#hiv/aids prevalence

[worldaidsday]

Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15-49).

Share of population ages 15+ living with HIV/AIDS (%).

Women's share of population ages 15+ living with HIV (%)

Mortality from CVD, cancer, diabetes or CRD between exact ages 30 and 70, female (%)

Probability of dying among youth ages 20-24 years (per 1,000)

Mortality rate, under-5, male (per 1,000 live births)

Probability of dying among adolescents ages 10-14 years (per 1,000)

Probability of dying among children ages 5-9 years (per 1,000)

Mortality rate, neonatal (per 1,000 live births)

Mortality rate, under-5, female (per 1,000 live births)

[takemebacktowheniwassane]

i've been seeing a lot of falsettos posts recently deconstructing the fandoms beliefs and firstly

holy fuck thank you, i try to steer clear of fandom (and fandom-izing thereof) drama but this is getting a lot more visible recently so here's some little tidbits for you

whizzer brown is not an unflawed character!

okay so i haven't seen enough dissecting this but!!! in the chess game!

the whole point of marvin using that game to determine the ending of their relationship is because he suspects whizzer is constantly deceiving him and wants to prove it.

whizzer LITERALLY proves him right!

he asks marvin to help him along (yes i know he says he doesn't want help, hear me out, it's a little more complex than that) and takes advantage of the fact that marvin is- like- infatuated with him.

he draws him into a sense of false security then starts throwing accusations at him ("since you need a man!" "what?" "who's 'brainy'," "or witty, move.") until hes able to win, which he does with ease because he's been using marvin having this idea that he isn't smart against him.

of course, marvin's side of this isn't the best either but honestly, for once the fandom should focus on a different character when they think 'insane asshole'. typically we should also probably change our perspectives a little to be more unbiased cuz fr guys, this is getting really.. annoying.

i understand he's the most visibly flawed but that doesn't excuse constantly picking the worst parts of this musical (without other context, btw) to use against him.

and this post certainly isn't here to excuse anyone either i've just got a lot of opinions that i wanted to share while falsettos is.. trending? right?

2. marvin's (headcanoned but still somewhat researched) autism

this one isn't brought up as much but when i do see it around, it's kind of a skewed viewpoint.

while rewatching bits of the proshot i realized a lot of different neurodivergent traits that he shows-

he's helpless during I Never Wanted to Love You and is childish and regressive when he's upset (not every autistic person is like this either, i know this is a bit of a touchy subject so i just wanted to add that).

usually when people depict it i see it either toned down or joked about which is fine when all in good fun, and when its done respectfully.

not here to attack anyone, just here to point it out and say that yes :) he most likely is neurodivergent, but despite that his actions aren't condoned. he's still kinda a dick who needs to get his shit together

3. ..the lesbians also have shit going on?

just putting this out there- I DON'T SEE ENOUGH FOR THE LESBIANS! OR TRINA!

the girls in this musical are like thoroughly neglected and i think that's kind of shitty just assuming the fact that william finn put them in to demonstrate how gender roles put people in degrading positions (and he even makes it more prevalent by showing marvin as something like a misogynistic character who forces whizzer into more feminine roles to show the audience what woman have to/had to go through in society).

anyways, the lesbians aren't just there guys. they have a plotline too. in Something Bad is Happening, you derive a lot from charlotte singing about the outbreak of HIV/AIDS and realize how she operates on a daily basis (she's passionate about her work and takes every bad day as a hit to her life and career, explaining in a way that as a black, jewish, lesbian, FEMALE doctor in this time, everything that goes wrong is immediately brought down on her so much more than it would as any straight white male pharmacist-).

cordelia on the other hand has to handle the fact that her girlfriend is so adamant about her work ethic that she can't actually be super present in their relationship at times like that.

but either way she still sticks by her and is constantly trying to be supportive and endearing despite feeling like she's not amounting to her gf who's basically a hero in her eyes.

i kinda just wanted to bring that up because they mean a lot to me and they don't get enough love from the fanbase, thank you for listening to my TED talk <3

[mariacallous]

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has condemned the “horrifying murder” of transgender woman Kesaria Abramidze, who died from multiple stab wounds in her home on Wednesday.

Abramidze, a well-known 37-year-old model, was found dead by her neighbors, who were alerted by screams coming from her apartment. A 26-year-old man, allegedly her ex-partner, was arrested after CCTV footage showed him fleeing the building 15 minutes after his arrival.

“Horrifying murder! Rejection of humanity! This should be a sobering call … Hatred drenched in hatred, which weakens and divides us and gives a hand to an enemy to manipulate us,” Zourabichvili wrote on her personal Facebook page. “I hope the death of this beautiful young woman will make us more humane, more Christian. I hope this tragedy will not be in vain.”

Abramidze’s killing comes just a day after the Georgian parliament passed its anti-LGBTQ+ law, despite strong warnings from the European Union that it would harm Georgia’s EU accession. Zourabichvili had opposed the legislation, dubbing it a “Russian law” designed to “divide society.”

Adopted under the guise of protecting family values and minors, the legislation, among other things, bans medical treatments for changing gender, “LGBT propaganda” and same-sex marriages.

The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, had warned that the law “undermines the fundamental rights of the Georgian people.”

“I call on Georgia to withdraw this legislation, which further derails the country from its EU path,” he wrote on X on Wednesday.

However, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze defended the bill, describing it as a tool to improve the perception of Europe among Georgians as a place of “traditional and Christian values,” rather than one of “LGBT propaganda.”

“This law ensures that a man should be called a man and a woman should be called a woman,” Kobakhidze said on Wednesday.

Double pressure

Gender and gender identity intolerance remain the leading motives of hate crimes in Georgia, according to the Georgian Prosecutor’s 2023 report. Out of 1,218 persons charged with hate crimes last year, 1,164 were charged on the ground of gender-based hate crimes.

“The majority of defendants charged with hate crimes are adult men and the majority of the victims of hate crimes are adult women,” says the report.

After Abramidze’s death made headlines, Temida, an organization that helps Georgia’s LGBTQ+ community with shelter, psychological and other health services, launched a hotline to offer psychological aid.

“We have received up to 16 calls since yesterday,” said Beka Gabadadze, the chairperson of Temida, adding that callers had asked: “If she was killed, someone so successful and well-off, what will happen to us?”

There have been three other high-profile murders of transgender women in Georgia in the past decade.

Temida, along with other service providers for the LGBTQ+ community, is facing a two-fold threat to its work in Georgia.

The Russian-leaning Georgian Dream government recently adopted its “foreign agent bill,” requiring organizations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as “serving the interests of a foreign power.”

Civil society groups have argued that the law allows the government to disclose an unjustified amount of information about their staff and beneficiaries.

Gabadadze fears Temida won’t be able to operate under this double pressure and the organization will be forced to close down if the government demands it share its beneficiaries’ personal information.

“This would mean I’d need to out people. It’s better for us to close down than disclose this information,” he said.

He elaborated that the adoption of the anti-LGBTQ+ law may contribute to the prevalence of HIV in the country, as their awareness-raising campaigns could be interpreted as “LGBT propaganda” under the new law.

“Our services aimed at HIV prevention require outreach. We won’t be able to do this efficiently, which could lead to a rise of HIV cases,” he said.

Last year Georgia’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride event was evacuated by the police after hundreds of counterprotesters stormed the site.

[amtrak-official]

Hi Amtrak! Since you're talking about AIDS and stuff (thank you for doing that btw, it's important to rember our history, especially when it's so frequently glossed over) I wanted to share some good news!

My collage dose HIV/AIDS awareness events. Or at least, there's a prevalent group that dose events for students and the community. They're called advocates for youth. The main event I attended (the others happened during classes) was about medical mistrust among black women and girls, with a spusific focous on HIV and other STDs. We talked about the history of sex ed and how it relates to women and minoritys (we deffently brought up the AIDS crisis more than once, and made sure to cover LGBTQ issues).

We've also had some sex ed discussions hosted on campus, some with a spusific focous on LGBTQ students.

It sucks that we didn't get something like this before college, my collage is probably the exception, not the rule, and the general population still knows less than they should. But I wanted to share at least one instance of AIDS awareness that's trying to help people learn more, and remember our history.

That's great, it is so important to talk about these things and discuss them

[fanellifest]

Who Was Joe Fanelli?

The Joe-verview

Joe Fanelli (c. April 12, 1954 – June 3, 1993) was an American from Franklin, Massachusetts; an ex-boyfriend of Freddie’s; later, his very dear friend; later still, his nurse/caregiver.

Joe and Freddie met in 1978, and their relationship lasted until they broke up some time in 1979. Afterwards, Joe continued to live in the UK—working as a professional chef in several London restaurants, including September and Provan’s—with his residency arrangements as a non-UK Citizen (likely via a work visa) being secured in effort by Freddie himself.

Likely stemming from the stressful nature of his relationship with Freddie—which included uprooting his entire life to a foreign country—and also the prevalence of drinking in the culture of professional chefs, Joe developed an alcohol dependency as a coping mechanism. According to Peter Freestone, by the time Joe had been hired full time to reside in Garden Lodge in 1985, he had gotten sober and sought new solace in regularly going to the gym. He also was “a dedicated vegan” as written by Brian in Queen in 3-D.

Consider this the Hot Girl Comeback that follows the Bad Bitch Fumble.

In addition to his professional culinary training and workout habits, Joe also found a hobby in computers, teaching himself how they worked, how to write programs (including coding a version of Countdown which could be played at home), and familiarizing himself with the internet during his efforts to research HIV/AIDS information.

Said research was of particular importance as Joe, along with Peter Freestone, became one of Freddie’s caregivers all the while dealing with his own HIV/AIDS diagnosis.

With regards to personality, Joe is described by Peter Freestone as “highly intelligent,” having “a positive nature,” and “prepared to argue anything, stand up for whatever.” Jim Hutton wrote in Mercury and Me that Joe had “a cautious approach to people and life,” and recalled the following event which possibly provides insight to the dynamics of Freddie and Joe’s working relationship/friendship, and definitely gets a laugh:

Joe was standing by the sink in the kitchen and Freddie was sitting at the table looking very stern. ‘And you’re fired, too!’ Freddie snapped at me. ‘Pardon?’ I said. ‘You can’t sack Jim,’ Joe told Freddie with a gloriously smug expression. ‘Why not?’ he snapped. ‘Because he doesn’t work for you!’ he said. ‘Oh, no he doesn’t, does he?’ Freddie replied.

There are several anecdotes about or involving Joe in many of the published memoirs written by those close to Freddie, and we’ll hopefully be able to share some of those here soon.

More in-depth posts about many of these topics—Joe’s relationship with Freddie, his job with Queen on tour, his role at Garden Lodge—will be coming with more specifics!

It says a lot regarding Joe’s character, about the type of person he was, to make several life changes and to also reconnect with an ex after a less-than-ideal falling out, repairing a friendship that lasted the remainder of their lives. As one of the lesser-known people in Freddie’s orbit, we hope this post helped you get to know Joe Fanelli a bit better.

What is remembered lives.

[bored-gay-werewolf]

I need people to remember that "silence = death" applies to the erasure of trans mascs/men

Both literally since gay trans men/mascs historically have died from AIDS just as cis gay men did (Lou Sullivan for example) AND since research around AIDS has been mostly done on cis men while trans men have been excluded from said studys, they can face trans masculine specific transphobia around it ("women cant get AIDS", "how can you get AIDS, your not even a "real" gay man", etc.) leading to slow or even misdiagnoses

And metaphorically bc do you know what happens to trans mascs/men who dont know they can exist? Who think they are the only trans guy in the world?

They fucking kill themselfs

Erasure is murder

[pandemic-info]

What Is an Endemic Disease? What Does It Mean for COVID-19?

What does endemic mean? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says an endemic is “the constant presence and/or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographic area.” To put it another way, an endemic disease is consistently present, but it spreads at predictable rates that can be managed by communities.

Old article, but people continue to use the word "endemic" while seemingly not understanding what it means, or rather, taking it to mean that we should shrug our shoulders and do nothing. Neither learn nor apply anything new.

The fact that it took decades for other mitigations to be put in place historically (whether it's clean water, hand-washing, or HIV/AIDS activism and treatments, etc.) seems to be an excuse to take no action in the meantime, and to bully and endanger those who try.

"Managed by communities" above means to actually use the layered mitigations that have been proven to work, with copious data now, against an airborne virus and vascular disease with a ~10-20% chance of debilitating long-term post-effects.

[nikrei]

(Action Comics Weekly 638, Feb 7, 1989)

In Exiles, Roy is trying to get a job as a PI with the asshole up there with the cigar. As part of his trial run he's been set to find a missing person, and just found out last issue that the missing man he's been trying to track down has aids and, as roy says in the above, has been chased away from society due to his (very obliquely referenced) queerness. Roy is of course disgusted that people would do such a thing.

Overall I've noticed that in '88 and '89 mentions of aids and hiv and also queer folk in general has been on the rise in the titles I'm reading. (Rising from approximately 0, really).

Which makes sense, given that around '87 is when the federal government started actually acknowledging aids and the toll it was taking on the marginalized people in the country (Reagan finally created the first presidential commission on aids in June 87). In 1988 in May the federal government mailed 107 million pamphlets on 'understanding aids' to all American households. (Source)

So aids is now a household topic, which makes it very fair game for comics. There are D-list hero characters like the New Guardians who end up dealing with hiv and aids personally in 1988 (this is a Whole Nother Bucket Of Worms BTW, New Guardians is wild).

In every instance where queer and/or hiv+ folk are featured in this time period, they have always been given a compassionate light (as far as that goes in titles like Hellblazer or The Question, where just about everyone is gonna die anyway) and there's often a little bit here and there in these issues to be like: PSA! Touching an hiv+ person will Not infect you! Quit being an asshole!

So! All this long winded rambling is to say that it is not an unusual situation for Roy to be supportive of folks with aids (tho it strikes me as noteworthy that they don't have him directly deny being gay, which is neat) what is unusual is the following panel:

Due to the grace of the sliding timescale, Roy's time as an addict has moved from 1971 to fall nebulously right into the era where aids was prevalent and very little was known about it (the first needle exchange program was pioneered in NYC, nov 88, only 4 months before this issue was published), something that I had never really considered before. hiv and aids would be something that roy thinks about often due to his past, and also his current work with addicts.

I mean, once again, due to the grace of the sliding timescale Roy's addict era is now very far removed from that time period, but for me it adds something so interesting to his character, this could have been. Makes me wanna read an early 90s period piece with him and Mia (hell I haven't gotten there, maybe there is something like that later on in the green arrow comics).

Anyway just something that I've been noticing and think is neat.

[70s80sandbeyond]

Elizabeth Taylor's eloquent and powerful speech while accepting the Vanguard Award at the 11th annual GLAAD Media Awards in 2000. After her dear friend and co-star Rock Hudson announced that he had AIDS prior to his passing in 1985 (the first high-profile celebrity to do so), Elizabeth—against great opposition during the fear-based AIDS hysteria and stigmatization prevalent in the 1980s—immediately organized a fundraising benefit to raise money for AIDS research (she later stated that she had the phone hung up on her repeatedly while trying to enlist the help of other celebrities with the benefit, and that some people thought she was “crazy” for getting involved with the cause). After Rock passed away on October 2nd, 1985, she also organized his memorial service and soon after became the co-founder (alongside Dr. Mathilde Krim) of the first AIDS research center amfAR. The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation was established in 1991 with the specific focus of providing nutritious meals (as well as medical and financial assistance) to people living with HIV and AIDS. She also lobbied the US congress to contribute more money for AIDS research and education, devoting the last twenty-six years of her life to the cause. After Elizabeth passed away in 2011 at the age of 79, a large portion of the $115,932,000 raised at the Christie's auction of her legendary jewelry collection was bequeathed to her charity in order to continue providing the services and assistance she believed were important in perpetuity.

[evidence-based-activism]

Is there any proof men that claim to be 'raped' actually suffer or are they whining for nothing? I'm so tired of this narrative that the poor male victims have it so bad.

Before anyone says anything, yes, I know this is might be a troll. Yes, I plan to answer the question anyway. (I'm feeding the audience not the troll. :) )

So ... let's start from the top.

You've emphasized "claim" and put raped in quotes, presumably to imply that men cannot be raped. However, I have previously established that, while less common, a significant number of men have experienced rape. While not the main focus of the post, I discussed the specific numbers, sourced from the CDC here [1].

The conclusion was that 11% - 26% of men report being raped (penetrated) and/or made to penetrate and/or coerced into sexual intercourse in their lifetime. (Readers may differ on which of these acts they consider "rape". That topic is also addressed in the linked post above. But even if you only consider acts where the victim is penetrated as rape: 1 in every 26 men report being non-consensually penetrated at some point in their life. That means that, if you know 26 men, it is likely you know a male rape victim.)

Beyond the frequency, however, I have no idea why you'd think that any rape victim is "whining for nothing". Even if there was only 1 single man (or 1 single woman for that matter) who had ever been raped, that person would have experienced an egregious violation of their physical body and their personal autonomy. That -- all on its own -- is something.

Concerning victim impact, the same CDC report details how:

Of men who have been raped, 50% reported concern for their safety and 51% reported feeling fearful

Of men who have been made to penetrate, 23% reported concern for their safety and 23% reported feeling fearful

Among men reporting any form of sexual victimization, there was a higher prevalence of: HIV/AIDS, frequent headaches, chronic pain, difficulty sleeping, and serious difficulty hearing along with higher reported prevalence of difficulty dressing or bathing, difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions, and difficulty doing errands alone. All of this suggests that sexual victimization among men is correlated with higher disability rates among men.

If that's not enough, consider the fact that 41% of made to penetrate victims and 57% of male rape victims were first victimized when they were a child (younger than 17). I trust your (genuine? facetious?) lack of empathy doesn't extend to child victims?

To extend our sources list and highlight some specific findings:

A 2023 review of literature about male victims [2] describes mental and physical illness among male victims, along with interpersonal and sexual dysfunction.

An early study [3] found greater odds of psychological disturbance, sexual problems, self-harm, and substance misuse among male victims of childhood sexual abuse. This study is of particular relevance given the rate frequency of childhood victimization reported in the CDC paper.

A more recent study [4] found increased depression, anxiety, and related somatic symptoms among both male and female victims (the specific patterns were slightly different but similar overall).

Another review and meta-analysis [5] found that sexual abuse is associated with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, PTSD, sleep disorders, and suicide attempts. These associations were consistent across sex (when data was available for analysis).

An additional review and meta-analysis spanning 44 years of research [6] found no evidence of a difference in effect size by sex (i.e., sexual assault was associated with psychopathology to a similar degree for both women and men).

All together this indicates that while men are less likely to be sexually assaulted/abused, they are affected in similar ways/to similar degrees as women when it does occur.

---

Just to avoid some inevitable discourse: anon, if you are being genuine and/or to anyone who does believe this sentiment, know that you are in the minority.

While data on this is sparse, consider the results of two studies.

A 2006 study [7] analyzed men and women's responses (victim blame and reaction to perpetrator) for male sexual assault victims. They varied the scenario asked about by victim sexuality and perpetrator sex. They found that (1) women reported less victim blame than men for all the scenarios, (2) women did not differ in the amount they blamed the victim for each scenario, (3) men were more likely to blame gay male victims with a male perpetrator and straight male victims with a female perpetrator -- suggesting the "sexuality incongruence" drives their assignment of blame. In addition, men but not women reported more favorable views of the female perpetrator, regardless of sexual orientation of the victim. And again, women did not differ in the views on the perpetrator across scenarios. In absolute terms, degrees of victim blame and perpetrator support were low across all conditions.

A 2023 study [8] confirms and extends these results. This study examined empathy towards male victims of non-consensual "sexual touching". The study shows high levels of empathy overall, with no difference between scenarios involving male or female perpetrators. I have some issues with the language used for in this study. (They refer to "antipathy towards men and their domination" as "hostile sexism" and " traditional admiration for men’s role as protector" as "benevolent sexism", but it looks like this may have been the terms used by the tool they chose.) For ease of discussion I will use these terms. So, in addition, they found that hostile sexism predicted more empathy for male victims but only for female participants; hostile sexism predicted less empathy for male victims for male participants. Benevolent sexism predicted less empathy in general.

This all suggests that, in general, people are supportive of male victims. The people who deviate from this trend are men and/or report greater adherence to traditional gender roles. It's of note, however, that when analyzing the groups with these deviations overall support is still high. This indicates that these demographic/political differences result in relative differences, but in absolute terms people are overwhelmingly supportive of male victims.

---

TL;DR:

Yes, male victims "actually suffer". No, they are not "whining for nothing". Male and female victims both "have it so bad".

People generally already know this and indicate support for male victims. Feminists are particularly likely to report empathy for male victims, which means you (anon) are either a troll or an outlier.

References under the cut:

Basile, K.C., Smith, S.G., Kresnow, M., Khatiwada S., & Leemis, R.W. (2022). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 Report on Sexual Violence. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Thomas, J. C., & Kopel, J. (2023). Male victims of sexual assault: A review of the literature. Behavioral Sciences, 13(4), 304. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13040304

King, M., Coxell, A., & Mezey, G. (2002). Sexual molestation of males: Associations with psychological disturbance. The British Journal of Psychiatry: The Journal of Mental Science, 181, 153–157. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007125000161884

Choudhary, E., Smith, M., & Bossarte, R. M. (2012). Depression, anxiety, and symptom profiles among female and male victims of sexual violence. American Journal of Men’s Health, 6(1), 28–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988311414045

Chen, L. P., Murad, M. H., Paras, M. L., Colbenson, K. M., Sattler, A. L., Goranson, E. N., Elamin, M. B., Seime, R. J., Shinozaki, G., Prokop, L. J., & Zirakzadeh, A. (2010). Sexual abuse and lifetime diagnosis of psychiatric disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 85(7), 618–629. https://doi.org/10.4065/mcp.2009.0583

Dworkin, E. R., Menon, S. V., Bystrynski, J., & Allen, N. E. (2017). Sexual assault victimization and psychopathology: A review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 56, 65–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.06.002

Davies, M., Pollard, P., & Archer, J. (2006). Effects of perpetrator gender and victim sexuality on blame toward male victims of sexual assault. The Journal of Social Psychology, 146(3), 275–291. https://doi.org/10.3200/SOCP.146.3.275-291

Le Brun, C., Benbouriche, M., & Tibbels, S. (2024). A study of empathy towards male victims of sexual violence: The effects of gender and sexism. Sexuality & Culture, 28(2), 654–672. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-023-10138-3

[worldaidsday]

What are HIV and AIDS?

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that damages the defence system of the body. HIV infects cells of the immune system and destroys their function leading to “immune deficiency”. A person infected with HIV may look and feel healthy for many years. However, the person is still able to pass on the virus.

AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is caused by infection with the HIV virus. Over time the immune system becomes seriously weakened so that the body loses its ability to fight off infection that it would normally have fought. The infected person develops a number of serious infections and illnesses which eventually leads to death. Once a person who has HIV gets one or more opportunistic infections, that person is said to have AIDS. Some people develop AIDS shortly after being infected with HIV, yet some live with HIV for ten or more years before developing AIDS.

[blackcrystalball]

You know, it's so fucking disgusting how the world treated HIV/AIDS and the patients that had it.

Treating them like they had the plague??? And it still happens today, to a slightly lesser extent, but still very much prevalent and it appalls me.

I'm having a lot of thoughts that I'm struggling to put into words rn, so I will say this; educate yourself. And be kind.

Please just be kind.

[vaishnavi1112]

Revealing Facts: A Helpful Guide on HIV/AIDS

You can have HIV without having any symptoms. This is why it’s extremely important to get tested regularly, even if you don’t feel sick.  

According to WHO, the cases of HIV/AIDS have increased lately. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that attacks a specific type of cell in your body’s immune system, which helps the system in fighting off infections and diseases. If HIV progresses, it can lead to AIDS, a more severe condition where the immune system is badly damaged. HIV is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse, sharing needles, or from an infected mother to her baby during childbirth or breastfeeding. There are different symptoms at each stage of infection. Having these symptoms may suggest a person has HIV. If left untreated, HIV can lead tseo more serious health issues.  

Having accurate information is crucial to avoid any false assumptions related to HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS is surrounded by many myths and misunderstandings such as; it is spread through sneezing, coughing or sharing drinks. This is not true, the way it is transmitted is through specific bodily fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk.  

In a world where misinformation about HIV/AIDS is prevalent, it's crucial to clear up these misunderstandings and ensure everyone knows the facts. Normalising getting tested is the first step in managing the virus and preventing the spread of false stigmas about HIV. Let's all do our part by sharing the correct information and supporting those dealing with HIV to create a world without judgement and false ideas about this virus. 

To know more about HIV/AIDS its symptoms, unknown facts, and risk factors, read the blog on Riomed's site.

[appro880]

A History Primer on the Aids Crisis in America...

[kishorwasan]

Why is it called neglected tropical diseases?

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of infectious diseases that affect more than 1.7 billion people worldwide, particularly those living in poverty-stricken areas of tropical and subtropical countries. They are a diverse group of diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi. They are "neglected" because they have historically received very little attention, funding, or research compared to other major diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.

But why are these diseases neglected? Several factors contribute to the neglect of NTDs, including their high prevalence in poor and marginalized communities, low visibility and lack of political will, and their complex nature and limited treatment options.

Firstly, NTDs disproportionately affect the poorest and most marginalized populations, who often lack access to essential healthcare services, clean water, and sanitation. These diseases thrive in environments where poverty, malnutrition, and poor hygiene are prevalent, making them endemic in many rural and urban slum areas of developing countries.

Furthermore, NTDs are often co-endemic, meaning they occur in the same geographical areas and can interact and exacerbate each other's effects. For example, soil-transmitted helminths (intestinal worms) and schistosomiasis (a parasitic infections) often occur in the same communities, leading to increased morbidity and disability.

Secondly, NTDs are often invisible and overlooked by policymakers and the public. Unlike diseases such as HIV or cancer, NTDs do not typically receive high-profile media attention, fundraising campaigns, or advocacy efforts. As a result, they are often not considered a priority in national health agendas or global health initiatives.

Moreover, many NTDs do not cause immediate or dramatic symptoms but instead cause chronic and debilitating conditions that can have long-term impacts on individuals, families, and communities. For example, lymphatic filariasis (also known as elephantiasis) can cause severe swelling of the limbs and genitals, leading to disability, social isolation, and stigmatization.

Thirdly, NTDs are complex and often challenging to diagnose, treat, and prevent. Many of these diseases have complex life cycles involving multiple hosts and stages of development, which make them difficult to control and eliminate. In addition, the drugs used to treat NTDs are often old, toxic, and have limited efficacy, leading to high treatment failure rates and drug resistance.

Finally, there needs to be more funding and research dedicated to NTDs. Despite their high burden and impact on global health, NTDs receive only a fraction of the budget and analysis that other major diseases receive. For example, in 2019, the World Health Organization estimated that the total annual cost of delivering preventive chemotherapy for NTDs was US$2.7 billion, which is only a fraction of the amount spent on other diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.

In recent years, there has been increased recognition and attention given to NTDs, particularly in global health initiatives and partnerships. The World Health Organization has set a target to eliminate or control 20 NTDs by 2030 and has launched a global strategy to combat NTDs through integrated, cross-sectoral approaches.

In addition, several pharmaceutical companies and non-governmental organizations have committed to donating drugs and resources to NTD control and elimination programs, which has helped scale up interventions and reach more needy people.

However, much more must be done to address the neglected nature of NTDs. This includes increasing funding and research for NTDs, improving access to health services and treatment, and managing the social and economic determinants of NTDs.

[mariacallous]

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 62,000 Russians and 20,000 Ukrainians have relocated to Georgia. Meanwhile, Georgia itself has seen a rise in HIV infections, with almost 400 new cases reported in the first eight months of 2023, despite having been lauded among European countries for its effective HIV and AIDS policies in recent years. This has led some Georgian doctors and media outlets to attribute the worsening HIV situation to the wartime influx of Russian and Ukrainian migrants — the latest iteration of a theory that’s found resonance in a number of countries, particularly among conservative politicians. Meduza takes a look at the reasons behind the widespread popularity of this dubious hypothesis.

A lack of evidence

In late June, Professor Maya Butsashvili, an infectious disease specialist who works at Tbilisi’s NEOLAB clinic, expressed concern on Facebook regarding the large number of Russians entering the country. Arguing that Russia was grappling with an HIV epidemic and that unprotected sexual encounters between local residents and migrants could lead to an increase in HIV infections in Georgia, she urged officials to remind citizens about safe practices to avoid sexually transmitted infections.

Shortly after, Tengiz Tsertsvadze, the director of Georgia's main infectious disease hospital, said that Butsashvili's theory “had some truth to it” but suggested that the increase in cases might have “less to do with the influx of migrants and more to do with the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lifting of restrictions, and an increase in testing.” He noted that since the wartime migration of Russian and Ukrainian citizens had begun, Georgia’s HIV and AIDS Control Service had intensified its surveillance and implemented measures for prevention and treatment. Tsertsvadze also emphasized the importance of only using sterile medical instruments and avoiding unprotected sexual contact, encouraging those with suspected infections to seek medical assistance.

Nonetheless, Butsashvili remained firm in her stance, insisting that migrants were a “high-risk group.” In August, she recommended a policy of mandatory HIV testing for people entering the country and urged local residents to “abstain from unprotected sexual contact.”

Butsashvili, whose Facebook page has some 7,000 followers, has been widely quoted in the Georgian media for her statements, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her opinions on the role of migrants in HIV transmission have sparked huge debates across social media platforms. According to her profile, she studied epidemiology at the State University of New York and is currently a faculty member at the University of Georgia.

Skewed by the pandemic

Georgia was seeing record spikes in HIV rates well before the recent influx of migrants from Russia began. In 2018, for instance, the country identified 672 new HIV cases, while it saw 719 in 2016, which remains the highest year on record. In 2022, 617 new cases were recorded, and in the first eight months of this year, 393 cases were confirmed.

In August 2023, the total number of HIV infections in Georgia reached 10,170, with the majority of cases in Tbilisi (3,830). According to the Georgian Center for Research of Infectious Diseases and AIDS, the virus is transmitted primarily through heterosexual contact (51.4%) and intravenous drug use (32.6%). HIV prevalence in Georgia, at 0.27% of the total population, is substantially lower than in Russia (0.8%) and Ukraine (approximately 0.55%).

Georgia's HIV and AIDS policy, according to WHO estimates, has been one of the most effective in Europe. The country introduced antiretroviral therapy (ARV therapy) in the 1990s and ensured universal access in the 2000s, significantly reducing AIDS-related mortality. In 2011, Georgia established a national AIDS information system, creating a comprehensive database of demographic, epidemiological, clinical and laboratory data on all AIDS patients. The government also actively promotes ARV therapy and health services for all, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or viral load. 

Despite these efforts, Georgia fell short of its goal to provide ARV therapy to 90% of the infected population by 2020, with only 76% of virus carriers knowing their status and only 65% receiving ARV therapy. Even fewer individuals (65% of those on therapy) have managed to suppress the virus's activity.

A more plausible explanation

One epidemiologist, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, acknowledged that Russia and Ukraine have significant HIV epidemics and that migrants are a particularly vulnerable group. But at the same time, he said, Georgia’s rise in infections cannot be unequivocally attributed to the influx in migrants without a comprehensive analysis of the epidemiological data. 

The Georgian Center for Infectious Diseases and AIDS Research reported more HIV cases in 2022 than in 2020 and 2021. However, this increase could be attributed at least in part to reduced testing during the COVID-19 pandemic, when resources were diverted to coronavirus prevention efforts.

The epidemiologist further explained that there’s little to no evidence that compulsory testing, entry restrictions, or deportation are effective public health measures. In fact, such measures may even hinder HIV prevention and treatment as they make individuals more likely to hide their status, avoid seeking help, and then propagate the virus as a result.

The U.N.’s note on HIV/AIDS and the Protection of Refugees states:

Detention or restrictions on the freedom of movement of persons living with HIV and AIDS would be in violation of the fundamental rights to liberty and security of the person, as well as the right to freedom of movement, if carried out solely on the basis of a person’s actual or suspected HIV status. There is no public health justification for restrictions of these rights due to a person’s HIV status alone. Moreover such restrictions would be discriminatory.

In Russia, however, it remains legally permissible to deport migrants based solely on their HIV status. In 2021, Fedot Tumusov, a deputy from the political party “A Just Russia — For Truth,” proposed a bill to abolish these measures due to their lack of effectiveness, but the State Duma ignored his proposal. According to the head of one public organization that works with individuals affected by HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, who asked to remain anonymous, there’s no reasonable basis for a country to deport foreigners with HIV. Many developed countries have already repealed such laws.

An easy scapegoat

One human rights activist who specialises in HIV issues and wished to maintain anonymity told Meduza that the practice of blaming migrants, a vulnerable group, for various societal problems is not unique to Georgia; it’s a common rhetorical move employed by conservative political figures worldwide. In Georgia, she argued, negative sentiments regarding migrants may have been exacerbated by the strain on public health and the surge in migration caused by the war, leading to concerns and frustrations among local residents that politicians can exploit for political gain.

Georgian political scientist Gela Vasadze has also suggested that accusing migrants of spreading HIV may be an element of the political campaigns of right-wing opposition parties in the upcoming 2024 elections. He told the outlet Paper Kartuli that the Georgian authorities should address the migration crisis by reducing the stay period of visitors with uncertain legal status and making it easier for migrants to obtain residence permits. 

According to the anonymous human rights activist, migrants are a vulnerable group with limited political and civil rights, which makes them easy scapegoats for various social problems. This phenomenon is not unique to Georgia but is a broader issue tied to policies and levels of tension within countries.

Russia is no exception: it, too, has a long history of public figures making public health-related xenophobic statements. In 2009, for example, the country’s then-Chief Health Inspector, Gennady Onishchenko, alleged that migrants “contribute significantly to the HIV and AIDS epidemic.” Similar sentiments were echoed in 2012, when the chairman of the Moscow City Duma’s healthcare commission, Lyudmila Stebenkova, proposed putting out public service announcements to warn Muscovites about the risk of contracting HIV from migrants.

Over the past two decades, however, Georgia has been decidedly receptive to international recommendations, focusing on testing and treatment while avoiding discriminatory policies. Anyone who’s in the country legally has the right to receive assistance, including refugees, who can access ARV treatment while their asylum requests are being processed.

At the same time, the activist said, there’s no question that the Georgian healthcare system was unprepared for the influx of migrants. While Georgia has been proactive in HIV prevention, migrants have encountered difficulties in accessing HIV treatment.

According to the experts who spoke to Meduza, effectively addressing Georgia’s HIV problem will require ensuring equal access to healthcare, repealing discriminatory laws, and prioritizing prevention programs and HIV awareness campaigns. Providing free counselling, testing, and treatment to all individuals living with HIV, regardless of their legal status, is paramount.