Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(New York, USA) World Lung Foundation issued the following statement to coincide with World Aids Day 2015. José Luis Castro, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Lung Foundation and the Union North America and Executive Director, The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, said:
“It is inspiring to witness and to be part of the global community’s annual renewal of its commitment to combat premature death from HIV and AIDS. Governments and health advocates recently committed to delivering a number of health goals under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the theme of this year’s World AIDS Day – “Getting to zero; end Aids by 2030” – is very much in keeping with the desire to build a healthier, wealthier world for all people, everywhere, over the next fifteen years.
“There is no doubt that increasing access to retrovirals is the most critical strategy to deliver this goal; in countries where access to retrovirals is routine, life expectancy is increasing. But this benefit can be eroded through co-morbidities arising from factors like tobacco use and tuberculosis (TB). Addressing these issues could further increase life expectancy among those living with HIV and AIDS.
“Earlier this year, the Tobacco Atlas reminded us that high smoking rates among people living with HIV worsens mortality rates. In a Danish study, smokers living with HIV lost twice as many years of life than non-smokers living with HIV. Rather than accepting this needless loss of so many life years to tobacco, we could reverse this trend through greater integration of smoking cessation services into HIV and AIDS health care.
“Similarly, there is a global body of evidence pointing to the fact that HIV infection greatly increases the risk of TB infection and TB infection exacerbates the suffering (and reduces the life expectancy) of people living with HIV. This is particularly evident in Africa and in countries like India and Indonesia in Southeast Asia, where there is a significant burden of TB. Again, tobacco use increases the risk of contracting TB; a recent study showed that 21% of TB cases in adults were attributable to tobacco. By reducing tobacco use among people living with HIV and AIDS and diagnosing and treating those with TB more effectively, we can further increase life expectancy.
“Global health experts will debate these challenges and potential solutions during sessions on TB/HIV and tobacco control at this week’s 46th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cape Town, South Africa. I am certain the resulting insights and sharing of best practice will help to move us closer towards ending premature deaths from AIDS.”