Difficult to be on all fronts.
According to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact in the fight against other diseases.
For the first time since its creation in 2002, the Fund even reports backtracking in its canceled report published on Wednesday. The 2020 figures "confirm what we feared when the Covid-19 appeared," summed up Peter Sands, executive director of the Fund, quoted in the report. “The impact of Covid-19 has been devastating. For the first time in our history, our main indicators are on the decline ”.
The pandemic has severely disrupted access to health systems, screening tests and treatment in many countries.
In particular, it had "catastrophic" consequences in the fight against tuberculosis.
In 2020, the number of people treated for drug-resistant tuberculosis fell by 19%.
In countries where the Global Fund invests, some 4.7 million people with the disease have received treatment, about one million fewer than in 2019.
The @GlobalFund Results Report 2021 is available.
In 2020, the Global Fund deployed US $ 4.2 BILLION in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
https://t.co/tFSh5aZe5L pic.twitter.com/bmTI4ceXoK
- The Global Fund (@GlobalFund) September 8, 2021
On the fight against HIV, the impact of Covid is also significant. While the number of positive people receiving antiretroviral treatment continued to increase, by 9% in 2020, the report shows an "alarming" decline in prevention and screening services for key and vulnerable people.
The number of people reached by AIDS prevention programs decreased by 11% in 2020, by 12% among the youngest populations.
The number of treatments given to mothers to prevent their babies from contracting the virus has fallen by 4.5%.
AIDS testing has declined by 22% overall, delaying the start of treatment in most countries.
In countries where the Global Fund invests, 21.9 million people were on antiretroviral therapy for HIV in 2020, an increase of 8.8% from 2019.
Less impact on the fight against malaria
So far, malaria programs appear to have been less affected by Covid-19, the report continues. In particular, the number of mosquito nets distributed continued to grow, by 17% in 2020. In fact, in a number of countries, volunteers engaged in the fight against the disease have abandoned distributions in large centers, which are incompatible with the pandemic. for the benefit of door-to-door. However, the number of screenings of people suspected of having malaria fell by 4.3% in 2020. And progress to contain the disease has stagnated, deplores the Fund.
The Covid-19 pandemic has shed light on the "crucial importance" of health systems around the world, the Fund emphasizes.
There are some glimmers of hope, however: it has been at the origin of a number of innovations which have benefited the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Read alsoOperations deprogrammed because of Covid-19: the painful wait for patients
In Nigeria, for example, the national AIDS control agency appropriately carried out HIV tests on people who went to medical centers for Covid tests, reports the Fund.
As a result, the detections of positive people have increased.
In 2020, the Fund's rapid response to the pandemic made it possible to avoid the worst, he also welcomes.
Last year, it spent $ 4.2 billion to continue fighting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
The Global Fund is an original partnership between States, civil society, the private sector and patients.
Half of its funds go to the fight against AIDS and half to malaria and tuberculosis.
Since its creation in 2002, it claims 44 million lives saved.
