UNAIDS Gap Report 2014

UNAIDS released its 2014 Gap Report today. One shocking statistic revealed in the report is that 19 million of the 35 million people living with HIV globally do not know they are HIV positive. Lack of access to healthcare services directly contributes to this statistic. Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, said, “Whether you live or die should not depend on access to an HIV test.” It is essential that access to services be expanded. Those who test positive often seek care to become healthy. In sub-Saharan Africa, 87% of people who tested positive for HIV accessed antiretroviral therapy (ART). Furthermore, for every 10% increase in treatment coverage there is a 1% decrease in the percentage of new infections among those living with the virus.

Despite limited access to care in some areas, the number of HIV positive people who had access to lifesaving antiretroviral therapy (ART) has continued to increase. At the end of 2013, 12.9 million HIV positive people had access to ART, compared to just 5 million who received the medication in 2010. Since 2001, new HIV infections have decreased by 38 percent and AIDS-related deaths have fallen by 35 percent since 2005. The report highlights summarizes the current HIV/AIDS landscape while calling on the international community to strengthen its commitment to ending the disease. Sidibé said, “We have a fragile five-year window to build on the rapid results that been made. If we accelerate all HIV scale-up by 2020, we will be on track to end the epidemic by 2030. If not, we risk significantly increasing the time it would take – adding a decade, if not more.” Hope Through Health (HTH) is proud to work in northern Togo, where prevention and treatment services for HIV were unavailable before 2004 when HTH was founded. Since then, we have provided care to thousands of adults and children living with HIV/AIDS. While HIV has become less of a threat, the 2014 UNAIDS report illustrates the importance of our work and the necessity of support from the international community in the fight against AIDS. We are hopeful that HIV infections and deaths will continue to fall worldwide in the years to come and encourage you to support our work and the work of other organizations striving to end HIV/AIDS. For more information, please review the 2014 UNAIDS Gap Report here.