Press Release

33 million living with HIV - world not living up to promise on AIDS

Thursday, June 26 2008

Aid agencies, the UN and governments must work harder and faster, says Red Cross

Failure to halt the global pandemic of HIV and its impact on communities has lead to the virus being identified as a ‘world disaster’ in an independent report released by the Red Cross today.

According to UNAIDS statistics, almost seven thousand people contract HIV every day, which is the equivalent of four people becoming newly infected every minute. Without a major change in the epidemic’s trajectory, AIDS will claim millions more lives. Since 1981, more than 25 million people have died of AIDS, and some 33 million are currently living with HIV. The figures show the global response to HIV and AIDS has failed to keep pace with the spread of infection, despite the UN’s Millennium Development Goal to halt and begin reversing the trend by 2015.

“Eight years ago the world community agreed to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. Just over halfway towards that target, HIV continues to decimate communities, robbing families of breadwinners and leaving tens of thousands of children orphaned” said Matthias Schmale, Director of British Red Cross International Division.

The World Disasters Report calls HIV a long-term and complex disaster, which requires longer-term planning and better-targeted solutions. In regions with high HIV prevalence such as Southern Africa, the impact on education, health, childcare and economic development can be devastating: in South Africa, one in five young teachers is living with HIV; Botswana has lost 17% of health workers to the virus, and UNAIDS projects a 20% loss of the agricultural workforce across countries including Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe by 2020.

In the UK, the number of people living with HIV increased by 15% to 73,000 between 2005 and 2006. The International Monetary Fund has warned that some nations risk a downward spiral into subsistence economies in three or four generations.

Matthias Schmale added, "A concerted effort to tackle stigma and discrimination that HIV positive people are subjected to continues to be essential. In our own MORI poll, the British Red Cross discovered that 1 in 7 young people in the UK would not be willing to remain friends with someone who was HIV positive, and the figure for South Africa was 1 in 5. We must invest in long-term programmes that support HIV positive people and educate their communities. This will in turn encourage more people to come forward for testing, and help build community resilience."

The British Red Cross has been supporting such a project run by the South African Red Cross in the province of KwaZulu Natal, where HIV is rife and one fifth of children have been orphaned by the virus. The project works with community leaders to reduce stigma and increase awareness, and ensure that anti-retroviral treatment is used effectively.

A recent survey by the project, highlighted in the report, has enabled resources to be targeted more effectively and the findings will be used to replicate and extend the reach of programme. Some beneficiaries have in turn become volunteers, such as 30 year old Londiwe, who volunteers with the project’s home-based care programme, "A few months after taking the drugs I started to feel so much better. I thought then I should help other people like me who are worried they might have HIV and also talk more so that people can understand about HIV and we can prevent this.

"Some people can be very rude when they know you have HIV, not wanting to share a glass of water with me even. I want to explain to more people that this is not a problem."

The Report also calls for a higher priority for HIV in disaster management programmes, whether in preparedness and risk reduction, or during emergency response and recovery. Disruption of medical supplies can be life threatening, and lack of clean water can be especially dangerous to those with advanced HIV. Any situation that results in an increase in malnutrition, such as the current food security crisis, will speed up the progression of HIV and makes sufferers more prone to other diseases.

"This year's World Disasters Report is the first to focus on one condition and with good reason. For sub-Saharan African societies that are torn apart by HIV and for numerous marginalized groups worldwide, who are left to cope with death, disease and destitution, HIV is undoubtedly a disaster," said Matthias Schmale. "The humanitarian community must rise to the challenge of HIV, next to the further challenges thrown up by climate change, migration, and the culture of violence that is prevalent in many societies."

The Report not only analyses the enormous economic, social and intellectual toll of HIV and AIDS but also details the vast challenges the epidemic presents to governments, humanitarian organizations and local communities. HIV must be integrated as a cross-cutting issue in all forms of humanitarian assistance, including health care, nutrition, social programmes and security, whether in emergency operations, or in long-term developmental programmes. HIV, the Report contends, should not be set aside because other priorities seem to be more important.

"The scale of the problem may seem overwhelming, but inaction is not an option," said Matthias Schmale. "Through initiatives such as the South African Red Cross project in KwaZulu Natal, and the International Federation of the Red Cross HIV Global Alliance, we can tackle the rate of infection, expand support and care, and stigma and discrimination can be reduced globally."