Brussels, 26/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - In its adoption, on Monday 26 October, of its communication on the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Union and its neighbour countries, the European Commission has prorogued its strategy for the period 2009-2013. The strategy focuses on three main areas: prevention and screening, the most exposed priority groups and priority regions. It is accompanied by an action plan which indicates concrete measures, target groups and assessment tools which can be used to measure progress made. The global objectives of the strategy are as follows: (1) to reduce the number of new HIV infections in the countries by 2013; (2) to improve access to prevention, treatment, care and accompaniment; (3) to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS, those who are affected by the disease and the most vulnerable people within the European Union and its neighbour countries.
A European Commission press release stresses that HIV infection rates are particularly high in the neighbouring countries of the Union, quoting UNAIDS estimations: 940,000 cases in Russia and 377,000 in Ukraine. The exchange of best practice between countries- on prevention, screening, treatment and care- is therefore important, particularly in a period of budgetary restrictions. Cooperation and the transfer of knowledge, as represented by exchanges of doctors, nursing staff and public health experts, as well as sharing quality data, will help their colleagues to use modern methods of screening and treatment and reinforce surveillance.
As the Commission points out, the most decisive effects against the epidemic will be observed when the situation for the most-exposed populations has been effectively managed. The populations under the greatest threat in Europe are men who have sexual relations with other men, from which group came around 40% of the total of new infections registered within the Union, migrants from regions with high infection rates and intravenous drug users, in whom 70% of the total of new infections were observed in the neighbour countries of the Union. Policies specifically designed to reach these groups are vital if the epidemic is to be stemmed within Europe.
The number of people who are unaware that they are HIV positive is of particular concern. In the Union, 30% of people who are HIV positive do not know that they are infected and, in a number of neighbour countries, this proportion is as high as 70%. This is a serious problem for political decision-makers. A late diagnosis usually leads to late treatment and therefore to a reduction in life expectancy, lower quality of life and an increased risk of transmitting the virus to partners.
Between 2001 and 2007, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the Union and its neighbour countries rose from 1.5 to 2.2 million. About 730,000 of these are resident within the Union. The 50,000 new HIV positive cases diagnosed in 2007 in the Union and its neighbour countries alone show that there must be no let-up in efforts. (O.J./trans.fl)