Brussels, 01/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - To mark World AIDS Day, European Health Commissioner John Dalli addressed the issue of AIDS screening at a seminar in the European Parliament on Wednesday 1 December. The Lisbon-based European Drugs Agency (EMCDDA) has just published guidelines for AIDS screening of injecting drug users, a group particularly affected by viral infections such as HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis. Early detection is vital for early treatment and increasing life expectancy, as estimates show that about one third of people infected with HIV in Europe are unaware they have the illness, the European Commission reports. “HIV and AIDS have been causing great suffering to people and communities across the world for more than a quarter of century. Testing is an important first step to fight the virus. Today is the time to build up momentum; and strengthen our commitment to fight this terrible disease,” Dalli stated.
To tackle AIDS on a global scale, European Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs recently announced a 10% increase in contributions to the Global Fund to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, to which the EU is already the largest donor, providing 52% of resources. The increase will see the Commission contribute around €1.3 billion over the period 2002-2013.
Despite the overall decrease in the number of new infections, the total number of people living with HIV worldwide continues to grow and now stands at 33.4 million. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the worst affected region, accounting for 71% of all new HIV infections in 2008. (O.J./transl.rt