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WHO proposed new principles that will help reduce the spread of HIV infection among certain population groups
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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The World Health Organization noted that if it is not possible to implement the necessary measures for the prevention and treatment of the category of people at risk (homosexuals, prisoners, drug addicts, prostitutes, transsexuals), then world progress in the fight against AIDS will be threatened.
Individuals at risk are at high risk of contracting HIV, but they are less likely than others to have access to essential HIV prevention, diagnosis and treatment services.
In some countries, these categories of people are outside the national AIDS program, mainly due to the laws.
WHO on the eve of the International AIDS Conference, which took place on July 20 in Australia, presented a publication that contains the basic principles for the prevention, testing and treatment of people at risk.
In the new compendium, WHO offers countries a number of activities that will help reduce the number of new infections and increase access to diagnosis and treatment of people at risk.
WHO offers a large number of clinical recommendations, but they will require a change in the legal sphere, as the laws of some countries prevent access of certain groups of the population to similar kinds of services.
WHO for the first time recommended homosexuals for prevention from HIV not only to use a condom, but also to consider the possibility of taking antiretroviral drugs. This measure arose on the basis that among homosexuals the highest rates of HIV infection remain, regardless of where they live.
According to calculations, HIV prevention among homosexuals at the primary level will help reduce the spread of infection by 20%.
Studies show that prostitutes are 14 times more likely to contract HIV than other women, homosexuals - 19 times, and transsexuals and addicts - 50 times.
Specialists note that citizens from the risk group do not remain in isolation, prostitutes and their clients have families, children, live a normal life. The inability to provide appropriate services to citizens at greatest risk of HIV infection reduces global efforts to fight the epidemic to zero and jeopardizes the health and lives of other segments of the population.
According to new data, the improvement of methods of HIV prevention is extremely necessary, since all methods used to date show insufficient effectiveness, despite the fact that due to antiretroviral therapy it was possible to reduce mortality among HIV-infected people by 20%.
National efforts to combat the spread of HIV leave little or no consideration for the needs of people at risk. Only 70% of countries provide services for the prevention and diagnosis of HIV infection to homosexuals, 40% - to drug addicts, transsexuals are almost ignored when planning methods to combat the spread of HIV. However, it is not always possible for certain categories of persons to have the real opportunity to receive the necessary assistance, despite legislative acts.
In some countries of Eastern Europe, drug addicts leave almost half of all HIV-infected people, but only 1/3 of them have access to antiretroviral therapy.
In most countries, homosexuality, drug addiction, prostitution, transsexualism are outlawed, but where laws have been enacted that allow specific categories of people to have access to HIV prevention and diagnosis services, there has been a decline in the spread of infection and mortality among certain population groups, prostitutes and drug addicts.