CANADA: The WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that overlapping crises of Covid-19, inflation and cuts to foreign aid by healthy countries are accelerating health inequality and disrupting health services.
In his keynote address to the "health equity for all" portion of the 24th International AIDS Conference, also known as AIDS 2022, Tedros warned that rising inequality might undo ten years of achievement in the fight against HIV.
Tedros said, the wealth gap is widening in practically every nation and the issue in the cost of living is pushing more people into poverty. "Access to life-saving preventative techniques, testing, and treatment, whether for HIV, Covid-19, and now monkeypox, too frequently depends on chance: where you were born, the colour of your skin, and how much money you make." he said.
The WHO Director urged donor countries to continue providing money for international health.
Leaders in the global HIV community issued a warning that the fight against HIV is losing ground. The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) reported that in 2021, there were approximately 1.5 million more new HIV infections than the worldwide targets. The UNAIDS research also revealed that in 2021, the number of persons receiving HIV treatment grew more slowly than it had in the previous more than ten years.
The completely hybrid AIDS 2022 conference, with the subject "re-engage and follow the science," will be held in Montreal, Canada, from July 29 to August 2. More than 9,500 in-person and over 2,000 virtual participants have registered to participate.
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