There were 8 million syphilis cases in 2022. Moreover, an estimated 220,000 deaths every year are attributed to syphilis alone. The report also shows that more women suffer from chlamydia than men and almost the same number from syphilis.
Dr Doherty agrees that, "We have been ignoring STIs for a long time. Our public health programmes for STIs have somehow not got the attention that they need. Also, as compared to HIV, there is even greater stigma and discrimination when it comes to STIs. People like to keep their sexually transmitted infections quiet; they like to maybe go to the private sector, to take their antibiotics on their own and not have to share that - because often many STIs are self-limiting or can be treated in a few days to a week. But there are some STI with major consequences affecting many people around the world - like the human papilloma virus (HPV) and the associated cervical cancer, anal cancer; and we also have the herpes viruses. We are seeing a rise in congenital syphilis that can be fatal for the newborn infant. This is really a breakdown of public health programmes. Perhaps testing may not be happening for syphilis for pregnant women. There are also problems with accessing penicillin for treatment of syphilis in some places."
Person centeredness in healthcare
Dr Meg Doherty stressed on having more people-centred, rights-based and gender transformative responses for controlling STIs, just as there are for HIV control programmes.
"It is important for people to feel that they are in control of their health. In our technical guidelines we have self-testing, self-care, and self-collection of samples for STI testing. We want to instill ownership in people- not only over their choice but also to become aware of STIs and their treatment. It is the person centeredness we have to have in healthcare facilities. Primary health centres should be able to offer multiple testing in one area- test for HIV, syphilis, other STIs, viral hepatitis- for people at risk."
Need to do more on addressing viral hepatitis
Currently, 50 million people are infected with hepatitis-C virus (HCV) and 254 million with chronic hepatitis-B virus (HBV) around the world, with 1.2 million new hepatitis-B infections each year. As per latest data, only 13% of people with hepatitis-B infection had been diagnosed and only 3% (7 million) were on treatment. Only 36% of people with HCV had been diagnosed and 20% had received curative treatment, even though antiviral medicines can cure more than 95% of persons with HCV infection.
"We have had a vaccine for hepatitis B for so many years," reminds Dr Doherty.
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