HIV infection rates are falling in many African countries, and effective drugs are increasing the life expectancy of patients. But the coronavirus pandemic has meant a major setback in the fight against AIDS.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, more than half of the people under Gilbert Tene’s care have stopped coming in for their regular checkups, the doctor, who works with AIDS patients at Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services, told DW. “Patients are reluctant to come to the hospital,” Tene said. “We need those patients at the hospital to keep on counseling, to provide them with drugs and to provide them with any other support,” he said.
HIV-positive people with access to the right kind of drugs can live for decades without developing AIDS. Going without such medication, however, can be lethal. The South African doctor Zolelwa Sifumba said she witnessed such tragedy daily. “Members of the communities die in hospitals, leaving others afraid to seek medical care,” said Sifumba, who tends to patients in the Kwazulu-Natal province. “Those that missed follow-up dates of previously well-controlled conditions like HIV, TB and other conditions come in now dying, because they came in late for multiple reasons, including the lockdown.”
This is even more apparent in countries that had recently made great strides in combating HIV. In 2018, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) reported the number of new infections in the Eastern and Southern Africa region had dropped by 30% from 2010 to 2017.
Source: Deutsche Welle
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This project was funded in part through a U.S. Embassy grant. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the implementers/authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Government.
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