Coronavirus: ‘Take a leaf out of AIDS activist book’ in addressing pandemic, WHO official says

The coronavirus pandemic has ‘exposed the same inequities’ as AIDS, Dr Michael Ryan says

The viruses are 'different in scope and nature, but comparable in many other ways', Dr Ryan, pictured far right, said (AFP via Getty Images)

Healthcare systems worldwide need to upgrade to control disease transmission and cope with large numbers of sick people during the coronavirus pandemic as well as future outbreaks, the head of the World Health Organisation‘s (WHO) emergencies program warned on Friday.

Dr Michael Ryan of the WHO, speaking during a video panel session organised by the International AIDS Society, said world leaders grappling with the current pandemic “need to take a leaf out of the HIV/AIDS activist book” and make sure access to healthcare is equitable and evidence-based.

The coronavirus pandemic, which has not yet peaked in many parts of the world, has exposed weaknesses and left billions of people without reliable and affordable access to essential health services, he said.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS, was often a fatal infection when it emerged in the 1980s, but today is considered manageable with antiretroviral drugs. There is no vaccine to protect against HIV, which is highly variable and cannot be eliminated by the body’s own immune response.

But researchers do expect to eventually have vaccines effective against the coronavirus, which people can recover from on their own.

The WHO official said the two viruses are “different in scope and nature, but are comparable in so many other ways”, exposing the same inequities and generating similar injustices and denial.

“We cannot become distracted with retrospection and finger-pointing ... We need to look ahead,” Dr Ryan said.

Reuters