Global progress was being made against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria before the pandemic. Now, much of that progress has been set back, according to a Sept. 8 report from the Global Fund.
Five report notes:
1. Compared to 2019, about one million fewer people were tested and treated for TB in 2020 — an 18 percent drop.
2. The number of people treated for drug-resistant TB and extensively drug-resistant TB dropped by 19 percent and 37 percent, respectively.
"We've been hit really hard on TB," Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund, told The New York Times.. "I'm afraid that inevitably means hundreds of thousands of extra deaths."
3. HIV testing dropped by 22 percent from 2019 to 2020, while the number of young people reached with prevention services fell by 12 percent.
4. Interventions against malaria were least affected by COVID-19 disruptions. The number of suspected cases tested and cases treated fell by 4.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, though most countries were largely able to maintain preventive measures.
5. Despite the setbacks, some countries were able to implement innovative prevention strategies that will likely outlast the pandemic, such as sending multi-month supplies of drugs for TB and HIV; using digital tools to monitor TB treatment; and simultaneous testing for HIV, TB, and COVID-19, the Times reports.
The Global Fund is an advocacy group that invests billions of dollars per year to aid countries in fighting HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.