Life
HIV infection rate drops in Zambia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Zambia is among 22 other Sub-Saharan African countries that have seen their Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection rates dropping by 25 percent, a 2011 UN World AIDS Day report said. According to report which was released in Germany, Zambia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe are some of the 22 African countries who have seen a reduction in the incidences of HIV and AIDS recently.
United Nations under Secretary General Michel Sidibe said the reductions of HIV incidences in countries such as Zambia are an encouraging sign that more is being done to fight the disease.
Mr Sidibe said the declines in HIV infections are due to changes in sexual behaviour, mostly among youths and the increase in the use of condoms.
In launching the report at a press briefing on the sidelines of a High Level AIDS Experts Conference in Berlin, Mr Sidibe, also disclosed that global HIV infections dropped by 21 percent due to increased access to treatment.
He told journalists that there are about five million people on HIV treatment in the developing world and most of them are in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Further, Mr Sidibe said there was need for African countries to stop discriminating against gays and lesbians in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
He said African leaders should realize that criminalizing homosexuality works against efforts to fight the pandemic hence the need to reform laws on sexuality.
Mr Sidibe, who is also UNAIDS Executive Director, also said that there is need for countries to increase their allocation of money in their respective national budgets so that the fight against the disease can be enhanced.
According to the report, HIV prevalence among Zambian males reduced more than women but this is the opposite picture in countries such as South Africa and Lesotho were the prevalence rate among women dropped more than that of men.
The report has also noted that universal access to treatment among HIV and AIDS patients in Zambia has been achieved by coverage levels of between 70 and 80 percent.
The UN projects that if current efforts are increased in the fight against HIV and AIDS, infections will reduce by eight million and a further seven million deaths will be averted.
The global body estimates that at the end of last year, 34 million people were living with HIV worldwide and one point eight million people died of the disease in the same year.