WORLD AIDS DAY 2013

Today (01/12 /2013) is  World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day is celebrated on 1 December every year to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and to demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic.It is not only an opportunity to  Global citizen gather together as a global community to commemorate those we have lost to AIDS but also a day for for public and private partners to disseminate information about the status of the pandemic and to encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care around the world, particularly in high prevalence countries.It has become one of the most widely recognized international health days and a key opportunity to raise awareness, commemorate those who have died, and celebrate victories such as increased access to treatment and prevention services. It is a time for reflection.

Let me briefly explains about the basic of the AIDS.

What is AIDS?

AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome which is a disease caused by a virus called HIV. The illness alters the immune system, making people much more vulnerable to infections and diseases. This susceptibility worsens as the disease progresses.A person with HIV is considered to have developed AIDS when the immune system is so weak it can no longer fight off a range of diseases with which it would normally cope.

What is HIV?

HIV stands for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.It is a virus which attacks the body's immune system - the body's defence against diseases. When someone is described as living with HIV, they have the HIV virus in their body. HIV is found in the body fluids of an infected person (semen and vaginal fluids, blood and breast milk). The virus is passed from one person to another through blood-to-blood and sexual contact. In addition, infected pregnant women can pass HIV to their babies during pregnancy, delivering the baby during childbirth, and through breast feeding.

How does it spread over?

HIV can be transmitted in many ways, such as vaginal, oral sex, anal sex, blood transfusion, and contaminated hypodermic needles.Both the virus and the disease are often referred to together as HIV/AIDS. People with HIV have what is called HIV infection. As a result, some will then develop AIDS. The development of numerous opportunistic infections in an AIDS patient can ultimately lead to death.

According to research, the origins of HIV date back to the late nineteenth or early twentieth century in west-central Africa. AIDS and its cause, HIV, were first identified and recognized in the early 1980s.

Is there are any treatment for AIDS?

There is currently no cure for HIV/AIDS. Treatments can slow the course of the disease - some infected people can live a long and relatively healthy life.

However,the scientists, from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, said their discovery offers new clues about stimulating the body to produce "broadly neutralizing antibodies". They believe these antibodies are key for making an AIDS vaccine, because they destroy most of the HIV types around the world. They published their findings in Nature Medicine (21 October, 2012 issue).

Also,a team led by scientists from the Duke Human Vaccine Institute, and the NIH Vaccine Research Centre say they have charted a new route that may help develop a vaccine which boosts an individual's ability to destroy HIV. They published their findings in the journalNature (April 2013 issue).

World Aids Day and the Theme:

World Aids Day was inaugurated 01 December 1988. Since then it is remembered annually focusing on various themes. Between 2011-2015, World AIDS Day has the theme: "Getting to zero: zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths".The WHO’s focus for the 2013 campaign is improving access to prevention, treatment and care services for adolescents (10-19 years), a group that continues to be vulnerable despite efforts so far.

HIV/AIDS campaigners say World AIDS Day is important because it reminds the public and governments that AIDS has not vanished .The World AIDS Campaign focus on "Zero AIDS related deaths" signifies a push towards greater access to treatment for all; a call for governments to act now. It is a call to honour promises like the Abuja declaration and for African governments to at least hit targets for domestic spending on health and HIV.

HIV and AIDS have a devastating effect on children.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control states that  an estimated 35 million people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide.More than 25 million people have died globally from HIV/AIDS since 1981, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.The HIV and AIDS pandemic continues to grow and as of 2011 an estimated 34.2 million adults and children worldwide were living with HIV, with an estimated 2.5 million adults and children newly infected in the same year.
Also WHO (World Health Organisation) states more than 2 million adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 years are living with HIV, and many do not receive the care and support that they need to stay in good health and prevent transmission. In addition, millions more adolescents are at risk of infection. The failure to support effective and acceptable HIV services for adolescents has resulted in a 50% increase in reported AIDS-related deaths in this group compared with the 30% decline seen in the general population from 2005 to 2012.

They deprive children of parental care and protection. In 2009, there were an estimated 16.6 million children worldwide who had lost one or both parents to AIDS.These children are often forced to replace parents as head of the household and care for younger siblings. This means they can't go to school and get an education because they're forced to work to support themselves and their family.

Millions of young people also face the risk of contracting HIV themselves - HIV is increasingly concentrated among young people, particularly girls.In 2010, there were 390,000 children under the age of 15 infected with HIV, and in 2008 young people aged 15 to 24 accounted for around 40% of all new adult HIV infections worldwide.

AIDS across the Europe

According to new data published  by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the WHO Regional Office for Europe, more than 131 000 new HIV infections were reported in the WHO European Region in 2012, 10 000 (8%) more than in 2011. This confirms a steady increase across Europe over the last year: a 9% rise in eastern Europe and central Asia (EECA) countries and a less than 1% rise in the countries of the European Union and European and Economic Area (EU/EEA).

In 2011 there were 5,717 new HIV diagnoses in England, 302 in Scotland, 169 in Wales and 82 in Northern Ireland.London is the epicentre of the UK HIV and AIDS epidemic, accounting for nearly half of HIV diagnoses in the UK so far.

AIDS in Asia

Asia is confronting a complex and devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic. Although HIV did not hit Asian countries until the late 1980s, by the late 1990s the epidemic was well established across the region. UNAIDS reports that in 2011, more than 370,000 Asians/Pacific Islanders were newly infected with HIV, bringing the total number living with HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific to nearly 5 million. In the same year, approximately 310,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in this region.

The overall prevalence of HIV in most Asian countries remains low, but with a regional population that is roughly 60 percent of the world’s total, even low prevalence translates into large numbers of infected people

AIDS in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is the country in the Asian region with the lowest HIV prevalence rate.National HIV prevalence estimated at 0.1%. Only 337 AIDS deaths have been reported in the country including 18 children. 457 persons have been identified as HIV infected persons between 1989 to September 2013.

Finally, World AIDS Day is an opportunity for us to learn the facts about HIV and put our knowledge into action. So let us take World AIDS Day as a moment to commemorate, to reflect, and to move forward to a world free from the burden of AIDS

Note: My previous contribution to bring the AIDS Awareness in Sri Lanka was an article written in Tamil Language for the Whole Island Competition conducted among Students by Lions Club 306 A in Association with International Lions Club in 1996. It was awarded First Place.

Click here to view the snap shot about the Article:

News Items about the Awarding Ceremony  published in Virekesari, Sri Lanka