South Africa: An Ongoing Battle With Hiv
People who inject drugs can take precautions against becoming infected with HIV by using sterile injecting equipment, including needles and syringes, for each injection and not sharing drug-using equipment and drug solutions. Changes in procedures and assumptions for estimating the data and better coordination with countries have resulted in improved estimates of HIV and AIDS. HIV treatment the access to and uptake of antiretroviral treatment ART for children living with HIV has seen weaker progress compared to pregnant mothers living with the virus. In fact, the Health Department’s programme of prevention is called the “National HIV and AIDS and TB Programme”. In 2018, about 1. Women seeking temporary relief, shelter and amenable living conditions in acutely insecure contexts, making them potential targets for exploitation and human trafficking.
Exposure To Antiretroviral And Hiv Viral Load Suppression
In 2017, out of over 7.9 million people living with HIV, 4,402,000 were exposed to ART. A greater proportion of females than males living with HIV were on treatment. Half of the HIV-positive children aged 014 years were found to have been exposed to ARV. Exposure to ARV was highest among those aged 50 years and above , intermediate for 2549-year-olds , and lowest among youth . Among the 7.6 million Black Africans estimated to be living with HIV, 62.6% were found to be on treatment. The proportion of ARV exposure in other race groups was 51.3% . Geographically the KwaZulu-Natal Province had the highest number of people on ARV.
Among the 2994 people whose specimens tested HIV positive, 2946 had a viral load result available. Of those with a viral load result, 62.3% were virally suppressed . This implies that 37.7% of people living with HIV were not virally suppressed and thus more likely to transmit HIV during unprotected sexual intercourse. Viral load suppression was higher among females compared to males . Viral load suppression varied by age at 51.9% among those 014 years, 47.7% among 1524 years, 62.8% among 2549 years and 73.2% among those aged 50 years and older.
Study Design And Population
Data are from the Sibanye Health Project, a pilot study of the acceptability and uptake of a comprehensive combination package of HIV prevention services from 2015 to 2016. The process of developing the package of services has been previously described . The final package included condoms with condom-compatible lubricant choices, HIV testing with risk-reduction counselling, couples HIV testing and counselling, screening for sexually transmitted infections , pre-exposure prophylaxis for interested and eligible participants, and non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis for those with an exposure at high risk for transmission of HIV.
For the pilot study, MSM and TGW in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, South Africa were recruited from February to September 2015 through community outreach, MSM social gatherings and events, MSM dialogues at homes of peers, social media advertisements, contact of participants in previous prevention studies, walk in, utilization of MSM friendly organizations/clinics, networking and education about the project with major community stakeholders and referral by peers. All participants provided a written informed consent and agreed to participate in the research study and to have their samples used for research purposes.
Recommended Reading: Can Someone On Prep Transmit Hiv
With 75 Million People Living With Hiv How Has Climate Change And Covid
With 39 million deaths worldwide and still no known cure, HIV is a looming threat across the globe. The virus harms the immune system by attacking and destroying a type of white blood cell that helps fight infections, impeding the bodys ability to stay healthy and fight off infections effectively leaving the body with a compromised immune system.
As of 2021, antiretroviral therapy is an effective way to manage the virus and prevent spreading from person to person. However, the virus is still highly dangerous and continues to carry a stigma around the globe. With HIV still being a global issue, we have to understand what impact climate change is having on the virus.
Drugs And The Link To Hiv
Another important factor in the spread of HIV in prisons is drugs. Many inmates used drugs before going to jail and many continue inside, despite no-drugs policies.
“The continued use of drugs during incarceration has been associated with the increased spread of HIV,” says Claudia Shilumani, HIV/AIDS National Programme Officer at the UNODC office in Pretoria. “Using drugs may lead to unsafe sexual practices which in turn expose people to the virus. Therefore, our work to reduce drug abuse in prisons is another measure towards HIV prevention.”
One example of UNODC’s work in prisons can be found in the juvenile section of Leeuwkop prison, north of Johannesburg. Most of the inmates are there for drug-related offences – such as buying, selling or manufacturing drugs, or stealing to pay for a drug habit.
As with adult drug-users, most juvenile inmates continue their drug habits inside prison. Some Leeuwkop inmates got tired of living in cells with a lot of drug use, and decided, in partnership with UNODC, the NGO Khulisa and the prison authorities, to start two “drug-free cells.” To be eligible to stay there, inmates have to go through a basic drug awareness programme. They also sign a declaration, agreeing to obey 16 rules such as no smoking, no sodomy and no gangsterism, and they have to accept frequent, random drug tests.
Prisoners are locked in from 3 pm onwards and television helps to alleviate the chronic boredom.
You May Like: How Can We Cure Hiv
Hiv Still A Problem For Infants And Children
In 2021, it is estimated there were just over 8 300 cases of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. On the one hand, this is a dramatic improvement on the early 2000s when the number hovered at around 74 000. On the other hand, it seems remarkable that in 2022 something as preventable as mother-to-child transmission of HIV is still a substantial problem.
The details are interesting.
Of the over 8 300 cases of mother-to-child transmission in 2021, around 2 800 occurred at or before birth the majority, 5 600, occurred during breastfeeding. One likely explanation for this is that some women are contracting HIV in the months after having given birth and then transmission to their babies takes place before they are diagnosed and their HIV viral load can be brought under control using antiretroviral therapy.
Either way, HIV in children remains far from over. Around 238 000 children were living with HIV in 2021.
The Fluctuating Relationship Between Hiv Sex Work And Climate Change
The relationship between sex work and HIV rates is one that a number of reports have drawn attention to. Climate change, HIV and sex work are all inherently linked to one and other. An increase in global temperature will affect food security, therefore, increasing the number of people engaging in sex work to support themselves and others, while lacking access to appropriate contraceptive methods. The changing climate will literally increase HIV transmission, especially in the Global South.
Women seeking temporary relief, shelter and amenable living conditions in acutely insecure contexts, making them potential targets for exploitation and human trafficking. Sex work is a profession that is disproportionately held by women, and one that has the ability to place women in dangerous situations.
The disparity between the number of men and women involved in sex work is reflected in the numbers of HIV cases between men and women. As of 2020, 53% of all people living with HIV were women and girls.
As of 2020, 53% of all people living with HIV were women and girls
Also Check: How Likely Are You To Contract Hiv During Intercourse
Civil Society’s Role In South Africa
In March 2015 an estimated 136,453 civil society organisations were working in the South African HIV response. In 2017 a new civil society forum was created to provide a platform for civil society and government to work together in the HIV response. 116
One of the most visible civil societies is the Treatment Action Campaign , formed in 1998. TAC has been a driving force in the South African response, promoting access to HIV treatment and care for all South Africans. TACs first major success came in 2002, with the Constitutional Court ruling that the South African government must provide ARVs to prevent mother-to child-transmission.117 The organisation is currently campaigning to improve and strengthen the healthcare system.118
Funding is a major issue facing many civil society organisations. Drops in external funding are making civil society organisations more dependent on financing from the government. While domestic funding is a more sustainable model, the shift has increased competition amongst organisations, and is seen by some as undermining their ability to challenge government policy in their work.119
Successes In The South African Hiv Battle
It would be unfair to say that the picture has been all doom and gloom for South Africa. One of its major successes has been the reduction of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. With better surveillance at antenatal clinics and widespread use of prophylactic HIV medications, the rate of MTCT dropped from 8% in 2008 to 2.7% by 2012.
As a result, the HIV death rate has also dropped among children by 20%. Despite this, the implementation of antiretroviral therapy in children has fallen well behind that of adults, and over 70% of all maternal deaths in South Africa attributed to HIV.
Recommended Reading: How Long Does It Take For Hiv Symptoms To Show
Weve Made Progress Fighting Aids But Are Losing Ground Especially In Western And Central Africa
The United Nations classifies the AIDS crisis in Africa as an ongoing emergency, particularly in the western and central regions of the continent. UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima writes: The early gains made against HIV in this region have not been translated into the sustained progress that has been made in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
This area of Africa, which includes Burkina Faso, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Chad, and Democratic Republic of Congo, saw 150,000 AIDS-related deaths last year, representing approximately 21% of all deaths from AIDS-related illnesses worldwide. 2020 also saw 200,000 new infections of HIV in western and central Africa.
Despite the advances in treating HIV/AIDS, these gains have yet to reach the countries most affected in Africa. UNAIDS estimates 1.2 million people in the west and central countries of the continent are waiting on lifesaving HIV treatment. 65% of all children are not being treated. If we dont act now, not only will many more lives be lost, Byanyima cautions, but containing the AIDS pandemic will be more difficult and expensive in the coming years.
The early gains made against HIV in this region have not been translated into the sustained progress that has been made in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director
You May Like: How Long Do Hiv Symptoms Take To Show
Hiv Prevalence And Incidence In A Cohort Of South African Men And Transgender Women Who Have Sex With Men: The Sibanye Methods For Prevention Packages Programme Project
Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Corresponding author: Patrick S Sullivan, 1518 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States. Tel: +404 727 2038.
Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
School of Health Systems and Public Health, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
Corresponding author: Patrick S Sullivan, 1518 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States. Tel: +404 727 2038.
Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
School of Health Systems and Public Health, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Also Check: How Does Hiv Affect The Eyes
Hiv And Tuberculosis In South Africa
South Africa has the world’s sixth largest tuberculosis epidemic, and the disease is the leading cause of death in the country.120 South Africas HIV epidemic fuels the TB epidemic because people living with HIV are at a far higher risk of developing TB due to weakened immune systems. It is estimated that 60% of people living with HIV in South Africa are also co-infected with TB. In 2017 there were 193,000 new cases of TB among people living with HIV and 56,000 people living with HIV died due to a TB-related illness.121
In light of this, the South African National AIDS council combined the HIV and STI strategy with the national TB strategy to improve the integration of these two services. One of the aims of this strategy is to get more people living with HIV on isoniazid preventative therapy , a preventative medicine for TB.122 But as of 2017, only around half of people living with HIV in the country had access to IPT.123
The TB treatment success rate has improved in recent years, and stood at 83% in 2016.124
We cannot fight AIDS unless we do much more to fight TB.
Latest Data On Hiv Prevalence In South Africa
The World Bank and United Nations source their data on HIV prevalence from Statistics South Africa.
According to Statistics South Africa‘s mid-year population estimates for 2018, the total HIV prevalence rate for the country is 13.1%. The HIV prevalence rate for all adults aged 15 to 49 is 19.0%.Statistics South Africa estimates the number of deaths attributable to AIDS in 2017 as 126,755 or 25.03% of all South African deaths.
A 2008 study revealed that HIV/AIDS infection in South Africa was distinctly divided along racial lines: 13.6% of Black Africans in South Africa are HIV-positive, whereas only 0.3% of Whites living in South Africa have the disease. False traditional beliefs about HIV/AIDS, which contribute to the spread of the disease, persist in townships due to the lack of education and awareness programmes in these regions. Sexual violence and local attitudes toward HIV/AIDS have also amplified the epidemic.
Also Check: What State Has The Most Hiv Cases
The History Of Aids In Africa
It all started as a rumour Then we found we were dealing with a disease. Then we realised that it was an epidemic. And, now we have accepted it as a tragedy. Chief epidemiologist in Kampala, Uganda
There is now conclusive evidence that HIV originated in Africa. A 10-year study completed in 2005 found a strain of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus in a number of chimpanzee colonies in south-east Cameroon that was a viral ancestor of the HIV-1 that causes AIDS in humans.
A complex computer model of the evolution of HIV-1 has suggested that the first transfer of SIV to humans occurred around 1930, with HIV-2 transferring from monkeys found in Guinea-Bissau, at some point in the 1940s .
Studies of primates in other continents did not find any trace of SIV, leading to the conclusion that HIV originated in Africa.
The 1960s- Early cases of AIDSExperts studying the spread of the epidemic suggest that about 2,000 people in Africa may have been infected with HIV by the 1960s. Stored blood samples from an American malaria research project carried out in the Congo in 1959 prove one such example of early HIV infection.The 1970s The first AIDS epidemicIt was in Kinshasa in the 1970s that the first epidemic of HIV/AIDS is believed to have occurred. The emerging epidemic in the Congolese capital was signalled by a surge in opportunistic infections, such as cryptococcal meningitis, Kaposis sarcoma, tuberculosis and specific forms of pneumonia.
Confusion, stigma and despondence
Why Hiv Has Spread So Rapidly In Sub
AIDS , the deadly disease caused by HIV has plagued the Sub-Saharan African countries more than any other region in the world. From the statistical reports of 2006, it was found that almost two-thirds of the total HIV infected population of the world and three-fourth of the total deaths due to AIDS are from this region. It is also reported that in 2006 alone, 1.9 million people were added to the list of those infected with the deadly retrovirus. The economic instability, the lack of education, and improper health care facilities all attribute to the spread of the epidemic in the region which is set to rise in the coming years. The disease in return would reciprocate its own deadly consequences upon the social and economic conditions of the region .
Information, Education, and Communication activities regarding HIV/AIDS play a vital role in creating awareness among the people of the region. They do so by a number of activities such as conducting street plays and role-play skits, involving high profile celebrities in creating awareness, displaying hoardings and posters, conducting discussions on radio and televisions. However, these messages are highly irrelevant to the poverty-stricken people as they do not have the resources to do what they are urged to do. Thus, unless the socio-economic conditions of the poor are not realized and improved their behaviors are unlikely to change.
Recommended Reading: Who Is Most Likely To Contract Hiv
You May Like: My Hives Won T Go Away
Preventing Hiv Transmission From Pregnant Women To Children
The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS reported that the following sixteen African nations in 2012 “ensure that more than three-quarters of pregnant women living with HIV receive antiretroviral medicine to prevent transmission to their child”: Botswana, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, São Tomé and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Aids Crisis In Africa: 5 Things To Know In 2021
2021 marks the 40th anniversary since the first cases of AIDS were reported in 1981. This World Aids Day, were taking a look at the state of the AIDS crisis in Africa, and what needs to happen now to finally end this four-decade pandemic.
Forty years since the first AIDS cases were reported in 1981, HIV still threatens the world, which is off-track to deliver on its commitments to end AIDS by 2030.
The HIV pandemic is even at risk of a resurgence, not because of a lack of knowledge or tools, but because of structural inequalities that obstruct proven solutions to HIV prevention and treatment, especially in key areas of Africa.
That doesnt mean all hope is lost. Here are 5 things to know about the AIDS crisis in Africa in 2021, including where were falling short, whats been done to get us back on track, and what we still need to do.
Learn more about Concerns work with those left furthest behind in the AIDS crisis
Read Also: What Is The Diffrence Between Hiv And Aids