To commemorate World Aids Day on December 1, this week’s stories will all be about the latest news on HIV and how it affects us. If you like what we’re doing, please consider giving us a Like and Follow on our socials (IG: @asiadotgay, and FB: asiadotgay). You can also support us by donating to help us deliver critical HIV information in multiple languages across Asia.
More than 1 in three people who are at-risk for HIV either reduced their use of HIV preventive medicine or stopped completely.
This is according to a new survey by Kantar Health, a research group, aimed to assess the impact of Covid-19 on access to HIV care. The survey also noted that roughly 80% of HIV workers reported a decline in preventive prescriptions for persons at-risk for contracting the virus.
Another startling number: About 46% of the at-risk population reported a decrease in how often they were tested for HIV during the pandemic.
The main reasons for reduced testing were concerns of getting infected with Covid-19 (62%) and travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic (46%).
The survey was conducted online from October to November 2020 in 10 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region, comprising Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. A total of 1,265 respondents took part.
In the Asia-Pacific region, there are about 5.8 million people living with HIV, according to latest 2019 figures from UNAIDS, a United Nations agency.
Read our stories about the impact of Covid-19 on HIV below:
Will Covid-19 vaccines increase the risk of HIV?
Global toll of HIV expected to rise due to Covid-19
