UNAIDS: Declines in HIV infections among adults stalled


A new report by UNAIDS shows concerning trends in new HIV infections among adults. The Prevention gap report demonstrates that while significant progress is being made in stopping new HIV infections among, the decline in new HIV infections among adults has stalled.The report shows that HIV prevention urgently needs to be scaled up among this age group. Based on the results, an estimated 1.9 million adults have become infected with HIV every year for at least the past five years and that new HIV infections among adults are rising in some regions including Turkey. According to a press release, Eastern Europe and central Asia saw a 57% increase in annual new HIV infections between 2010 and 2015 and more than 80% of the region's new HIV infections in 2015 were in the Russian Federation. The report says that in the Middle East and North Africa, annual new HIV infections increased by 4% between 2010 and 2015."We are sounding the alarm," said Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "The power of prevention is not being realized. If there is a resurgence in new HIV infections now, the epidemic will become impossible to control. The world needs to take urgent and immediate action to close the prevention gap," Sidibe said. The AIDS epidemic has had a huge impact over the past 35 years. Since the start of the epidemic, 35 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses and an estimated 78 million people have become infected with HIV. Around the world, 36,7 million people have HIV infection. UNAIDS calls on implementers, innovators, communities, scientists, donors and others at the 2016 International AIDS Conference, taking place from 18 to 22 July, in Durban, South Africa, to close the prevention gap.