The fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria hindered by the pandemic

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria says that in 2020, Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on prevention programs against the three diseases.

According to the foundation's report, HIV testing has dropped by 22% compared to 2019 resulting in a higher risk of infection and a delay in diagnosis and initiation of treatment.

The pandemic also impacted the fight against tuberculosis. The num-ber of patients treated for multidrug-resistant variants ⁽¹⁾ has de-creased by 19% in one year. This rate increases to 37% for extensive-ly drug-resistant tuberculosis ⁽²⁾ and 16% for HIV-positive tuberculosis patients already on antiretrovirals.

Less affected by the pandemic, the fight against malaria recorded a 17% increase in the number of mosquito nets distributed. However, the number of screenings for the disease deteriorated by 4.3%.

⁽¹⁾ The bacterium is resistant to isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most effective first-line drugs against TB.
⁽²⁾ the bacteria develop additional resistance to fluoroquinolones and to one of the second-line injectable anti-TB drugs (amikacin, capreomycin, kanamycin).