News & Media > BHIVA cautions on access to testing, treatment and prevention as new Lancet study highlights plummeting global HIV deaths and infections
Tuesday 22 July 2014
Commenting on findings published in The Lancet today (22 July 2014)1, that progress against HIV between 1990 and 2013 has exceeded expectations, and that globally, new HIV infections continue to fall year on year, BHIVA Chair, Dr David Asboe, said:
"These findings are naturally very welcome. However, while globally, new HIV infections among adults have decreased by 2.4% each year since 2000, we remain extremely concerned about increasing numbers of new infections in some populations. In the UK, this includes men who have sex with men (MSM), where the number of new infections diagnosed between 2011 and 2012 rose by 10%.
"In addition, despite the proven success of testing, prevention and treatment, access to these initiatives is by no means universal. It is crucial that funding is expanded to account for the lifetime nature of HIV treatment, and as the Melbourne Declaration at AIDS 2014 highlights, restriction of access, especially through laws that criminalise and stigmatise those most at risk of HIV infection, may yet bring about a reversal of the significant progress reported in The Lancet today."
1 Global, regional and national incidence and mortality for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria during 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. The Lancet, 22 July 2014
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About BHIVA
Founded in 1995, BHIVA is a well-established organisation which is committed to providing excellence in the care of those living with and affected by HIV. It acts as a national advisory body to professions and other organisations on all aspects of HIV care. BHIVA also provides a national platform for HIV care and contributes representatives for international, national and local committees dealing with HIV care. In addition, BHIVA works to promote undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education within HIV care. Visit www.bhiva.org for more information about BHIVA, and follow us on Twitter @BritishHIVAssoc