About half of those eligible for treatment are now receiving it, with the most dramatic improvement in access seen in sub-Saharan Africa, which recorded a 20 per cent jump in people undergoing treatment between 2009 and 2010.
As a result of better access to healthcare, the number of AIDS-related deaths were also falling, said UNAIDS, the UN agency spearheading the international campaign against the disease.
In 2010, 1.8 million deaths were linked to AIDS, down from a peak of 2.2 million last seen in 2006.
“An estimated 700,000 AIDS-related deaths were estimated to have been averted in 2010 alone,” added the UN agency.
Not only is treatment helping to prevent new AIDS-related deaths but it is also contributing to a drop in new HIV infections.
Patients undergoing care were less likely to infect others, as prevention programmes coupled with treatments were proving effective.
Modelling data suggests that “the number of new HIV infections is 30 to 50 per cent lower now than it would have been in the absence of universal access to treatment for eligible people living with HIV.”In Namibia for instance, where treatment access reached an all-time high of 90 per cent and condom use rose to 75 per cent among men, the combined impact contributed to a 60 per cent drop in new infections by 2010, noted UNAIDS.
The UN agency added that the full preventive impact of treatment was likely to be seen in the next five years, as more countries reach high levels of treatment coverage.
“The massive increases in the numbers of people receiving treatment in South Africa between 2009 and 2010, for example, are likely to be reflected in substantially fewer new infections in the near future,” it said.
UNAIDS assessed that even if the AIDS epidemic is not over, “the end may be in sight if countries invest smartly.””In the next five years, smart investments can propel the AIDS response towards achieving the vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths,” it said.
However, the turning point is coming at a time when industrialised nations’
public budgets are being squeezed and translating to less international funding
for the AIDS response.
There've been rises which have been particularly noticeable in Victoria and Queensland. New South Wales is pretty steady and the numbers are much smaller in the other states but there have been some rises.
So all in all it adds up to a picture of just over a 1,000 a year which is not good enough.
Both Queensland and Western Australia reported their highest rates of HIV diagnosis last year with 5.3 and 4.2 per cent of every 100,000 people testing positive respectively.
Of the 21,500 people living with HIV in Australia, NAPWA estimates that 70 per cent are receiving anti-retroviral treatment. That's fewer people than in sub-Saharan African countries like Botswana and Rwanda which have achieved access to treatment rates of more than 80 per cent.
Well firstly I'd just caution that we don't have a lot of data on the number of people on treatment in Australia. It's not that strong. We think it's about 70 per cent but it could be percentages either way.
Given the new developments which we have in Australia, we've got much better and better drugs, they're more tolerated and also the fact that science is now telling us that much earlier treatment is probably the way to go, I think we need to get messages out there to people with HIV and indeed health professionals that they should think again about earlier treatment.
Mr Whittaker says rising infection rates could be a symptom of fatigue among agencies working to combat the virus.
Well this year marks 30 years of AIDS. Thirty years since AIDS was first reported and of course what you have to do with education and prevention programs is keep them going and that's hard to sustain over 30 years.
But I think we've got an opportunity now to really revitalise and even revolutionise our approach to prevention in Australia because we've got new science and new information which we can utilise to drive down the rate of new infections.
But Mr Whittaker says despite these advances, Australia will have to work hard to meet UN goals to scale up treatment and decrease the number of sexual transmissions of HIV to 50 per cent by 2015.
Well Australia played a pivotal role in negotiating that declaration of commitment which the UNAIDS and UN are following. So people are looking at Australia to set a strong example.
The spokesman for the National Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS Bill Whittaker ending Jessicah Mendes's report.
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