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To mark World AIDS Day, the
International Organization for Immigration (IOM) focused on the plight of
migrants, who, it reports, are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS in
high-income countries. Although this year’s UNAIDS report on the global AIDS
epidemic showed a sharp decline in HIV infection in low-and middle-income
countries, the number of infections is rising in more affluent nations.
According to the IOM, migrants are particularly badly affected by AIDS in
high-income countries. Chris Lom, an IOM spokesperson, noted that migrants and
mobile populations are at high risk worldwide because they face
marginalization, exclusion, and barriers to accessing health promotion and
health care that indigenous people do not face.
UNAIDS reports that 45 countries,
territories, and areas impose restrictions on the entry of people with HIV.
Also, there is a lack of awareness of migrants’ vulnerability to the disease in
high-income countries. In Canada, the estimated infection rate of migrants from
HIV-endemic countries is 8.5 times higher than among other Canadians. In the
United States, a study between 2007 and 2010 showed that foreign-born people
made up 13 percent of the total population, but accounted for more than 16
percent of new HIV infections. Also, in the European Union, more than one-third
of all HIV infections acquired through heterosexual transmission are among
migrants from a country with a generalized HIV epidemic.
Lom stated that the highest
incidence of HIV in the United States, Canada, and Europe can be found among
individuals from Africa and the Caribbean, which are considered HIV-endemic
countries. Lom also explained that migrants often get infected after their
arrival in the new country. The IOM urges nations to reach out to migrants to make
prevention information, treatment, care, and support available.
UNAIDS reports that 2.5 million
individuals were newly infected with HIV in 2011 and an estimated 1.7 million
died. However, these figures are encouraging, as there are now 700,000 fewer
new infections worldwide than 10 years ago and 600,000 fewer deaths than in
2005. The antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV are responsible for much of
the progress.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
