This story first appeared in the UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2025 report.

Amhara in northern Ethiopia is a region with a rich cultural history. The birthplace of the national language, Amharic, it is home to ancient churches such as the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lalibela. In April 2023, the region was plunged into crisis when internal armed conflict erupted. The consequences were devastating. 

Thousands of people were displaced, gender-based violence surged, essential services such as health and education were disrupted, and travel between cities became almost impossible. 

As formal systems broke down, local community-based organizations and drop-in centres in urban areas such as the regional capital Bahir Dar continued to monitor the situation on the ground and provide vital services. These organizations became lifelines for people living with HIV, people from key populations and young people. 

This changed in February 2025. Cuts in United States funding disrupted essential services. Many community-run organizations that relied on those funds were forced to close. Outreach workers who had built trust with people on their doorsteps were suddenly laid off. Peer support groups vanished. Fear took hold.

“I often find myself overwhelmed with stress,” says a member of one women-led association of people living with HIV. “If medicine and other services stop, where will I go? I simply do not have the means to afford the treatment I need.” 

The data collected by the association paint a stark picture. For two months, no new clients have been enrolled in PrEP. “One of my biggest concerns is not having access to condoms,” says a case manager. “Without them, HIV will spread much more easily.” 

She adds, “Without a financial budget, our members are left without the basics, no food, medical care, transportation, no hope. They have families. They rely heavily on this support. It would make a huge difference if members could access free medical treatment and hospital services. Many cannot even afford one meal a day. Their health is deteriorating. Their children are suffering. What they need most is dignity, food and a fighting chance.” 

Yet even when faced with collapse, communities refused to give up. Young volunteers formed informal networks and WhatsApp groups to check on peers and stay connected. Mothers banded together to support children’s treatment. Youth collectives used community radio and shared airtime to spread critical health information. 

Where formal systems failed, communities built their own safety nets. 

The situation in Bahir Dar was a wake-up call. It exposed the fragility of systems dependent on a single funding source. 

This crisis shows that resilience must be built into HIV responses from the start. Community-led and youth-driven responses must be recognized, resourced and scaled up. UNAIDS is providing support to community organizations to access funding support from local government authorities and private foundations to empower them to continue this important work of community outreach to the most vulnerable populations. 

The conflict in the region has shown once again that HIV must feature in humanitarian, development and recovery agendas. The intertwined challenges of conflict, displacement, gender-based violence and HIV demand integrated, person-centred solutions. This will not happen if HIV is treated as an afterthought or is equated only with clinical care and if community-engagement is not recognized and supported.

A milestone for human rights which accelerates access to HIV services, free from discrimination in the Caribbean which will advance efforts to end AIDS by 2030

Kingston/Geneva 30 July 2025—UNAIDS celebrates the groundbreaking decision by the High Court of Justice in Saint Lucia declaring sections 132 and 133 of the Criminal Code unconstitutional for criminalizing consensual adult sexual acts in private. This triumph upholds LGBTQ+ people’s rights to protection of the law, privacy, non-discrimination, freedom of expression, and equal protection under the law, as guaranteed by the Constitution.

"This landmark decision underscores the transformative power of the law in protecting human rights and public health," said Luisa Cabal, UNAIDS Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. "In a region where punitive laws hindered progress towards ending AIDS, Saint Lucia's High Court has set a powerful precedent. UNAIDS stands ready to support all governments and communities in ensuring everyone can live free from discrimination and access the services they need to thrive healthily and safely," said Ms Cabal.

The case is one of the five country strategic litigation initiatives of the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE) which has been working closely with LGBTQ+ organizations, individuals and allies to protect and promote the community’s basic human rights. The case removes out-dated, colonial-era barriers that fuel stigma, discrimination and violence. The Court modified the laws relating to exclude private consensual acts between adults (section 132) and those aged 16+ (section 133), paving the way for dignity and equality to be respected.

Saint Lucia now joins Belize (2016), Antigua and Barbuda (2022), St. Kitts and Nevis (2022), Barbados (2022), and Dominica (2024), which decriminalised same-sex intimacy in recent years. This chronology reflects a surging momentum against outdated laws, fostering more inclusive, rights-based societies across the region.

"The ruling in Saint Lucia gives us hope, demonstrating that justice and equality can prevail and that our courts are advancing public health initiatives by protecting human rights," said Richard Amenyah, UNAIDS Country Director for the Caribbean. "By removing these outdated criminal provisions, we open doors for LGBTQ+ individuals to seek HIV prevention and care without fear, ultimately strengthening our regional fight against HIV and saving lives."

UNAIDS champions this move as a key stride toward zero discrimination and ending AIDS by 2030. By erasing these discriminatory provisions, the ruling removes an obstacle to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment, vital in a region where gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men and transgender women have disproportionately high rates of HIV and often are kept away from health services for fear of stigma, discrimination and criminalization.

UNAIDS urges remaining countries where these discriminatory laws remain on the books to repeal such laws and prioritize rights-based HIV strategies for healthier futures and more equitable societies.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

This story first appeared in the UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2025 report.

Marouane Abouzid grew up in Casablanca, Morocco, where many boys act like bullies and sex is taboo. That changed when he joined the project Sport Is Your Protection, where he gained knowledge about gender equality and health. “The training on HIV awareness led by UNAIDS and Tibu Africa was a transformative experience in the sense that I saw how sports can be an effective way to get a message out,” the 25-year-old says. “It also gave me essential skills like communicating clearly and active listening.” 

He enjoyed the project so much that he trained to lead sports activities and participate in other sessions. “I talk openly about what I have learned. I encourage my friends to get tested for HIV and encourage people to respect others,” he says, excited about becoming a role model for his peers.

Marouane describes the activities as a safe space to discuss all sorts of issues that young people face in Morocco, such as poverty, unemployment and a patriarchal system.

Marouane is not alone. Assia Ezzahraoui, a participant in the Tibu Africa sports vocational school programme, joined the weeklong sexual education awareness meeting. “The informative sessions gave me new insights into symptoms, prevention methods and available treatments,” she says. Assia feels more secure about how to protect herself and her friends.

Tibu Africa was founded in 2011 and aims to bring the programme across different cities in Morocco. UNAIDS joined with Tibu Africa in 2024. “This first partnership with UNAIDS Morocco mobilized young people around issues to transcend barriers and create opportunities for dialogue and awareness,” says Mohamed Amine Zariat, President of Tibu Africa. “We hope this first step will serve as a springboard for future, even more ambitious initiatives.”

An estimated 24 000 [21 000–26 000] people are living with HIV in Morocco, and nearly 40% of these are women. Although the prevalence of HIV is relatively low in Morocco, vulnerable populations such as sex workers, gay men and other men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs are particularly at risk. Moroccan youth represent more than 30% of the total population, but a quarter of people aged 15–24 years have no job and lack education and training—young women are particularly hard hit.

Houssine El Rhilani, UNAIDS Country Director in Morocco, is aware of this. He believes the collaboration with Tibu Africa combining sport, education and awareness-raising can empower young people. “We were able to reach young people not only with information, but also through experience, providing them with concrete tools to become prevention ambassadors in their own communities,” he says. “We cannot end AIDS without prioritizing future generations.”

This story first appeared in the UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2025 report.

In seven countries in western and central Africa surveyed in 2023, more than 12% of people living with HIV aged 18–24 years reported avoiding health centres for care because of their HIV status. 

Whether it is a refusal of care, humiliating comments or disclosure of their status, many people described feeling alienated. Last year, with funds from Expertise France and the help of UNAIDS and partners, a pilot was launched to raise awareness of stigma in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Togo.

Training in the Looking In, Looking Out (LILO)* approach raised awareness among 150 health professionals in Senegal and 97 in Togo about sexual diversity, gender-based violence and respect for human rights. In Kara, northern Togo, a visual digital tool (named “image boxes”) has been designed with communities to raise awareness of health and HIV.

When individuals and communities know their rights, they are empowered to take control of their own health and to hold service providers accountable. This is one of the key messages of this tool used by the Network of People Living with HIV (RAS+ Togo). A total of 300 young people attended educational health sessions in the Central African Republic. In Benin and the Central African Republic, the project focused on legal reform, with the involvement of parliamentarians, including members of the women’s caucus in both countries. Legal texts, a draft decree and a decree have been drafted in the Central African Republic. In Benin, the work also focused on advocacy for the adoption of the new HIV bill.

“We must make the link between HIV and gender-based violence. The law must protect women in all spheres, especially including health,” said Huguette Bokpe Gnacadja, President of the National Institute for Women in Benin.

The year-long partnership has enabled action to be taken at the individual level (rights literacy), organizational level (paralegals in community organizations, training for community actors), interorganizational level and national level (legal reform).

In the next year, UNAIDS wants to further improve access to inclusive human rights-based HIV services for people from key populations, adolescents, girls and young women in the region.

“The fight against HIV will not be won in laboratories, but in the power relations between caregivers and those receiving care, between the state and its citizens,” said Fatou Sy, a UNAIDS focal point in the region who oversaw the projects in the six countries. “We have more work to do.”

*Looking In, Looking Out (LILO) refers to a process of internal and external reflection aimed at improving understanding of key populations and their access to health services. The approach seeks to strengthen the knowledge of intermediaries in the response to stigma surrounding key populations, with a view to encouraging their involvement in creating a supportive environment.