Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

 

The Millennium Development Goals and the International Development Agenda  -   TVP Manual - Section 1:Informing and Setting the Vision -

see Manuals General Index


 In developing countries many people die each year of preventable diseases.

Thousands of people every day become infected with HIV and die from AIDS.

The MDG 6 intends increasing access to treatment and stopping the spread of AIDS and diseases like tuberculosis and malaria.

Thanks to improvements in prevention programmes and increased access to treatment, the number of newly infected people and those who die from AIDS has started declining.

Higher survival rates also implies that more people today are living with HIV, most of them being in sub-Saharan Africa.

And Malaria, one of the biggest killers in Africa, kills one African child every 30 seconds while it is virtually absent from Europe and the Middle East.

Programmes for HIV/ AIDS prevention have now started showing results. For instance, India had the largest number of deaths from AIDS. Thanks to the efforts of governments and non-government organizations, HIV incidence in India has declined in recent years.


 

Graphs


 

Image:Malariadeaths.jpg
 

MDG 6 - Targets

Target 6.A: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS

  • 6.1 HIV prevalence among population aged 15-24 years
  • 6.2 Condom use at last high-risk sex
  • 6.3 Proportion of population aged 15-24 years with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS
  • 6.4 Ratio of school attendance of orphans to school attendance of non-orphans aged 10-14 years

Target 6.B: Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it

  • 6.5 Proportion of population with advanced HIV infection with access to antiretroviral drugs

Target 6.C: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

  • 6.6 Incidence and death rates associated with malaria
  • 6.7 Proportion of children under 5 sleeping under insecticide-treated bednets
  • 6.8 Proportion of children under 5 with fever who are treated with appropriate anti-malarial drugs
  • 6.9 Incidence, prevalence and death rates associated with tuberculosis
  • 6.10 Proportion of tuberculosis cases detected and cured under DOTS (directly observed treatment short course)
     


 

Hard Facts - HIV/AIDS
  • Every day over 7,400 people are infected with HIV and 5,500 die from AIDS related illnesses; 
  • An estimated 33.4 million people were living with HIV in 2008, two thirds of them in sub-Saharan Africa;
     
  • The number of new HIV infections fell steadily from 3.5 million in 1996 to 2.7 million in 2008 and deaths from AIDS-related illnesses dropped from 2.2 million in 2004 to 2 million in 2008;
  • There are 17.5 million children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS; More than 80 per cent of them (14.1 million) are in sub-Saharan Africa;
  • Mounting evidence shows a link between gender-based violence and HIV;
     
  • Many young people still lack the knowledge to protect themselves against HIV
     


 

Hard Facts- Access to HIV/AIDS treatment
 
  • People receiving antiretroviral therapy has increased from 400,000 people in 2003 to more than 5 million people by the end of 2009;
  • Percentage of HIV-positive expectant mothers in low, and middle-income countries, receiving treatment has increased from 35 per cent in 2007 to 45 per cent in 2008
  • HIV remains the leading cause of death among reproductive-age women worldwide; for every two individuals starting HIV treatment each year, five are newly infected;'
     


 

Hard Facts- Malaria and Tuberculosis
 
  • Malaria kills a child in the world every 45 seconds. Close to 90% of malaria deaths occur in Africa, where it accounts for a fifth of childhood mortality.
  • Between 2004 and 2009, global production of mosquito nets rose from 30 million to 150 million annually; Global procurement of more effective antimalarial drugs continues to rise rapidly;
  • Between 2004 and 2008, the number of new tuberculosis cases decreased from 143 to 139 per 100,000 people;
  • An estimated 11 million people suffered from tuberculosis in 2008. Asia accounts for 55 per cent of all new cases;
  • Although Tuberculosis prevalence is falling in most regions, it remains the second leading killer after HIV