1 December 2020
Hollywood star Rock Hudson was the first major celebrity known to have died from AIDS-related complications, in 1985.
Proving that fame, wealth and power are no barrier in the face of HIV/AIDS is the long list of superstars who have since succumbed to the disease, including actor Anthony Perkins (Psycho), Queen singer Freddie Mercury, tennis great Arthur Ashe, entertainer Liberace, supermodel Gia Carangi, Brady Bunch patriarch Robert Reed, ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev, actor Brad Davis (Midnight Express), Aussie entertainer Peter Allen, rapper Eazy-E and muso Tom Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival).
20 Australians are diagnosed with HIV each week. By 2017, 27,545 Australians were believed to be living with the virus.
Today, December 1, is World AIDS Day and the theme for Australia in 2020 is ‘Now More Than Ever’. World AIDS Day aims to encourage Australians to educate themselves and others about HIV; to take action to reduce the transmission of HIV by promoting prevention strategies (there is good information at
https://www.afao.org.au/about-hiv/hiv-prevention/); and to ensure that people living with HIV can participate fully in the life of the community, free from stigma and discrimination.
The HIV virus that causes AIDS is believed to be the result of cross-species immunodeficiency virus transmission in Africa dating back to the 1920s (human hunters became infected after eating chimpanzees).
The chimps themselves had caught the strain (almost identical to HIV) from eating two smaller infected monkey species – red-capped mangabeys and greater spot-nosed monkeys.
By the 1970s HIV/AIDS had spread to the US, with the first cases reported in 1981.
Today, more than 70 million people worldwide have been infected by HIV and 35 million have died from AIDS since the pandemic began.
In 2019, around 38 million people globally were living with HIV/AIDS and 690,000 had died from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the world’s current HIV cases.
The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously impacted the AIDS response in sub-Saharan Africa and could disrupt it more. A six-month complete disruption in HIV treatment could cause more than 500,000 additional deaths in the region over the next year.
According to UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), almost 40 years into the response AIDS is still the leading cause of death worldwide for women aged between 15 and 49 years and around 6000 young women aged between 15 and 24 years acquire HIV every week.
An UNAIDS report highlights that outside of sub-Saharan Africa, most women at risk of HIV belong to marginalised communities, such as sex workers, IV drug users, transgender women and women in prison. However, gender inequality, stigma and discrimination, criminalisation, violence and other human rights violations continue to prevent them from accessing the services they need. The report says laws and policies need to be reformed in order to end harmful criminalisation and coercive practices based on people’s sexuality, sexual activity, HIV status and gender.
The report also shows that knowledge of HIV prevention remains worryingly low, particularly among women and girls. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region most affected by HIV, seven out of 10 young women did not have comprehensive knowledge about HIV. Lack of education plays a big part in this.
Although there is still no cure for HIV or AIDS, a person with HIV who receives treatment early can live a similar life expectancy to someone without the virus. And a study in 2019 in the medical journal, Lancet, showed that an anti-viral treatment effectively halted the spread of HIV.
The World Health Organization joins partners in paying tribute to all those working to provide HIV services, and in calling on global leaders and citizens to rally for “global solidarity” to maintain essential HIV services during COVID 19 and beyond.
WHO says it is a call to focus on vulnerable groups who are already at risk and expand coverage to children and adolescents.
And in 2020, the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, it is also a call for more protection and support to these health workers who have long been on the frontline of HIV service delivery.
On World AIDS Day, several Adelaide CBD landmarks will light themselves up red to acknowledge AIDS Awareness Week. This includes city fountains, Adelaide Oval and parkland rotundas.
2020's Red Ribbon Appeal will be held in several locations around the CBD. This year instead of having one large appeal, the World AIDS Day organisers have worked with local businesses to provide the opportunity to pick up a red ribbon or other AIDS Awareness Week merchandise from their business.
Show your support for people with HIV on World AIDS Day by wearing a red ribbon, the international symbol of HIV awareness and support.
Sources:
http://www.worldaidsday.org.au
https://www.history.com
https://www.afao.org.au
https://www.who.int
https://www.unaids.org