GENEVA, 26 November 2024 – As World AIDS Day approaches (1 December), a new UNAIDS report reveals that the world can achieve the goal of ending AIDS as a threat to public health by 2030 – but only if leaders protect the human rights of all people living with or at risk of HIV. The message of the report is summed up in its title: “Taking the Rights Path to End AIDS.”
“Despite considerable progress in the fight against HIV, human rights violations continue to prevent the world from ending AIDS,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “When girls are deprived of education, when gender-based violence goes unpunished, when people risk being arrested for who they are or who they love, or when accessing health services becomes unsafe due to their community, they are deprived of essential services to save their lives and end the pandemic. Protecting the health of all means protecting the rights of all. »
Among the 39.9 million people living with HIV, 9.3 million still do not have access to life-saving treatment. Last year, 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses, while 1.3 million new infections were recorded worldwide. In at least 28 countries, the number of new infections is increasing. To reverse this trend, it is imperative that life-saving programs are accessible to all without fear.
In 2023, every day, 570 young women and girls aged 15 to 24 contracted HIV. Across 22 countries in eastern and southern Africa, young women and girls in this age group are three times more likely to live with HIV than their male counterparts.
“No girl should be deprived of the education and information she needs to protect herself,” said Nomonde Ngema, a 21-year-old activist living with HIV. “Discrimination and violence against girls must be treated as human rights and health emergencies. »
Criminalization and stigmatization of marginalized communities hinder access to essential HIV health services. In the 2021 Political Declaration on Ending HIV/AIDS, countries committed that by 2025, fewer than 10% of countries will maintain restrictive legal and policy frameworks limiting access to HIV/AIDS services. HIV. However, in 2023, 63 countries still criminalize same-sex relations. These laws hamper the response to HIV: among men who have sex with men, HIV prevalence is five times higher in countries where such relations are criminalized.
“Punitive laws and policies keep vulnerable people away from essential services to prevent, test and treat HIV,” said Axel Bautista, community engagement manager at MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health & Rights. “Instead of punishing marginalized communities, governments must guarantee their human rights. »
Science continues to innovate against AIDS. Long-acting medicines, which require only a few injections per year, could be a game-changer, but only if a human rights-based approach is taken to make these technologies accessible and affordable across the world.
“Life-saving medical tools cannot be viewed as simple commodities,” said Alexandra Calmy, an HIV specialist at Geneva University Hospitals. “Revolutionary therapeutic and preventive options under development must be made available without delay to ensure universal access. »
“We know the path to building a society where everyone can prosper,” said Jeanne Gapiya-Niyonzima, founder of ANSS and the first person in Burundi to publicly reveal that she lived with HIV. “If the world is to end AIDS as a public health threat, it must protect the rights of every individual. »
The report includes ten essays by leaders in the global fight against AIDS, including Elton John; the Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba; Irish President Michael D. Higgins; the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk; and former president of the International AIDS Society, Adeeba Kamarulzaman.
In his essay, Elton John writes: “I know the feeling of shame and its consequences. As long as HIV is seen as a disease that affects “others” and not so-called “decent people”, AIDS will not be defeated. Science, medicine and technology may be the “what” to ending AIDS, but inclusion, empathy and compassion are the “how”. »
President Michael D. Higgins adds: “Ensuring the fullness of human rights is a crucial practical necessity if we are to rid the world of the scourge of AIDS. Keeping the promise to end AIDS as a public health threat is a political and financial choice. It is high time to choose the right path. »
UN/AIDS Press Release