“Getting to Zero: Zero new HIV infections. Zero deaths from AIDS-related illness. Zero discrimination” is the theme of World AIDS Day 2012 on 1 December. Life-saving antiretrovirals have reduced new HIV infections and deaths. The 2015 target of 15 million HIV-infected people on antiretroviral medicines worldwide looks more achievable now than ever before.
World AIDS Day – BMJ special promotion
The BMJ Group is putting together a special promotional webpage for World AIDS Day on 1st December that will offer a week’s free access to all relevant content published by our full range of journals. Please click here for access
New resources for young people living with HIV
To mark World AIDS day on the 1st of December, the Children and Young People HIV Network, based at leading children’s charity the National Children’s Bureau, is sending a message of support to young people with HIV by launching a range of materials to support them in managing life with the condition.
The ‘Your Life’ leaflets and the ‘Studying with HIV’ guidance and LifeLinks resources are all available from www.ncb.org.uk/hiv
More than Half of those with HIV in the UK are Overweight: The Surprising Issues Facing Those Living with HIV
The British Dietetic Association (BDA) will once again be supporting World Aids Day on 1st December. Early data from the BDA’s DHIVA specialist group audit suggests that more than half of people living with HIV in the UK are overweight or obese, with only about one-in-nine being underweight.
In fact by far the most common issues facing HIV dietitians in the outpatient clinic these days are dyslipidaemia, hypertension, diabetes and osteoporosis, with over 75% of HIV patients Vitamin D deficient. Dealing with these issues is not as straightforward as it might seem, with HIV-specific barriers to lifestyle change emerging.
Members report common themes from their patients, including a fear that deliberate weight loss might lead to others guessing their HIV status (“why are you getting thin – you don’t have AIDS do you?”), and a feeling that being overweight is safer (“I remember how ill and thin I was before starting ARVs and I don’t want to go back there again”). from Alastair Duncan, Chairman of the BDA’s DHIVA (Dietitians in HIV/Aids) specialist group.
UNITAID welcomed the good news this World AIDS Day that the number of children newly infected with HIV continues to decline but urges the international community to step up efforts for those children already living with the disease. more from the website
2012 UNAIDS World AIDS Day Report