year.

“Only 36,902 people are registered with the NACP. Of which, around 20,994 are undergoing treatment,” The Express Tribune reported on Monday citing the NACP data as saying.

As many as 6,426 people contracted the disease after administering drugs from contagious syringes.

“There are 18,220 male and 4,170 female patients – including 546 male children and 426 female children – registered with the NACP,” the data said.

During the year, Rato Dero, a small area in Larkana city of Sindh, alone reported 895 cases of AIDS. Of which, 754 constitute children and 141 adults.

From April to November 30, about 37,558 people had undergone HIV screening in Larkana, out of which 1,195 were reported with suspected presence of the virulent germs.

The NACP data further states, at the end of 2018, the number of registered AIDS affected patients was 23,757 out of which 15,821 were receiving treatment.

On the other hand, according to a report issued by the UN AIDS Control Program last year, the number of AIDS patients in Pakistan had increased alarmingly over the past two decades.

The estimated number of patients during the year 2000 was just 500, which increased to more than 160,000. The total number of deaths cause by the disease till 2000 was only 100 that shoot-up to 6,400 in 2018.

In 2000, the number of patients registered for AIDS in Pakistan was 200, which had risen up to 22,000 in 2018.

As per the report, 14 per cent of the AIDS patients are aware of the disease, but 10 per cent of the patients were having self-treatment. Out of 160,000 patients, over 48,000 were women.

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Benson Hungwe, 32, has dedicated his life to helping patients suffering from HIV and AIDS in the Zimbabwean capital.

The alleys of Epworth, a slum settlement east of Harare, echo with stories of people who are too poor to seek treatment for the disease they have contracted.

Hungwe for much of his life juggled between taking care of his siblings and completing his medical education after the death of his parents from AIDS.

He is now a revered medical practitioner and the hope for the local community of Epworth.

“With help from well-wishers and undertaking menial jobs, I did succeed to feed my brothers and also continue my education,” he said.

But, everybody is not so lucky, he confesses. For him, the fortunate part was that his parents had not passed HIV to their children.

After getting himself a job, Hungwe moved from Epworth in pursuit of an improved standard of life to Braeside, a suburb east of Harare. He would visit communities in Epworth often, helping out HIV and AIDS patients.

“Lot of people are infected and affected by HIV and AIDS in Epworth; I know this because I have grown up in the area and I mingle with local HIV/AIDS support groups here made up of both young and old living with the disease, volunteering my time counselling them and helping source some nutritious food stuffs for them,” Hungwe told Anadolu Agency.

“I know the pain of watching a loved one dying from AIDS; I watched my parents dying during our days in Epworth; I’m a living testimony of how AIDS hurts,” said Hungwe.

Zimbabwe has one of the highest HIV and AIDS prevalence in the sub-Saharan Africa. A staggering 1.3 million people, comprising 12.7% of total population, are living with HIV as of last year, according to the UNAIDS.

Hungwe said he at times helps out in the fight against AIDS through voluntarily working with some non-governmental organizations.

In 2006, Doctors Without Borders in particular, working in partnership with Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and Child Care, established the Epworth Clinic, which has focused on the treatment of more than 30,000 HIV patients.

Over the years, Hungwe said he has seen the pressure mounting on healthcare facilities like Epworth Clinic, and felt he had to step in and assist.

Thanks particularly to efforts by many individuals like Hungwe, today, the number of people who are HIV positive in Zimbabwe has reduced to 15% although major gaps in treatment remain, according to the National AIDS Council.

“I don’t seek popularity, but my work should leave an indelible mark, not for pay or recognition, but for the good of humanity,” said Hungwe.

World AIDS Day is being marked on Sunday to stress the role of communities to fight the deadly disease.

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UNITED NATIONS – New United Nations data shows that global HIV/AIDS infection rates and deaths are down and treatment is up, but new infections remain a serious challenge in certain high-risk groups.

In a report launched Tuesday ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, UNAIDS reports that of the nearly 38 million people globally living with HIV — the virus that causes AIDS — more than 24 million patients are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ARVs). That is a significant increase from nine years ago, when about 7 million people were accessing the life-saving treatment.

UNAIDS says about 8 million people do not know they are infected with HIV.

AIDS-related deaths worldwide are also down by more than half since 2004. Some 770,000 people died of the disease last year.

“The gains continue to be made against the epidemic, but those gains are getting smaller year after year,” said Ninan Varughese, director of the UNAIDS New York office.

He said improvements in eastern and southern Africa are driving global progress rates, but many other areas of the world have faced setbacks, such as Central Asia and Eastern Europe.  

High-risk groups
 
More than half of new infections are among high-risk groups and their sexual partners.

“If you look outside sub-Saharan Africa it is 75%,” Varughese said. “For example, more than 95% of new infections in Central Asia and Eastern Europe are among key populations.”

He said the risk of being infected with HIV is 22 times higher among homosexual men and intravenous drug users, 21 times higher for sex workers, and 12 times higher for transgender persons.

Women and girls

Another demographic group that is seeing a negative trend is adolescent sub-Saharan African women and girls, with 6,000 new infections each week among those between the ages of 15 and 24.

“In sub-Saharan Africa, 4 in 5 new infections among adolescents age 15 to 19 are among girls,” Varughese added.

More money is needed to fund the global response. UNAIDS estimates a need of $26.2 billion for 2020.

While 19 countries are on track to reach the 2030 target of ending the AIDS epidemic, most of the world is not.

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The Wellness Unit of the department of public works held a build-up event for World Aids Day in Middledrift, under the theme “Ending the HIV/Aids community”. A candle light prayer was also held to show support to those affected by the virus. Wellness practitioner Nwabisa Malgas said the event’s purpose was to honour those who had passed away and to give hope to those living with the virus.

“We are honouring our people who have lost their battle with the virus and we are also standing in solidarity with those who still continue living with HIV/Aids, by encouraging them to live a healthy lifestyle and take their medication accordingly,” Malgas said.

Most of the people attending the event were accelerated professional and trade competency development programme (APTCoD) learners.

“As the Wellness Unit, we felt it was important to bring the educational session to this particular depot as this would equip the learners with the necessary life skills needed to combat the spread of HIV/Aids,” Malgas explained.

She said peer educators from Middledrift had organised the event and had invited nurses from local clinics to conduct a candle light prayer.

Wellness Unit assistant director Zoliswa Soso said their mandate was to ensure all public works employees were in

good health, in order to minimise absenteeism. “We have observed over time that there are undesirable behaviours among employees that are becoming a problem including alcohol abuse, financial burdens and absenteeism and it is our responsibility to tackle these issues without favour or prejudice,” Soso said.

DPW’s Wellness Unit promotes the management of HIV/Aids, diabetes and cancer, along with other illnesses, and provides a supportive environment for affected or infected employees.

“As long as HIV/Aids is around, we will all be around to assist and educate those in need by providing the necessary educational information, together with a support base that will equip employees in better understanding the virus,” she said. She reminded the audience that the event was not to judge anyone but served as a reminder that HIV/Aids was real and had to be taken seriously.

“Ours is not to tell you how to live your life but purely to make you aware of the risks associated with making reckless decisions that will eventually affect those around you. “Under this theme, we can make a difference and bring change to the people around us if we stand together in the fight against HIV/Aids,” Soso said.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A Tennessee dance teacher pleaded guilty to sex charges after authorities say he raped a student and exposed him to HIV.

According to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, John Conner III met the then 16-year-old boy on social media in 2015 and met up on several occasions to have unprotected sex. They even exchanged text messages about their sexual activities along with nude photos.

Soon after that, the teen joined the suspect’s dance team, the Infamous Dancerettes.

During that time, Conner failed to disclose his HIV status to the minor, authorities said. It wasn’t until several months after their first sexual encounter that the teen learned from another source that Conner was HIV positive. It was then that he finally revealed the abuse to his parents, stating he needed to go to the doctor for testing.

The tests came back positive, authorities said.

Conner was arrested and charged with criminal exposure to HIV, statutory rape by an authority figure and solicitation of a minor. His trial was set to begin this week, but he decided to plead guilty instead.

Conner has two other similar cases pending.

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The Federal Government has  approved the sum of N2.5 billion for the procurement of drugs and other related things necessary for the healthy living of persons living with HIV in the country.

Director General, National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA), Dr. Gambo Aliyu, made the disclosure yesterday in Abuja at a press conference to herald commemorative activities for the 2019 World AIDSs Day with the theme, ‘Communities Make the Difference.’

While noting that the Federal Government has taken up the treatment burden of an additional 50, 000 persons living with HIV/AIDS in the country bringing the total number of those on treatment by government to 100, 000, the DG said NACA has taken proactive steps to reach out to people with its campaign messages by establishing six new zonal offices across Nigeria to aid the Agency’s activities.

The Federal Government has  approved the sum of N2.5 billion for the procurement of drugs and other related things necessary for the healthy living of persons living with HIV in the country.

Director General, National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA), Dr. Gambo Aliyu, made the disclosure yesterday in Abuja at a press conference to herald commemorative activities for the 2019 World AIDSs Day with the theme, ‘Communities Make the Difference.’

While noting that the Federal Government has taken up the treatment burden of an additional 50, 000 persons living with HIV/AIDS in the country bringing the total number of those on treatment by government to 100, 000, the DG said NACA has taken proactive steps to reach out to people with its campaign messages by establishing six new zonal offices across Nigeria to aid the Agency’s activities.

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