The lecture –presentation on “The role of social workers in the fight against AIDS” dedicated to the World AIDS Day was held on December 1 by the club "Empathy" operating under the Department of Social Work at Azerbaijan University.The lecture was delivered by Tarana Movsumova, a teacher of the Department of Social Work and Aysel Babayeva, a graduate student studying in "Social work in various areas of life."

The lecture provided information on the nature and history of HIV / AIDS (HIV-Human Immunodeficiency Virus, AIDS-Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), ways of infection, characteristics of the virus, indications, diagnosis of virus, diseases that can be caused by AIDS, ways of protection,  the initial reactions to the disease, the impact of the disease on human psychology , the social problems caused by HIV / AIDS, and necessities that should be done by social workers in this case .

It was also noted that in 1988, the World Health Organization, with the support of the United Nations, declared December 1 as World AIDS Day . The main purpose of the celebration of this day is to bring the countries of the world together in the fight against the problem. This date was created to draw the attention of the international community to the fight against HIV, which has become a global pandemic. According to statistics, about 37 million people worldwide live with HIV / AIDS. Over 18 million of them are children under the age of 15. 1.8 million people are infected every day. 180 thousand of them are children under the age of 15. In 2019, there are 37.9 million people living with AIDS worldwide.  24.5 million people are being treated. Experts note that the number of deaths from this disease also decreases due to the availability of retroviral drugs. New approaches to HIV testing based on voluntariness and confidentiality have enabled many people to detect the disease at an early stage and to avoid discrimination by starting early treatment. However, discrimination and inequality in society hinder to  prevent the spread of the virus. Every week, about 6,000 young women between the ages of 15 and 24 are infected. In 2018, 160,000 children under the age of 14 are also carriers of the AIDS virus. A new UNICEF report recently states that 320 children die every day, and 13 children and teenagers die every hour.

In Azerbaijan, the carrier of the virus was first discovered in 1987. HIV / AIDS also being an actual problem in Azerbaijan is under the control of the Ministry of Health. Azerbaijan is among the countries with the lowest rates of HIV infection, and HIV infection occurs mainly among injection drug users belonging to the high-risk population group.

Public Relations Department
29.11.2019