The United Nations (UN) has declared their commitment to ending the AIDS epidemic in New York City by the year 2030. In the UN’s General Assembly High-Level Meeting several leaders from the world assured their commitment to the cause.
Thanks to a time-scheduled plan, the UN along with its participants, aim to take actions to end the epidemic, and make an effort to fulfill the majority of them as early as 2020. As a goal, they have ten years to eliminate the disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1.2 million Americans are infected with HIV and 1 out of 8 people in the country are currently unaware of their infection. The LGBT community, and African Americans are the most affected by the disease.
1,218,400 subjects between the ages of 13 and older suffer from the disease. These current numbers have increased over the past decade. According to data provided by the CDC, around 13,712 people died from the illness in 2012.
Now, the UN has declared their commitment to end the epidemic of the disease. The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has assured the positive response of Un members with the cause.
“All stakeholders must now step up to the plate. Today is the day that we collectively say that we will end the AIDS epidemic by 2030,” said the General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft.
Fighting an epidemic
The United States announced during the High-Level meeting a $100 million support for the cause and it would be directed to reduce discrimination and stigma for HIV populations and prove a better access to treatment.
The meeting gathered almost 600 participants that included government officials, ministers, city society representatives and international public figures. The meeting also included researchers and scientists of HIV.
During the meeting, several plans were discussed to address the cause and to provide a transformation of the HIV-affected community. Sexual education is a must when it comes to fighting HIV, attendants of the meeting assured the matter as one of the main plans to reduce HIV by 2030.
With the slogan Start Free, Stay Free, Aids-Free the UN is holding an extensive awareness campaign to educate those communities that tend to be more affected by the infection.
Early diagnosis, plays one of the most important roles in patients with the disease, to create awareness of the infection and provide patients a safer and healthier life; while being conscious of their condition.
Symptoms of HIV include high fever, chills, rashes, night sweats, muscle aches, sore throat, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes and mouth ulcers. Symptoms can present in the first few days to weeks.
Testing for HIV may result inconclusive within the first few days of having the disease. Unawareness of the infection can cause a wider spread of HIV by different methods such as sexual intercourse, blood transfusions, and body perforation.
Source: UN Aids