HIV/AIDS in Algeria

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Algeria has one of the lowest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Africa. In 2022, the United Nations estimated that there were 10,000 adults and children living with the disease in the country, accounting for 0.05% of the total population.https://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/algeria

Contents

Prevalence

HIV/AIDS was first identified in Sétif in 1986. Around 5000 Algerians have died of AIDS-related complications since the epidemic began. [1] [2]

During the early years of the epidemic, national understanding of the disease was low, which led to a likely discrepancy in the number of Algerians contracting HIV/AIDS with the number of reported cases. The traditionally conservative culture often meant that discussing the disease, either publicly or privately, was considered a social taboo. [3]

The World Health Organization has identified drug users, sex workers and men who have sex with men as being the key populations among whom the HIV/AIDS epidemic is concentrated. [4]

The number of women infected with HIV/AIDS has sharply increased, with the ratio of men to women having contracted the disease changing from 5:1 at the beginning of the epidemic to 1:1 by 2004. This has been attributed to the prevalence of married Algerian men having extra-marital affairs, contracting HIV/AIDS and subsequently transmitting it to their wives. [5]

Subtype B is the most common type of HIV in northern Algeria, accounting for 56% of cases. There is more variety of strains in southern Algeria, which has been linked to its closer proximity with sub-Saharan countries where HIV/AIDS is more prevalent. [5]

National response

On 1 December 2003, then-President of Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika made a speech commemorating World AIDS Day, marking the first time he had extensively discussed HIV/AIDS. He stressed the importance of breaking the cultural taboo around discussing the disease, in addition to raising public awareness about HIV/AIDS, its transmission, symptoms, testing, and treatment; addressing women's social vulnerability to contacting the disease; the importance of maintaining confidentiality within the health service; and addressing the disease in a culturally appropriate way. [6]

The Algerian government's subsequent response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been praised by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, which described the country as a "pioneer in the region" for its prioritisation of cross-sectoral action, community involvement, and innovative policies, which it said had led to a sustained low-level epidemic. [7] [8] Universal health care is enshrined in the Constitution of Algeria, and free antiviral therapy has been offered to patients since 1998. [6] [9]

In 2012, Algeria partnered with UNAIDS to build the first HIV/AIDS research centre in the Middle East and North Africa, to be based in Tamanrasset, close to the country's borders with several countries and on a popular route for migrants. [10] As of 2016, all health centres in Algeria have HIV/AIDS testing facilities, with the Algiers Centre of Excellence for Research on Health and HIV/AIDS serving as a regional hub for research, training, and medicine production pertaining to HIV/AIDS. [9]

In 2016, the Algiers Declaration was signed, vowing to eradicate HIV/AIDS in North Africa and the Middle East by promoting increased testing and treatment, particularly among drug users, sex workers, and men who have sex with men. [9]

The role of non-governmental organisations such as Solidarité AIDS and El-Hayat have been attributed to Algeria's response to the epidemic. [7] This has included completing outreach work with vulnerable groups, such as offering condoms and testing to licensed sex workers. [5] [6]

Difficulties in treatment

While the overall prevalence of HIV/AIDS is low in Algeria, public understanding of the disease and how it is transmitted has been described as "mediocre" among the population, particularly among young people. [2] [4] While it is taught as part of secondary education, access to HIV/AIDS services like testing, treatment and advice is only available to people under 18 with parental consent. [4] The stigmatisation of people with HIV/AIDS has led to some parents not consenting, as well as to adults with the disease declining testing or antiretroviral drugs. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIV/AIDS in Africa</span>

HIV/AIDS originated in the early 20th century and has become a major public health concern and cause of death in many countries. AIDS rates vary significantly between countries, with the majority of cases concentrated in Southern Africa. Although the continent is home to about 15.2 percent of the world's population, more than two-thirds of the total population infected worldwide – approximately 35 million people – were Africans, of whom around 1 million have already died. Eastern and Southern Africa alone accounted for an estimate of 60 percent of all people living with HIV and 100 percent of all AIDS deaths in 2011. The countries of Eastern and Southern Africa are most affected, leading to raised death rates and lowered life expectancy among adults between the ages of 20 and 49 by about twenty years. Furthermore, life expectancy in many parts of Africa is declining, largely as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with life-expectancy in some countries reaching as low as thirty-nine years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS</span> Pandemic of HIV/AIDS

The global pandemic of HIV/AIDS began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2023, HIV/AIDS had killed approximately 40.4 million people, and approximately 39 million people were infected with HIV globally. Of these, 29.8 million people (75%) are receiving antiretroviral treatment. There were about 630,000 deaths from HIV/AIDS in 2022. The 2015 Global Burden of Disease Study estimated that the global incidence of HIV infection peaked in 1997 at 3.3 million per year. Global incidence fell rapidly from 1997 to 2005, to about 2.6 million per year. Incidence of HIV has continued to fall, decreasing by 23% from 2010 to 2020, with progress dominated by decreases in Eastern Africa and Southern Africa. As of 2020, there are approximately 1.5 million new infections of HIV per year globally.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, varies in prevalence from nation to nation. Listed here are the prevalence rates among adults in various countries, based on data from various sources, largely the CIA World Factbook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIV/AIDS in Asia</span>

In 2008, 4.7 million people in Asia were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Asia's epidemic peaked in the mid-1990s, and annual HIV incidence has declined since then by more than half. Regionally, the epidemic has remained somewhat stable since 2000.

The Caribbean is the second-most affected region in the world in terms of HIV prevalence rates. Based on 2009 data, about 1.0 percent of the adult population is living with the disease, which is higher than any other region except Sub-Saharan Africa. Several factors influence this epidemic, including poverty, gender, sex tourism, and stigma. HIV incidence in the Caribbean declined 49% between 2001 and 2012. Different countries have employed a variety of responses to the disease, with a range of challenges and successes.

HIV is recognized as a health concern in Pakistan with the number of cases growing. Moderately high drug use and lack of acceptance that non-marital sex is common in the society have allowed the HIV epidemic to take hold in Pakistan, mainly among injecting drug users (IDU), male, female and transvestite sex workers as well as the repatriated migrant workers. HIV infection can lead to AIDS that may become a major health issue.

Human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome in Burma is recognised as a disease of concern by the Ministry of Health and is a major social and health issue in the country. In 2005, the estimated adult HIV prevalence rate in Burma was 1.3%, according to UNAIDS, and early indicators show that the epidemic may be waning in the country, although the epidemic continues to expand in parts of the country. Four different strains of HIV are believed to have originated from Burma, along heroin trafficking routes in northern, eastern and western Burma.

Since the first HIV/AIDS case in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) was identified in 1990, the number of infections has continued to grow. In 2005, UNAIDS estimated that 3,700 people in Lao PDR were living with HIV.

Angola has a large HIV/AIDS infected population, however, it has one of the lowest prevalence rates in the Southern Africa zone. The status of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Angola is expected to change within the near future due to several forms of behavioral, cultural, and economic characteristics within the country such as lack of knowledge and education, low levels of condom use, the frequency of sex and number of sex partners, economic disparities and migration. There is a significant amount of work being done in Angola to combat the epidemic, but most aid is coming from outside of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo</span>

The Democratic Republic of the Congo was one of the first African countries to recognize HIV, registering cases of HIV among hospital patients as early as 1983.

Kenya has a severe, generalized HIV epidemic, but in recent years, the country has experienced a notable decline in HIV prevalence, attributed in part to significant behavioral change and increased access to ARV. Adult HIV prevalence is estimated to have fallen from 10 percent in the late 1990s to about 4.8 percent in 2017. Women face considerably higher risk of HIV infection than men but have longer life expectancies than men when on ART. The 7th edition of AIDS in Kenya reports an HIV prevalence rate of eight percent in adult women and four percent in adult men. Populations in Kenya that are especially at risk include injecting drug users and people in prostitution, whose prevalence rates are estimated at 53 percent and 27 percent, respectively. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are also at risk at a prevalence of 18.2%. Other groups also include discordant couples however successful ARV-treatment will prevent transmission. Other groups at risk are prison communities, uniformed forces, and truck drivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIV/AIDS in Lesotho</span>

HIV/AIDS in Lesotho constitutes a very serious threat to Basotho and to Lesotho's economic development. Since its initial detection in 1986, HIV/AIDS has spread at alarming rates in Lesotho. In 2000, King Letsie III declared HIV/AIDS a natural disaster. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in 2016, Lesotho's adult prevalence rate of 25% is the second highest in the world, following Eswatini.

UNAIDS has said that HIV/AIDS in Indonesia is one of Asia's fastest growing epidemics. In 2010, it is expected that 5 million Indonesians will have HIV/AIDS. In 2007, Indonesia was ranked 99th in the world by prevalence rate, but because of low understanding of the symptoms of the disease and high social stigma attached to it, only 5-10% of HIV/AIDS sufferers actually get diagnosed and treated. According to the a census conducted in 2019, it is counted that 640,443 people in the country are living with HIV. The adult prevalence for HIV/ AIDS in the country is 0.4%. Indonesia is the country in Southeast Asia to have the most number of recorded people living with HIV while Thailand has the highest adult prevalence.

The southeast-Asian nation of East Timor has dealt with HIV/AIDS since its first documented case in 2001. It has one of the lowest HIV/AIDS-prevalence rates in the world.

Since HIV/AIDS was first reported in Thailand in 1984, 1,115,415 adults had been infected as of 2008, with 585,830 having died since 1984. 532,522 Thais were living with HIV/AIDS in 2008. In 2009 the adult prevalence of HIV was 1.3%. As of 2016, Thailand had the highest prevalence of HIV in Southeast Asia at 1.1 percent, the 40th highest prevalence of 109 nations.

HIV/AIDS in Bolivia has a less than 1 percent prevalence of Bolivia's adult population estimated to be HIV-positive. Bolivia has one of the lowest HIV prevalence rates in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

In 2016, the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in adults aged 15–49 was 0.3%, relatively low for a developing country. This low prevalence has been maintained, as in 2006, the HIV prevalence in Mexico was estimated at around 0.3% as well. The infected population is remains mainly concentrated among high risk populations, men who have sex with other men, intravenous drug users, and commercial sex workers. This low national prevalence is not reflected in the high-risk populations. The prison population in Mexico, faces a fairly similar low rate of around 0.7%. Among the population of prisoners, around 2% are known to be infected with HIV. Sex workers, male and female, face an HIV prevalence of around 7%. Identifying gay men and men who have sex with other men have a prevalence of 17.4%. The highest risk-factor group is identifying transgender people; about 17.4% of this population is known to be infected with HIV. Around 90% of new infections occur by sex-related methods of transmission. Of these known infected populations, around 60% of living infected people are known to be on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).

Nicaragua has 0.2 percent of the adult population estimated to be HIV-positive. Nicaragua has one of the lowest HIV prevalence rates in Central America.

With less than 1 percent of the population estimated to be HIV-positive, Egypt is a low-HIV-prevalence country. However, between the years 2006 and 2011, HIV prevalence rates in Egypt increased tenfold. Until 2011, the average number of new cases of HIV in Egypt was 400 per year, but in 2012 and 2013, it increased to about 600 new cases, and in 2014, it reached 880 new cases per year. According to 2016 statistics from UNAIDS, there are about 11,000 people currently living with HIV in Egypt. The Ministry of Health and Population reported in 2020 over 13,000 Egyptians are living with HIV/AIDS. However, unsafe behaviors among most-at-risk populations and limited condom usage among the general population place Egypt at risk of a broader epidemic.

With an estimated 120,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Colombia is consistent with the epidemic in much of Latin America as a whole, both in terms of prevalence of infection and characteristics of transmission and affected populations. Colombia has a relatively low rate of HIV infection at 0.4%. Certain groups, particularly men who have sex with men, bear the burden of significantly higher rates of infection than the general population. Colombia's health care system and conception of a "right to health", created by the T-760 decision of 2008, have revolutionized access to HIV treatment. Despite this, the quality of health insurance and treatment for HIV has often been disputed.

References

  1. ↑ Ouyahia, Amel; Rais, Mounira; Gasmi, Abdelkader; Guenifi, Wahiba; Mechakra, Salah; Lacheheb, Abdemadjid (11 May 2023). "HIV/AIDS epidemic features and trends in Setif city (Algeria) from 1986 to 2009". Retrovirology . 7. doi: 10.1186/1742-4690-7-S1-P99 . PMC   3315915 .
  2. 1 2 Zhang, Yawei (2008). Encyclopedia of Global Health. Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. ISBN   9781412941860.
  3. ↑ Hadefri, R. (March 1995). "AIDS in Algeria: the disease and the shame". AIDS Analysis Africa. 5 (2): 5. PMID   12288605 – via National Library of Medicine.
  4. 1 2 3 "HIV/AIDS Infographics - Algeria country profile". UNPFA . July 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Abu-Raddad, Laith J.; Ayodeji-Akala, Francisca; Semini, Iris; Riedner, Gabriele; Wilson, David; Tawil, Ousama (2010). Characterising the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the Middle East and North Africa: Time for Strategic Action. Washington, D.C.: World Bank. ISBN   9780821381380.
  6. 1 2 3 Ayodeji-Akala, Francisca; Jenkins, Carolyn (2005). Preventing HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa: A Window of Opportunity to Act. Washington, D.C.: World Bank. ISBN   978-0-8213-6264-8.
  7. 1 2 Jones, Kalli (2021). "Prevalence of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Algeria" (PDF). Mercer University's Department of International and Global Studies. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Youth and innovation shine on World AIDS Day in Algeria". UNAIDS . 1 December 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 "Algeria leads push to end the AIDS epidemic in the Middle East and North Africa". UNAIDS . 15 January 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  10. 1 2 Boumedjout, Hichem (10 May 2012). "Algeria to tackle HIV/AIDS". Nature – via doi.org.
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