TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — To celebrate World AIDS Day on Sunday (Dec. 1), Taipei 101 lit up with a special message about “love, health, equality."
At a press conference of health officials, Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳), a senior expert with the Central Epidemic Command Center, said Taiwan's performance in AIDS prevention should be applauded. Chang said he hoped Taiwan's domestic prevention efforts could be the top in the world like its baseball team, per CNA.
The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is “Take the Rights Path: My Health, My Right!” In addition, the slogan “U=U,” or “Undetectable=Untransmittable,” means that if the virus cannot be detected, AIDS cannot be transmitted. Advocates hope this slogan can eliminate the public's misunderstanding of HIV.
Taiwan Centers for Disease Control Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said that joint efforts have brought domestic AIDS transmission under control. Chou said that in 2023, Taiwan has largely met the United Nations “95-95-95 goal,” which is 95% of infected people knowing their HIV status, 95% of infected people taking medication, and 95% of people taking medication being virally suppressed.
However, Chou said, “As long as there is discrimination, AIDS will not disappear." Chou believes that discrimination has prevented society from solving problems.
“Only 91% of infected people know that they are infected. There is still a long way to go to overcome the challenges,” said Chou. He hoped Taiwan could reach “98-98-98” in the above-mentioned categories.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the first imported case of HIV infection in Taiwan. “Over the past 40 years, AIDS has gone from a terminal illness with no cure to a chronic disease that can be properly controlled with one pill a day," Lo said.
Lo said that as of the end of October, 834 new people were infected with AIDS in Taiwan, a slight increase of 4.8% from the same period last year. Lo said that COVID-19 led to a reduction in AIDS screening and treatment.
To encourage the public to undertake AIDS screening, those who purchase an AIDS self-screening test can enjoy free shipping until Dec. 31.