According to a grim new study published on Tuesday, the Covid-19 epidemic has caused significant setbacks in the battle against other worldwide scourges like as HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria, among others.
Prior to the pandemic, the globe had made significant progress in the fight against these diseases. Since 2004, the number of people who die from these illnesses has decreased by about half.
As part of the Global Fund’s 20th anniversary celebrations, the executive director, Peter Sands, said, “We had hoped to focus this year’s report on the extraordinary stories of courage and resilience that have made the progress we have made against HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria possible over the last two decades.”
“However, the figures for 2020 compel a different approach. ‘They corroborate what we had anticipated would happen when COVID-19 hit,’ he said further.
Last year, the number of individuals reached with HIV prevention and treatment decreased by 11 percent, while the number of persons tested for HIV decreased by 22 percent, delaying the introduction of new treatments in the majority of nations.
COVID-19 poses a significant danger to the poorest and most vulnerable populations, which are already plagued by HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. Not only are they highly susceptible to COVID-19, but they are also likely to be at greater risk from other diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. Economic consequences of COVID-19 will fall disproportionately on these communities, increasing their vulnerability to illness as a result of dietary shortages and the collapse of social and health-care systems.
The epidemic has overflowed hospitals and caused supply systems for testing and treatments to get snarled up. The coronavirus epidemic redirected scarce public health resources away from the treatment and prevention of these illnesses in many impoverished nations.
