Asia Pacific region needs a HIV prevention revolution: HIV new infection rates decline has flatlined
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Let us refresh the old gold Buddhist tale of The Quail and the Net: "Long ago a flock of quails lived in a forest. Everyday a hunter would cast a net and trap many of them. But eventually, a wise quail told the rest that if they worked together, they could lift the net collectively at the same moment and escape as one. Next time the hunter tried to capture them, quails moved in unison, raising the net and flying off together. Unity is strength," said Eamonn Murphy, Director of UNAIDS for Asia Pacific and Central Asia and Eastern Europe regions around the world's largest conference on HIV science (13th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science).
He continued narrating this tale of deep wisdom: "For several days thereafter, quails were able to drop the net far from the catcher's reach. But soon some of them became annoyed - small quarrels started - one quail felt 'I am doing most of the work' the other felt 'I want to go in the opposite direction' - eventually they stopped working together. Next time the net fell, instead of flying, they argued. Then the hunter caught them all. This tale teaches us that the discord and breaking focus can lead to ruin."
AIDS response faces the ruin but would we - the quails - fight or unite?
"I would be blunt. Today, it is the AIDS response that faces ruin. We are all the quails - from advocates to academics, countries to communities, doctors to development partners - we worked together to lift the net of the disease that once threatened to devastate us. We even came up with a plan to cast it off for good. Some of us have grown tired, others are doing part of the work but not all they should - many are not pulling their weight - and now we risk being tracked by a disease we should be condemning to history," said Eamonn Murphy of UNAIDS.
"Recent global funding cuts could send the world back to levels of HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths not seen since the early 2000s," said Murphy while showing a 5-years projection of how new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths globally can dangerously rise if the lost funding both this year and in recent years does not return. "Many countries have reduced their investments and domestic funding is often inadequate to fully fund the AIDS response - which has been relying on external support."
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