This infection is one of the most common causes of death worldwide
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are nearly 40 million people living with HIV across the world, the majority of whom are women. Of those diagnosed with HIV, approximately 630,000 die from HIV-related causes. There is no cure for HIV and AIDS, but there are medications that can help manage the progression of the disease.
In 2023, 77% of people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy. Fewer people than ever are dying from the disease thanks to these treatments. Yet, President Trump's cut to development funds seriously impacts access to treatment worldwide, which experts fear may provoke an epidemic that we haven't seen since the disease's peak in 2004.
What happens when people suddenly lose access to treatment? Click through the gallery to find out more.
The statistics for global HIV rates are worrisome. Nearly 40 million people are living with the disease around the world.
Of these 40 million, 1.4 million are children under 15 years of age. Children living with HIV carry the highest risk of HIV-related deaths due to their underdeveloped immune systems. Pictured is a home for children living with HIV in Nepal.
Although there is no cure for HIV or AIDS, there are a series of medications that can help manage the disease and prevent its rapid progression.
By 2023, 77% of people living with HIV were undergoing antiretroviral therapy, with nearly 72% of patients experiencing suppressed viral loads.
Since 2010, HIV-related deaths have been reduced by 50% since the disease’s highest peak in 2004. This incredible feat is only possible due to the incredible strides made by international organizations and their local affiliates to increase testing and access to treatment.
During the peak of the HIV-AIDS crisis, millions suffered agonizing deaths due to untreated and unmanaged disease progression. Pictured is an AIDS patient in Thailand in 2001, struggling to stand while awaiting the distribution of medication.
In response to skyrocketing disease rates, in 2004, the United States created the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which completely changed how the disease was tested, treated, and managed for millions of people, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Pictured in the Coptic Hospital, located in Nairobi, Kenya, which has run on the basis of access to PEPFAR.
Dr John Nkengasong (pictured) is a virologist who has spent decades working with HIV and AIDS patients throughout the African continent. Before PEPFAR went into effect, Nkengasong recalls a time in which patients and their caregivers, desperate for any treatment, were often left to watch their loved ones die.
Nkengasong references his infectious disease clinic, located in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where before PEPFAR, many patients lost their lives due to inadequate access to treatment.
In the late-1990s, antiretroviral medication cost nearly US$10,000 annually. Of the 10 million people living with HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, only 50,000 were able to access treatment.
PEPFAR has invested over $110 billion in HIV care and treatments, completely revolutionizing the delivery of care and prevention of disease acquisition. The US says the PEPFAR program saved the lives of more than 25 million people.
Less than two decades later, HIV rates had fallen by 70%. Today, there is a looming crisis around continued access to medication. Pictured is Uganda Young Positives (UYP), a key clinic in Uganda that improves the quality of life for young people living with the disease. They are facing cuts of up to 95% of the organization's programs, putting their operation at great risk.
Experts fear the number of HIV-related deaths could increase by 600% just in the next five years. Declining rates of condom use and rising complacent sentiments on HIV and AIDS are contributing to the projected rise in infection rates.
How does HIV permeate the body? What happens when people stop taking medications that manage the disease?
HIV (pictured under the microscope) is contracted through the spread of bodily fluids, including blood and semen. The disease targets the immune system, provoking a series of related diseases and infections that can cause death in the body of someone with a reduced immune capacity.
Well over 20 million people died of the disease and its related conditions before PEPFAR was founded and antiretrovirals became accessible. Pictured is a PEPFAR-funded HIV testing clinic in Uganda in 2005.
When patients suddenly stop taking medication that helps them manage the disease, the virus quickly begins multiplying in the body.
In addition to the risk of increased viral load, patients may also become resistant to treatments and medications that once helped manage their condition. This can also promote the proliferation of resistant disease strains.
When medication is stopped, HIV can be detectable in blood levels in just a few short weeks. This means partners may suddenly become at risk of contracting the disease.
Expecting and nursing mothers living with HIV can only prevent the infection of their children by managing their own viral loads. Pictured is the Nsanje District Hospital in Malawi, where pregnant women seek HIV treatment to prevent their children from being infected.
Therefore, if an HIV-positive woman who is either pregnant or breastfeeding stops taking medication, their babies face a significant risk of contracting the disease.
HIV has a very clear progression to the development of AIDS (pictured), which is often considered “the final stage of infection.” AIDS is much more difficult to manage than HIV and increases the risk of death.
To put this into perspective, people living with AIDS tend only to survive approximately three years without access to HIV treatment.
The challenge in both achieving rapid diagnosis (self-testing kit pictured) and treatment is that symptoms are very often not immediately apparent.
During the period in which someone is unaware of their condition, they can be spreading the disease to other people without their knowledge.
The violent attack on the immune system allows for what’s called “opportunistic diseases” to emerge, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, or fungal infections. Pictured is an AIDS patient suffering from pneumonia being taken to the hospital in an ambulance in Guatemala.
Although infections like pneumonia carry a deadly risk for everyone, HIV positive or not, for those with compromised immune systems, the risk is extreme.
For those living with HIV and AIDS, the vulnerability of their immune systems can only be managed through regular consumption of medication.
When medication stops, resistant disease strains may emerge, making the disease even more difficult to manage and prevent the spread of. Pictured is a mother and son in India, both living with HIV, who are struggling to manage a resistant strain of the disease.
Sources: (AP News) (World Health Organization)
See also: These HIV-positive stars lost their battle with AIDS
What happens to the body when HIV patients stop medication?
Without a cure, HIV is only manageable through medication
HEALTH Aids
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are nearly 40 million people living with HIV across the world, the majority of whom are women. Of those diagnosed with HIV, approximately 630,000 die from HIV-related causes. There is no cure for HIV and AIDS, but there are medications that can help manage the progression of the disease.
In 2023, 77% of people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy. Fewer people than ever are dying from the disease thanks to these treatments. Yet, President Trump's cut to development funds seriously impacts access to treatment worldwide, which experts fear may provoke an epidemic that we haven't seen since the disease's peak in 2004.
What happens when people suddenly lose access to treatment? Click through the gallery to find out more.