Thread by @WHO

Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, more than 70 million people have acquired the infection, and about 35 million people have died.
Today, around 37 million worldwide live with #HIV, of whom 22 million are on treatment ⬇️ bit.ly/2QwO8HW

The #HIV virus 🦠 was first isolated by Dr Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Dr Luc Montagnier in 1983 at the @institutpasteur.

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At the beginning of the 1980s, before #HIV had been identified as the cause of AIDS, the infection was thought to only affect specific groups, such as gay men in developed countries and people who inject drugs
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In November 1983, WHO held the first meeting to assess the global #AIDS situation. It was then understood that #HIV could also spread between heterosexual people, through blood transfusions, and that infected mothers could transmit HIV to their babies

Today, we have easily accessible #HIV testing, treatment, a range of prevention options, including pre-exposure prophylaxis of PrEP, and services that can reach vulnerable communities ➡️ bit.ly/2QwO8HW

In 1991 the #HIV movement was branded with the iconic red ribbon. New York-based artists from the @Visual_AIDS Artists' Caucus created the symbol, choosing the colour for its "connection to blood and the idea of passion—not only anger, but love..."

📷: @Visual_AIDS

Clinical trials of antiretrovirals (ARVs) began in 1985 – the same year that the first #HIV test was approved – and the first ARV was approved for use in 1987. By 1995, ARVs were being prescribed in various combinations.

Generic manufacturing of antiretrovirals would only start in 2001 providing bulk, low-cost access to ARVs for highly affected countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where by 2000, #HIV had become the leading cause of death
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In 1996, @UNAIDS was established to lead a multisectoral response: to tackle marginalization, stigma and discrimination, to address the economic, social and security threats of a rapidly expanding pandemic, and to generate the necessary human and financial resources

In 2000, the @UN General Assembly adopted the Millennium Development Goals, which committed to ‘halting and reversing the #AIDS epidemic by 2015’ ➡️ bit.ly/2QwO8HW

In 2002, the @GlobalFund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was established as a financing mechanism to attract and invest resources to end these three diseases ➡️ bit.ly/2QwO8HW

In 2003, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief @PEPFAR was launched, the largest ever bilateral international health initiative.
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In 2003, WHO announced the “3 by 5” initiative with the aim of providing #HIV treatment to 3 million people in low- and middle-income countries by 2005
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In 1994 a study showed that providing antiretrovirals to pregnant women infected by #HIV and a short course of treatment for the baby once born reduced transmission rates to below 5%, from 15-45% without treatment
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In 2015, WHO recommended the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP to prevent #HIV acquisition for people who are at substantial risk of getting HIV. It has contributed to ⬇️ rates of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men, in some settings in high-income countries

HIV is not an easy virus to defeat.

Nearly a million people still die every year from the virus because they don’t know they have #HIV and are not on treatment, or they start treatment late

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One of the biggest challenges in the #HIV response has remained unchanged for 30 years: HIV disproportionally affects people in vulnerable populations that are often highly marginalized and stigmatized
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@WHOWPRO @pahowho @WHOAFRO @WHOSEARO @WHO_Europe @WHOEMRO Abt 75% of new #HIV infections outside sub-Saharan Africa are in men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, people in prisons, sex workers, transgender people, the sexual partners of these individuals. They are often discriminated against & excluded from health services

"Stigma remains a fundamental barrier in fighting #HIV. Much of the fear & stigma that surrounded the AIDS epidemic of the 1980’s & 1990’s still exists. Many people still believe that it is a death sentence”-@KarlJSchmid HIV-positive @abc7 news broadcaster

@KarlJSchmid @ABC7 HIV continues to disproportionately affect adolescents and young people in many countries. About a third of new #HIV infections are in people aged 15-25 years. In almost all countries where HIV affects many groups, young women aged 15–24 bit.ly/2QwO8HW

@KarlJSchmid @ABC7 @pahowho @WHOEMRO @WHO_Europe @WHOAFRO @WHOSEARO @WHOWPRO "Whilst there are strides being made to put young people on the agenda – it's not enough" - @mercyngulube_ , a 20-year-old #HIV activist from Wales, who was born with the infection, on the need for young people to be at the heart of efforts to end AIDS