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Global HIV rates -

The statistics for global HIV rates are worrisome. Nearly 40 million people are living with the disease around the world.

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Children living with HIV -

Of these 40 million, 1.4 million are children under 15 years of age. Children living with HIV carry the highest risk of HIV-related deaths due to their underdeveloped immune systems. Pictured is a home for children living with HIV in Nepal. 

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Medications to manage disease -

Although there is no cure for HIV or AIDS, there are a series of medications that can help manage the disease and prevent its rapid progression.

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Antiretroviral therapy -

By 2023, 77% of people living with HIV were undergoing antiretroviral therapy, with nearly 72% of patients experiencing suppressed viral loads.

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HIV-related deaths reduced by 50% since 2004 -

Since 2010, HIV-related deaths have been reduced by 50% since the disease’s highest peak in 2004. This incredible feat is only possible due to the incredible strides made by international organizations and their local affiliates to increase testing and access to treatment.

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Millions have died -

During the peak of the HIV-AIDS crisis, millions suffered agonizing deaths due to untreated and unmanaged disease progression. Pictured is an AIDS patient in Thailand in 2001, struggling to stand while awaiting the distribution of medication. 

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US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -

In response to skyrocketing disease rates, in 2004, the United States created the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which completely changed how the disease was tested, treated, and managed for millions of people, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Pictured in the Coptic Hospital, located in Nairobi, Kenya, which has run on the basis of access to PEPFAR. 

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Dr. John Nkengasong -

Dr John Nkengasong (pictured) is a virologist who has spent decades working with HIV and AIDS patients throughout the African continent. Before PEPFAR went into effect, Nkengasong recalls a time in which patients and their caregivers, desperate for any treatment, were often left to watch their loved ones die.

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Pre-PEPFAR conditions -

Nkengasong references his infectious disease clinic, located in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where before PEPFAR, many patients lost their lives due to inadequate access to treatment.

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Absurd costs -

In the late-1990s, antiretroviral medication cost nearly US$10,000 annually. Of the 10 million people living with HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, only 50,000 were able to access treatment.

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Revolutionizing care and prevention -

PEPFAR has invested over $110 billion in HIV care and treatments, completely revolutionizing the delivery of care and prevention of disease acquisition. The US says the PEPFAR program saved the lives of more than 25 million people. 

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Looming crisis -

Less than two decades later, HIV rates had fallen by 70%. Today, there is a looming crisis around continued access to medication. Pictured is Uganda Young Positives (UYP), a key clinic in Uganda that improves the quality of life for young people living with the disease. They are facing cuts of up to 95% of the organization's programs, putting their operation at great risk. 

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Rising rates -

Experts fear the number of HIV-related deaths could increase by 600% just in the next five years. Declining rates of condom use and rising complacent sentiments on HIV and AIDS are contributing to the projected rise in infection rates. 

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What happens to the patient? -

How does HIV permeate the body? What happens when people stop taking medications that manage the disease? 

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Contracting HIV -

HIV (pictured under the microscope) is contracted through the spread of bodily fluids, including blood and semen. The disease targets the immune system, provoking a series of related diseases and infections that can cause death in the body of someone with a reduced immune capacity.

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Preventable deaths pre-PEPFAR -

Well over 20 million people died of the disease and its related conditions before PEPFAR was founded and antiretrovirals became accessible. Pictured is a PEPFAR-funded HIV testing clinic in Uganda in 2005.

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Virus begins to multiply -

When patients suddenly stop taking medication that helps them manage the disease, the virus quickly begins multiplying in the body.

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Resistant disease strains -

In addition to the risk of increased viral load, patients may also become resistant to treatments and medications that once helped manage their condition. This can also promote the proliferation of resistant disease strains. 

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Detectable blood levels after just a few weeks without medication -

When medication is stopped, HIV can be detectable in blood levels in just a few short weeks. This means partners may suddenly become at risk of contracting the disease.

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Mothers can pass infection to their children -

Expecting and nursing mothers living with HIV can only prevent the infection of their children by managing their own viral loads. Pictured is the Nsanje District Hospital in Malawi, where pregnant women seek HIV treatment to prevent their children from being infected. 

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Babies face risks -

Therefore, if an HIV-positive woman who is either pregnant or breastfeeding stops taking medication, their babies face a significant risk of contracting the disease. 

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Developing AIDS -

HIV has a very clear progression to the development of AIDS (pictured), which is often considered “the final stage of infection.” AIDS is much more difficult to manage than HIV and increases the risk of death.

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Average survival is three years without medication -

To put this into perspective, people living with AIDS tend only to survive approximately three years without access to HIV treatment.

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Challenges to testing and treatment -

The challenge in both achieving rapid diagnosis (self-testing kit pictured) and treatment is that symptoms are very often not immediately apparent.

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Spreading disease without knowing -

During the period in which someone is unaware of their condition, they can be spreading the disease to other people without their knowledge.

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Opportunistic diseases -

The violent attack on the immune system allows for what’s called “opportunistic diseases” to emerge, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, or fungal infections. Pictured is an AIDS patient suffering from pneumonia being taken to the hospital in an ambulance in Guatemala. 

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Especially deadly for those with AIDS -

Although infections like pneumonia carry a deadly risk for everyone, HIV positive or not, for those with compromised immune systems, the risk is extreme. 

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Regular medication -

For those living with HIV and AIDS, the vulnerability of their immune systems can only be managed through regular consumption of medication.

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Resistant strains -

When medication stops, resistant disease strains may emerge, making the disease even more difficult to manage and prevent the spread of. Pictured is a mother and son in India, both living with HIV, who are struggling to manage a resistant strain of the disease. 

Sources: (AP News) (World Health Organization)

See also: These HIV-positive stars lost their battle with AIDS

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