Back in the 1980s when the sexually transmitted disease Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) took centre stage it was seen as a virtual death sentence.

Surely, not many people then would have expected that four decades and an estimated 40 million deaths later there is still no cure.

And yet, over time, scientists have come up with medication for patients with HIV/AIDS that is not only saving and prolonging lives, but allowing a near-normal lifestyle.

This is why regional director of the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Dr Richard Amenyah declared ahead of Thursday’s observance of World AIDS Day that “nobody should die of HIV or AIDS in this day and age…”

Says he: “One pill a day is what it takes to keep people alive…”

Yet many people are still dying of the disease in Jamaica and much of the developing world.

According to Dr Amenyah, “Every week we have close to 27 Jamaicans becoming HIV-infected. On that same weekly basis we also have close to about 15 people dying of AIDS in Jamaica.” That adds up to about 1,400 new cases and 770 deaths annually.

Perhaps it would be understandable if antiretroviral medication was prohibitively expensive or hard to find. However, as we understand it, medication for the treatment of HIV/AIDS is free and available at public health institutions.

In some cases people who are HIV-positive may not have been diagnosed early, perhaps because they had not visited their doctor or health centre. But, in the majority of cases, it would appear, the death rate is as high as it is in Jamaica because of fear of homophobia, given the long-standing, mistaken perception that the disease is predominantly a problem for men who have sex with men.

Dr Amenyah tells us that, “We currently have about 30,000 Jamaicans living with HIV and, out of that, over 90 per cent of them know their HIV status. But … just about half of those who know their status are on treatment. So where are the remaining half? That is where the problem lies.”

Says he: “Available evidence shows that many of them are not showing up because of HIV-related stigma and discrimination.”

There is no easy fix. Hostility to homosexual practice is deeply embedded in the cultural/religious belief systems for most Jamaicans. That won’t change overnight. Polls have consistently shown the great majority remain adamantly opposed to removal of the antiquated buggery law which effectively criminalises same-sex relations for men. Yet, encouragingly, there is increasing tolerance and understanding at the community level for those thought to be gay.

Hopefully that trend will gradually accelerate allowing more people to confidently seek help. But, meanwhile, people are dying.

Dr Amenyah wants “a whole [new] societal approach to addressing issues around HIV”. We agree. We believe there should be a determined doubling down of education and communication about HIV and how to prevent and treat it, not just in formal media, but at every level, be it school, church, street corner, or dance.

As the situation now stands, too many people are dying needlessly from a disease which should be in full retreat.