Coronavirus Update: AIDS Death Could Double in Africa Because Of COVID-19, UN Claims

According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and World Health Organization (WHO), more than 500,000 could die from AIDS-related illnesses in Sub-Saharan Africa if healthcare provisions are disrupted due to the coronavirus crisis.

In 2018, the latest figures estimated 470,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, Al Jazeera reported. This could double up should anti-retroviral therapies be stalled for six months or so.

"There is a risk that the hard-earned gains of the AIDS response will be sacrificed to the fight against COVID-19, but the right to health means that no one disease should be fought at the expense of the other," said Winnie Byanyima, head of UNAIDS, the UN agency dedicated to tackling the disease and eradicating it by the year 2030.

The two United Nations (UN) entities warned of the drastic impact if the HIV services are postponed, supply chains stalled, or healthcare serviced overwhelmed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With services now at maximum capacity in trying to support the COVID-19 response, HIV/AIDS patients are now at risk for treatment interruptions.

According to Al Jazeera, experts say that a six-month disruption to HIV services could reverse the efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS and could turn the clock back in 2008 when more than 950,000 AIDS-related deaths were recorded in the region.

"The terrible prospect of half a million more people in Africa dying of AIDS-related illnesses is like stepping back into history," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Ghebreyesus added that global supplies of tests and treatments must continue to flow in countries that need them to ensure the wellbeing of people infected with HIV.

Forbes reported that along with AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria are predicted to get deadlier during the pandemic. COVID-19 could potentially double the number of malaria deaths in the Sub-Saharan region this year compared with 2018.

It is also predicted that an additional 6.3 million cases of TB could be recorded between 2020 and 2025 and 1.4 million TB-related death during that same period.

Investigative reports in many countries show severe disruptions in healthcare routines in several countries due to the lockdowns imposed and the diversion of healthcare services to the COVID-19 response. Forbes mentioned that even immunization services were halted in some settings.

Since the first case of HIV was recorded 35 years ago, 78 million people have become infected with HIV and 35 million have died from AIDS-related illnesses, said UNAIDS.