People living with HIV

There is widespread recognition that community responses to HIV need to be scaled-up, resourced at much higher levels and integrated into national AIDS plans if UNAIDS Fast-Track targets are to be met by 2020. A new report from UNAIDS and Stop AIDS Alliance provides a summary of existing evidence that shows how community responses result in positive health outcomes and improved quality of life for individuals and communities at large.

Communities deliver shows how community responses reach people in need of prevention, treatment and care through activities such as advocacy, financing, participation in accountability mechanisms, research and the delivery of services. The report provides a categorization of the different types of community responses to HIV and includes illustrative examples of each kind of community action from around the world.

The report is currently available in English and will soon be translated into French, Russian and Spanish.

A new book that tells the inspiring stories of 12 mothers living with HIV and their children born free of the virus has been launched at a community event near Polokwane in Limpopo province, South Africa, on the occasion of National Women’s Day (August 9). The book, Faces of an AIDS Free Generation in eastern and southern Africa, aims to promote the further uptake of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services to help prevent the transmission of HIV to children during pregnancy and early motherhood.

In recent years, there has been a rapid scale-up of PMTCT services in the region that has produced significant results. By the end of 2014, an estimated 88% of pregnant women living with HIV in eastern and southern Africa were accessing services to stop them transmitting the virus to their children. This has resulted in a 60% decline in the number of HIV infections among children between 2009 and 2014, from 230 000 to 93 000.

Despite this progress, there is still work to be done to achieve the targets of the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive. High levels of gender inequality, including gender-based violence and stigma, continue to make it difficult for many women to access sexual and reproductive health care services.

The book highlights the urgent need to further expand PMTCT services to make pregnancy and breastfeeding safer for women living with HIV, as more than 90% of new HIV infections among children occur when women are inadequately supported during pregnancy and early motherhood.

It also stresses the need for the rapid scale-up of paediatric testing and treatment to prevent AIDS-related deaths among children. Without knowing the HIV status of a child it is impossible for them to receive life-saving treatment. Just 38% of children living with HIV in eastern and southern Africa had access to antiretroviral medicines in 2014. Without treatment, half of all children born with HIV will die by the age of two and the majority will die by the age of five.  

Faces of an AIDS Free Generation in eastern and southern Africa is published with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation (Sida) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).

Liu Jiulong is the first person in China to complete an AIDS RIDE. This fundraiser and HIV awareness raising bicycling event has been popular in other countries like the USA for many years. However, in China, fear of stigma and discrimination has kept many people living with HIV from taking part in public events.

“Cycling promotes a healthy lifestyle and the AIDS RIDE is a good way to promote correct knowledge about HIV prevention to the general public,” said Liu Jiulong.

His mission was to use the challenge to eliminate ignorance, misunderstanding, fear and discrimination against people living with HIV. His odyssey began on 4 May in Nanchang city, his home town. He rode his bike for 3 000 km, cycling through 27 cities. He completed his journey in Beijing 43 days later. Liu Jiulong hosted  30 outreach  events during his trip, reaching 16 million people online.

Speaking about his accomplishment after crossing the finish line, he said, “There were so many people involved and I enjoyed the mutual support we gave each other.”

Life was anything but great in 2007 when Liu Jiulong was diagnosed with HIV. He was working at an advertising company in Beijing. “I thought I wasn’t going to live to be 35 years old. I felt worthless and also very guilty and bad towards my family,” said Liu Jiulong. He also experienced stigma and discrimination when people stoppedspeaking to him after learningabout his status.

He felt so desperate that he even tried to commit suicide. Eventually, with the support of caring doctors, nurses and volunteer supporters at the Beijing Youan Hospital he made it through those dark days and decided to move back to his home town. He founded an organization called “Love Service Station” to support people living with HIV in Nanchang City.

Liu Jiulong started taking antiretroviral treatment for HIV in 2009 and said it has changed his life, “With life-saving treatment, I’m in a good situation. I can complete the 3 000 km AIDS RIDE.”

Liu Jiulong wants other people living with HIV to know that with effective self-management of HIV and by taking antiretroviral treatment, they can improve the quality of their life. He is proud of his recent achievement, “It’s a great feeling.”

AIDS strategies and efforts must give greater priority to humanitarian emergencies and the millions of people affected by them, members of the UNAIDS governing body agreed at the thematic segment of the 36th meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB), which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, on 2 July.

New data presented at the thematic session by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNAIDS Secretariat estimate that of the 314 million people affected by humanitarian emergencies in 2013, 1.6 million people--or 1 in 22-- are living with HIV, and many thousands more are at risk.

“We are talking about incredible numbers of people and multiple layers of vulnerability. This is too big a scale and impact to ignore. We have to ensure that HIV prevention and treatment services are systematically integrated into emergency responses,” said Mr Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

The thematic session contemplated the vast and complex issue of HIV in emergency contexts, including the delivery of health and HIV services in the context of conflict situations, natural disasters, public health emergencies, displacement and migration. On protection issues, vulnerability to HIV due to sexual violence, human rights violations, restrictions, punitive laws and policies were topics of discussion. On resilience, participants talked about the need for community building and preparedness.

Panelists from a wide range of countries including Burundi, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Haiti, Lebanon, Liberia, Nepal, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ukraine told of the realities on the ground. They spoke of barriers and opportunities and gave examples of successful government and civil society efforts to address HIV in the wide variety of humanitarian emergency contexts.

In his keynote speech, former refugee Mr Noé Seisaba from Burundi, who founded the Stop SIDA organization that brings key HIV initiatives to refugee camps and settings, called for the community of people living with HIV to be involved in all aspects of planning and implementation. “I faced a lot of discrimination, but I broke my silence on HIV to try to make working on HIV a community issue and to show that we can intervene as refugees because we have a true understanding of the challenges and realities,” he said. “I am happy to see we are all talking about this issue, but I want to see concrete action.”

Many participants echoed that community involvement and empowerment of people living with and most affected by HIV are critical to achieve results for people in such difficult contexts. “If we are going to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, we have to shine light on root causes of vulnerability in humanitarian settings and increase action to promote respect for rights and basic humanitarian dignity,” said Mr George Okoth-Obbo, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations at UNHCR.

Cross-regional strategies were encouraged to enable maximum impact and coverage of people. The challenge of sexual violence in emergency settings and gender inequalities was highlighted as a fundamental issue to be given greater focus, action and investment.