Shiela Tlou

The Church's response to AIDS in Africa

Transcript

1. The Church's Response to AIDS in Africa: What More Can be Done Prof. Sheila Tlou Director UNAIDS Regional Support Team for ESA
2. The HIV epidemic in Eastern and Southern Africa in 2012 18.5 million people living with HIV 2.1 million children living with HIV 1.1 million new HIV infections 750,000 AIDS related deaths
3. Catholic  Church  has  played  a  significant  role  in   the  AIDS  response   •  Leadership  at  community  level  to  ensure  a   sustained  response  to  HIV   •  Inspiring  and  mo8va8ng  communi8es  for   behavior  change…..  Youth  increasingly  taking   leadership  to  support  youth  programs.   •  Refining  and  implemen8ng  some  of  most   innova8ve  approaches  to  behavior  change,  eg.   Stepping  Stones  Program  
4. Catholic  Church…ensuring  a  sustained  response   to  HIV     •  Progressive  religious  leaders  have  played  a  cri8cal   role  in  speaking  up  for  those  who  are  HIV+  or  are   marginalized…s8gma  and  discrimina8on   •  Leadership  has  helped  communi8es  to  develop   their  own  responses  within  their  local  contexts.     •  Care  and  support  services  for  those  in  need   •   Service  provision  through  church  health  centres    
5. UNAIDS  and  FBOs   •  The  UNAIDS–FBO  strategic   framework  is  the  result  of  an  18-­‐ month  consulta8on  process   between  the  UNAIDS  Secretariat   and  Cosponsors,  many  FBOs,   networks  of  people  living  with   HIV,  government  representa8ves   and  technical  experts  during   2008–2009   •  Encourages  partnership  between   UNAIDS  and  FBOs  to  achieve   universal  access  to  preven8on,   treatment,  care  and  support  
6. Progress  made  in  reducing  sexual  transmission  of   HIV  by  50%  by  2015   •  Rate of new infections has declined by 50% between 2001 and 2013 •  Need to be further reduced to 0.3% by 2015 •  Almost half (1.1 of 2.3 million) of all new HIV infections occurred in ESA region in 2012 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 HIV  Incidence  (%) Data source: UNAIDS 2013
7. New child infections in eastern and southern Africa •  PMTCT coverage in 2012: 75% [70 – 82%] •  Estimated number of new child infections has fallen by 65% since its peak Data source: UNAIDS 2013
8. 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 Number  of    people  receiving  ART   (Millions) Reach  15  million  people  living  with  HIV  with  ART   by  2015   •  Good progress made in scaling up ART in Eastern and Southern Africa •  By end of 2013, more than 6.4 million people living with HIV in ESA were receiving ART ….75% (but only 42% using 2013 WHO Guidelines) •  Majority of countries revising treatment plans in accordance with new 2013 WHO treatment guidelines Data source: UNAIDS 2013
9. Survival  of  people  on  ART   0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Number  of  people  living  with  HIV   (Millions) Most countries in the region have shown an increase in life expectancy •  In South Africa, life expectancy has increased from 57 years in 2010 to 60 years in 2012 because of ART expansion •  In an area severely infected with HIV in South Africa, life expectancy increased by 11.3 years between 2003 and 2011, from 49.2 to 60.5 years because of ART (Bor J, et al. Science 2013)
10. Treatment  coverage  for  children  infected  with  HIV  in   Eastern  and  Southern  Africa  
11. TB  deaths  in  people  living  with  HIV  by  50%  by   2015   Number of HIV/TB deaths in ESA Data source: UNAIDS 2012
12. More  can  be  done:  Stepping  Up  the  Pace     -­‐    Speak  up  to  ensure  that  ending  AIDS  remains  part  of   the  post  2015  agenda…to  ensure  that  progress  made  is   sustained.   -­‐  Strengthen  partnerships  in  countries  that  are  lagging   behind,  ensuring  that  progress  is  maintained  in  those   that  have  made  good  progress   -­‐  Support  a  comprehensive  HIV  preven8on  that  leaves   no  one  behind  irrespec8ve  of  gender,  sexual   orienta8on,  economic  standing,  etc..esp  adolescent   girls  
13. But  more  can  be  done:   -­‐  Invest  in  ART  to  treat  and  prevent  HIV  infec8ons   -­‐  Mobilize  communi8es  for  VMMC,  ART,  paediatric   treatment,  which  is  lagging  behind     -­‐  Work  communi8es  to  define  ways  to  eliminate   gender  based  violence,  child  marriages,  s8gma   and  discrimina8on     -­‐  Ensure  that  good  M&E  systems  are  in  place  to   monitor  progress   -­‐  Advocate  for  ‘Ending  the  AIDS  epidemic”,  and   Ge`ng  to  Zero        
14. VISION ZERO  NEW  HIV  INFECTIONS.   ZERO  DISCRIMINATION.   ZERO  AIDS-­‐RELATED  DEATHS.