"It's hard to explain the urgency of the HIV problem to people in other parts of the world. They don't see dramatic images in the media of people dying en masse, like in wars or natural disasters. People with AIDS die slowly, they die unnecessarily, and they often die without any public outcry. I want people to see that HIV/AIDS is not over yet." - Gilles Van Cutsem, MSF doctor, South Africa
Today, 9.6 million people with HIV/AIDS are on lifesaving treatment, antiretroviral drugs cost a fraction of what they used to, many more testing and treatment centres exist, and new models of care are bringing treatment closer to patients. Where people are able to access these services, the number of new infections is declining each year.
These positive achievements have turned what used to be a death sentence into a manageable chronic disease -- for those on treatment.
Yet we cannot forget that the epidemic continues to claim 1.6 million lives each year. Today, according to new guidelines by WHO, more than 18 million people still need to be put on treatment. In many countries in southern Africa, HIV/AIDS remains the number one killer of adults, leaving many children to grow up as orphans. HIV/AIDS continues to destroy lives and communities in a shocking way.
Over the last few years, we hear increasingly that the end of the AIDS epidemic is within reach. But in order to achieve this, further progress cannot be limited or blocked by too slow implementation of effective strategies to fight HIV. There are also worrying signs that the commitment of world leaders to fight HIV/AIDS is stagnating. Important donor institutions face stark funding shortfalls, which prevent the ambition to put more people on treatment.
In some countries affected by the HIV-epidemic, the situation is still critical. A failure to recognise this will put at risk the plans to make treatment available to more people, and will hinder the introduction of measures which have been proven to effectively prevent the spread of disease.
We invite you to open your eyes to what we see on a daily basis in countries we work in, such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, South Africa and Myanmar. SUBSCRIBE HERE: bit.ly/15M9M8v
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare.
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EYEWITNESS - • EYEWITNESS Watch MSF's "eyewitness" testimony from the frontline of humanitarian emergencies across the world.
THE REACH OF WAR - • The Reach of War
In late 2013, MSF sent to record “a day in the life” of the brutal, relentless conflict in Syria - to collect imagery and narratives that might foster a deeper understanding of the reach of this war.
MONTH IN FOCUS - • Month in Focus
Each and every month, watch the latest news from our projects around the world and see what we really do.
HIV/AIDS: See What We See - • HIV/AIDS: See What We See
Today, 9.6 million people with HIV/AIDS are on lifesaving treatment, antiretroviral drugs cost a fraction of what they used to. However, this is not the full picture - See What We See exposes the reality of HIV/ AIDS as experienced by MSF.
EVERYDAY EMERGENCY - • Everyday Emergency
For decades, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been in the grip of an emergency. Violence in its eastern provinces are an everyday occurrence that has torn the country apart and left millions dead.
TUBERCULOSIS - What is it? • Tuberculosis - What is...
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most deadly infectious diseases in the world. Each year it kills 1.4 million people with nearly another nine million suffering from the disease, mainly in developing countries. Find out what it is, how the body reacts, and what MSF are doing combat this deadly disease.
WHERE WE WORK - We work in more than 60 countries across the world - Learn more about our work at msf.org.uk
SYRIA - • Syria
SOUTH SUDAN - • Sudan & South Sudan
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - • Central African Republic
DR CONGO - • DRC