There are many different reasons that could cause services to be interrupted—this modelling exercise makes it clear that communities and partners need to take action now as the impact of a six-month disruption of antiretroviral therapy could effectively set the clock on AIDS-related deaths back to 2008, when more than 950 000 AIDS-related deaths were observed in the region.
And people would continue to die from the disruption in large numbers for at least another five years, with an annual average excess in deaths of 40% over the next half a decade.
943
此外，艾滋病毒服务中断也可能对明年的艾滋病毒发病率产生一些影响。
In addition, HIV service disruptions could also have some impact on HIV incidence in the next year.
“The terrible prospect of half a million more people in Africa dying of AIDS-related illnesses is like stepping back into history,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.
945
“我们必须将此视为是在警示各国要确定维持所有重要卫生服务的方式。
“We must read this as a wake-up call to countries to identify ways to sustain all vital health services.
For HIV, some countries are already taking important steps, for example ensuring that people can collect bulk packs of treatment, and other essential commodities, including self-testing kits, from drop-off points, which relieves pressure on health services and the health workforce.
947
我们还必须确保全球检测和治疗的供应继续流向需要它们的国家，”谭德塞博士补充道。
We must also ensure that global supplies of tests and treatments continue to flow to the countries that need them,” added Dr Tedros.
Those people now risk having their treatment interrupted because HIV services are closed or are unable to supply antiretroviral therapy because of disruptions to the supply chain or because services simply become overwhelmed due to competing needs to support the COVID-19 response.