Biography
Biography: Alieu Sidibeh
Abstract
An estimate of 36.9 million people globally was living with HIV in 2017. Out of which 21.7 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy in 2017. Furthermore, 1.8 million people became newly infected with HIV in 2017. Moreover 940,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2017. About 77.3 million people have become infected with HIV since the start of the epidemic and 35.4 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic. The most frequent route of HIV transmission is sexual contacts. The majority of all infections are transmitted through heterosexual contacts. HIV particularly affects adolescents and young people (15 to 24 years old). Men who have sex with men are at a higher risk of HIV transmission if there is no use of protection as it may involve anal sex. Sex between men is stigmatized, officially denied and criminalized in various parts of the world. Sex workers may be stigmatized in the same way as MSM, they usually have multiple sexual partners. HIV prevalence amongst prisoners is between 2 and 50 times those of general adult populations. Prisons are at high-risk environment for HIV transmission with drug use, and needle sharing, tattooing with homemade and unsterile equipment and high-risk sex and rape. Every year, over 500 million people acquire one of the following four sexually transmitted diseases (STIs): chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis or trichomonas. HIV-related stigma and discrimination affect a pregnant woman's decision to enroll in PMTCT programs and interrupt adherence to treatment and retention in care. It has been estimated that over 50 percent of vertical HIV transmissions from mother-to-child globally, can be attributed to the cumulative effect of stigma when accessing PMTCT services.