Ending stigma and HIV transmission
By Dr Julia Makinde is a Research Associate with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative at Imperial College London
It is estimated that there are 36.7 million people living with HIV globally with 1.8 million new infections in 2016 alone (1). This number represents an 11% drop in the number of new infections from 2010 . Some might consider this an achievement or a testament to the impact of strategic national and global policies aimed at tackling the epidemic. But in reality, these numbers mask the discrepant pace in the effort to tackle transmission and AIDS-related deaths in countries across the globe. UNAIDS recently reported a steep decline in new infections in sub-Saharan Africa against an alarming increase in the number of new infections in eastern Europe and central Asia in the same period (2). In the UK where the HIV burden is considerably lower, the number of new infections has been steadily falling (3). The reasons for these differences are complex and certain socio-economic factors have the potential to undermine the global effort to tackle transmission.