Rev. Samuel Rodriguez: On World AIDS Day 2020, COVID Threatens to Reverse the Tide of Saving Lives
World AIDS Day marks “a time to mourn and a time to rejoice.” While COVID-19 remains the infectious disease top of mind to most Americans, Tuesday, Dec. 1, marks a time to remember the tens of millions of people who have died from AIDS-related illnesses, including nearly 700,000 people just last year.
We grieve these millions of lives, but we also celebrate the tremendous progress against the epidemic. With U.S. investments in The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), since the height of the HIV crisis in the early 2000s we have cut annual AIDS-related deaths and new infections by half. Today, 25.4 million are on lifesaving antiretroviral therapy.
However, COVID-19 now threatens to reverse the tide of saving lives with projections of death rates soaring to the height of the AIDS pandemic in the 2000s.
The Global Fund is reporting significant disruptions to AIDS service delivery due to lockdowns, medical staff being re-assigned to fight COVID-19, limited access to HIV services, and patients avoiding health care facilities because of fear of COVID-19 infection. Supply chains to deliver antiretroviral therapies also have been disrupted for the 16.4 million people on these lifesaving drugs in sub-Saharan Africa.
Since March, the Global Fund has played a critical role in the international COVID-19 response, working with partners to purchase and supply COVID-19 tests; strengthen local health systems so they can test, track and treat COVID-19; provide health workers with personal protective equipment; and adapt critical HIV, TB and malaria programs so they can safely operate during COVID-19. Moreover, they are prepared to roll out treatments and vaccines once they become available.
During the George W. Bush administration, I had the honor of championing what may be the legacy of his tenure: the commitment to Compassionate Conservativism, supporting global health and development.