Today, as I clicked and read posts on World AIDS Day all across social media and the news, I realised that while it is part and parcel of my training to know about HIV/AIDs and the clinical aspects of it. I realised I did not know nearly enough about the history and how we have progressed over the years especially in public health terms.
So, I spent most of the day reading up on it.
What I have come to learn is that unlike many other epidemics or diseases, we as human beings could have dealt with this better. The WHO states that ‘Fear, stigma and ignorance’ were the main drivers of this disease. While I cannot blame fear at the very beginning because we lacked knowledge, information and we were driven by the fear to survive. Our failings came to the forefront when we identified the groups at risk and it being spread by sexual contact.
Essentially stigma stopped us from being able to apply the usual standards of disease control. It is appalling to think that fear, stigma and the ability to assign some form of fault/prejudice were such driving forces that we had to change our approach.
Thankfully, things have changed and we are at a point in time where there is a commitment globally to end it as a public health threat by the year 2030. The methods being used are improving identification by expanding testing, simplifying treatment as well as monitoring and of course pushing for prevention which has been demonstrated by ’low-income countries’ to be effective. One such example is how Ugandans have managed to half the rate of infections over a ten-year period by pushing for education and prevention methods.
While, there is still a lot to do. I think my take home message while not strictly a pubic health one today – is that we as people need to try hate a little less and not be afraid of difference. Perhaps things could have been easier if we as human beings could believe that regardless of circumstances everyone had the right to life.
I have linked some of articles below if you would like to have a read.
Links
Applying Public Health Principles to the HIV Epidemic
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmsb053133?fbclid=IwAR06y0hA1M4GsSlaDRFTTMHranhLRKL0bcRc8rVUmKu_MYLlWTbY6Utc6ns
WHAT IS HIV/AIDS? – Public Health
https://www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/hiv-aids/
The WHO public health approach to HIV treatment and care: looking back and looking ahead
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(17)30482-6/fulltext#seccestitle110
The WHO public health approach to HIV treatment and care: looking back and looking ahead
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(17)30482-6/fulltext
365 days of public health 