The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said that both Central Asia and Europe have failed to tackle the HIV epidemic despite major advancement in the treatment and large scale awareness programs.
According to the WHO officials, about 136,000 people in Central Asia and Europe are becoming newly infected with the fatal AIDS causing HIV in 2013.
“Europe has not managed to reach the 2015 Millennium Development Goal target and time is running out. We cannot afford dropping our guard on AIDS-causing HIV,” WHO’s regional director Zsuzsanna Jakab said.
The combined report prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) showed 80 percent more new cases of HIV in 2013 as compared to the 2004 figures.
The health experts say these figures indicate that we are missing the crucial target of reversing the tide of HIV/AIDS in the region.
HIV, also known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus, defuncts the immune system of the patient, leading to a lifelong illness. As the HIV infection grows, it destroys the immune system completely and the end-stage is the development of the deadly Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The fatal virus spread through the sexual transmission, blood transfusion and breast feeding.
Of the total new HIV infections reported in the 53 nations of the WHO’s European region last year, over 105,000 were found in Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.