As of 2016, a total of 36.7 million people worldwide were infected with HIV. So prevention and treatment remain essential.
An estimated 26,000 people in the Netherlands are living with HIV/AIDS. Although the number of new infections is decreasing gradually, every year about a thousand people are diagnosed as HIV-positive. Unfortunately, some 45 per cent of them seek medical help too late. As a result, the effects of HIV/AIDS still claim more than forty lives annually. ZonMw is supporting research to better understand the transmission, progression and prevention of the virus.
Dedicated to raising awareness and promoting prevention and research, every 1 December World AIDS Day highlights the many issues surrounding HIV-AIDS nationally and internationally. For 2018, the United Nations chose “Live life positively—know your HIV status” as the day’s theme, with a campaign focusing on HIV testing.
PrEP is a pill that can prevent an HIV infection. A wonderful example of an effective tool.
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One key strategy in HIV-AIDS prevention, alongside condom use, is the early detection and treatment of infections. The Netherlands systematically screens groups at particular risk.
Read more about HIV preventionSex between men is the principal source of HIV infection. Eighty per cent of those living with the virus are male, with men who have sex with men the group most at risk. HIV is most common in the 25-50 age group.
As of 2016, a total of 36.7 million people worldwide were infected with HIV. Most of them – about 70 per cent – live in Africa. In 2017, 1015 new cases were reported in the Netherlands. Dutch spending on HIV/AIDS care and treatment totalled €164 million in 2011. Of this, €134 million euros (82 per cent) went on medicines and medical aids (€12,000 per patient per year for life) and €15 million (9 per cent) on hospital and specialist medical care.
Research into the cost-effectiveness of a so-called “adherence-improving self-management strategy” (AIMS) for HIV has shown that this intervention is both cheaper and more beneficial than regular care.
Read more about the ZonMw project (Dutch)
AMPrEP, the Amsterdam PrEP Project, is a study into the utility and cost-effectiveness of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) therapy for HIV prevention in the Netherlands, as well as user compliance. The so-called HIV-prevention pill has recently become cheaper.
AMPrEP (Amsterdam PrEP)-project (Dutch)