Women at AIDS risk
15/07/04 13:56 Filed by Saswat Pattanayak in:
Reference
Lets have a fresh look at the AIDS epidemic:
* The epidemic remains extremely dynamic, growing
and changing character as the virus exploits new
opportunities for transmission.
* Girls and young women are at greatest risk. As of
December 2003, women accounted for nearly 50% of
all people living with HIV worldwide, and for 57%
in sub-Saharan Africa.
* Young people (15–24 years old) account for half
of all new HIV infections worldwide; more than 6000
contract the virus each day.
* The 2001 UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS
envisions major progress in delivering
comprehensive care services by 2005. However, only
minimal coverage has been achieved for care and
treatment of HIV-related disease. Current
prevention efforts in most low- and middle-income
countries come nowhere near the scale of the
epidemic.
* Achieving the 2005 targets will require urgent,
innovative and expanded efforts to strengthen and
accelerate the response.
The
UN report just released is alarming, to say the
least.
Tags: Saswat, Health, News, Feminism