GENEVA, 2 October 2024—Responding to today’s announcement by Gilead on lenacapavir, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said:

“We welcome Gilead’s announcement of licensing the break-through HIV medicine lenacapavir for generic production. To stem the tide of new infections, and protect people most at risk from HIV, including young women and people from marginalised communities, long-acting HIV medicines are vital. Lenacapavir, which requires only two injections per year, could be game changing – if all who would benefit can access it.

We applaud Gilead for licensing the medicine without waiting for registration, which should be the norm. We are battling a pandemic and the speed at which generic versions come to market will dictate whether this medicine can really be transformative.  At UNAIDS we commit to doing all we can to speed up this process.

Including an African producer in Egypt is also very welcome.

Much more work is still urgently needed to ensure that no one who needs lenacapavir is left behind and that Gilead’s commitment to rapid, affordable access is fulfilled.

The exclusion of many middle-income countries from the licenses is deeply worrying and undermines the potential of this scientific breakthrough.

HIV prevention products need to be deployed where new HIV infections are highest – and right now, forty-one percent of new infections are in upper-middle income countries. UNAIDS urges Gilead to secure further licenses for access in all low and middle-income nations.

We welcome Gilead’s statement of commitment to non-profit pricing, but we had been waiting eagerly for a specific price. We urge Gilead to disclose it, and to provide full transparency on their costs. Respected researchers have shown it is possible to produce and sell lenacapavir for $100 per patient per year, falling to as little as $40.

Manufacturing this medicine in African countries with the highest HIV rates is crucial for sustainability and Gilead should include manufacturers in countries like South Africa where there is strong production capacity. We at UNAIDS stand ready to assist.

UNAIDS urges Gilead to secure further licenses for access in all low and middle-income nations.

We urge Gilead also to do all it can to make lenacapavir viable for treatment in low- and middle-income countries, including working together with researchers to test new combinations. Over 30 million people worldwide taking HIV treatment every day deserve long-acting options. We recognize that Gilead has included treatment use in the license, where some companies have not, but we urge that they remove the current limitation in the license to “heavily treatment-experienced patients.” To support scientists and manufacturers worldwide, licenses should not be limited to specific uses.

Leaving no one behind is how to unlock lenacapavir’s full potential, fulfil Gilead’s promise, protect a generation from HIV and bring forward the end of the AIDS pandemic."

Note: Gilead’s announcement can be read on their site at https://www.gilead.com/news/news-details/2024/gilead-signs-royalty-free-voluntary-licensing-agreements-with-six-generic-manufacturers-to-increase-access-to-lenacapavir-for-hiv-prevention-in-high-incidence-resource-limited-countries
 

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.

GENEVA, 1 October 2024—UNAIDS expresses deep concern over the recently adopted anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Georgia, which poses serious risks to public health and human rights.

UNAIDS supports the UN Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights' statement that these laws will “impose discriminatory restrictions on education, public discussion, and gatherings related to sexual orientation and gender identity.”

These discriminatory laws violate fundamental rights to autonomy, dignity, and equality, exacerbating stigma and hindering LGBTQ+ people's access to essential health services. This undermines Georgia’s efforts to end AIDS and combat other infectious diseases.

UNAIDS reiterates that laws discriminating against LGBTQ+ individuals have no place in modern society. They lead to harassment, discrimination, violence and social exclusion, jeopardizing efforts to end the HIV epidemic. We call on Georgian authorities to repeal these harmful laws, as they will further isolate marginalized communities and worsen public health outcomes.

Stigma kills, but solidarity saves lives. Upholding the rights of LGBTQ+ people is crucial to advancing public health, social cohesion, and equality for all.

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.

GENEVA, 19 August 2024—UNAIDS is calling on the international community to respond swiftly and decisively to the World Health Organization’s declaration of the mpox outbreak in several African countries as a public health emergency of international concern. The move came after the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) made a similar declaration for the region.

“The emergence of a new and more contagious variant of mpox, and the devastating impact it is having on communities, across Africa, especially those most vulnerable including from HIV and AIDS, is alarming,” said Angeli Achrekar, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme. “We must call on international efforts to focus on ensuring vaccines and treatments are accessible and available to all who need them and draw on the experience of the AIDS movement to ensure a response rooted in solidarity, compassion, inclusion, and equity.”

Many communities affected by mpox face discrimination, similar to people who are affected by HIV and AIDS. Stigma and discrimination undermine epidemic responses, driving people with symptoms underground and hindering efforts to protect public health. UNAIDS urges people to show compassion and solidarity to people affected, not intolerance and discrimination. We at UNAIDS, across the entire Joint Programme, also emphasize the crucial role of involving communities in every stage of the response—from development to implementation and monitoring.

The emergence of the 2024 mpox variant once again demonstrates the need for international, multisectoral coordination and solidarity to end pandemics. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, is committed to bring its expertise and support to countries to help.  UNAIDS urges all media covering the crisis to follow the regular updates being issued by WHO and Africa CDC.

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.

In April, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, governments renewed their commitment and determination to accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the principles of which are embedded in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including commitments to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services and to advance reproductive rights.1

Significant progress has been made over the past three decades. Since 1990, the number of women using modern contraception has doubled. Since 2000, maternal mortality has declined by 34 per cent. By 2022, access to HIV treatment had averted an estimated 20.8 million deaths globally. More recently, however, this progress has stalled and in some instances is reversing. Looking forward, the prospect of continued progress is far from guaranteed. The ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, persistent and increasing conflict, climate change, rising inequalities and deepening polarization are all undermining access to quality, essential health services. These setbacks demand urgent action.

Women and girls are disproportionately affected by these challenges, hindering their right to make informed decisions and exercise full bodily autonomy without coercion, violence or discrimination – fundamental human rights. Equitable and sustainable access to human rights–based sexual and reproductive health interventions and information remains beyond the reach of many – especially marginalized women, adolescent girls and those living in humanitarian crises and conflict zones. The latest data show that close to half of women of reproductive age cannot make their own informed decisions about whether or when to become pregnant, and many still lack the autonomy and agency to fully exercise their reproductive rights.

On World Population Day, as UN agencies mandated to advance the health and rights of all people and ensure no one is left behind, we call upon the global community, including governments, donors, civil society organizations, and the private sector to strengthen access to a comprehensive package of sexual and reproductive health services as part of universal health coverage, delivered through resilient health systems including at the primary healthcare level. We underscore the need to implement evidence-based, normative guidance to strengthen access to affordable, high quality and rights-based care. To ensure services are acceptable to all, efforts are needed to eliminate stigma and discrimination and dismantle harmful social and gender norms.

We also call for accelerated access to comprehensive sexuality education and strengthened action across social sectors, such as education and gender, to enhance the health and well-being of girls and women throughout their lives. Promoting comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights is not only the right thing to do – it is also the smart thing to do. Investing in women’s and girls’ reproductive rights and agency and expanding access to services is proven to have remarkable returns, including in terms of social wellbeing, economic prosperity and peace, which our world so desperately needs. Additional financing from all sources – domestic, international, public, private – is essential to create long-term positive outcomes for women and girls.

We must also urgently support the increasing efforts of young people, women and communities to speak up about sexual and reproductive health concerns and to design and deliver solutions that respond to their needs and to the realities of a changing world, where climate change in particular, affects sexual and reproductive health and rights. An inclusive, bottom-up approach to designing and delivering health interventions with and for communities can deliver more sustainable results and reach those who are furthest left behind.

We urge the public and private sectors to collaborate in exploring cutting-edge technologies like telemedicine, artificial intelligence, big data analytics and predictive modeling to bridge geospatial gaps and expand access to essential services, particularly in remote and underserved areas. At the same time, we call on innovators to address the risks inherent in these new technologies, including gender gaps in access, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and systematic biases embedded in tech design.

Finally, we call upon governments, communities, civil society organizations and the private sector to unite to prioritize universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health, in ways that advance gender equality and promote the full realization of human rights, in line with the groundbreaking vision of the ICPD Programme of Action. We ask for more than a commitment, more than business as usual — this is an appeal to collaborate and innovate in ways that ensure everyone can realize their rights to health, dignity and security. As we head towards the Summit of the Future at the United Nations General Assembly in September, now is the time to act boldly and decisively, forging a path towards a more just, equitable and sustainable world for all.

Thirty years ago in Cairo, 179 governments adopted a framework that recognized sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights and the empowerment of women and girls as foundational pillars of sustainable development – the landmark Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development. As UN agencies, we stand together committed to advancing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights, which are integral to everyone’s right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and essential for the achievement of gender equality.

[1] https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/content/regional-reviews-icpd-programme-action

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.

Joint Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima

GENEVA, 19 July 2024 — As courts and parliaments in a number of countries are in the midst of considering the legal framework around the rights of LGBTQ+ people, we highlight that punitive laws against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people violate human rights and undermine public health.

Such laws cost lives.

Laws criminalizing LGBTQ+ people must be consigned to history – and a growing number of countries are doing just that. 

The big – and very welcome – global shift is away from criminalization. Over two-thirds of countries now do not criminalize LGBTQ+ people.

In the last 10 years alone, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana, Cook Islands, Dominica, Gabon, India, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, Singapore, and Trinidad and Tobago have all repealed laws that had criminalized LGBTQ+ people. 

There is a whole host of reasons why such laws must be scrapped.

Such laws are based on prejudice.

As Namibia's High Court recently noted, "the enforcement of the private moral views of a section of the community (even if they form the majority of that community), which are based to a large extent on nothing more than prejudice, cannot qualify as such a legitimate governmental purpose."

Such laws infringe upon human rights. 

The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court put it clearly: “The criminalization of same-sex sexual expression between consenting adults is intrusive by its very nature and thereby offends the right to liberty and personal privacy.”

Many such laws are actually legacies of colonialism, imposed by colonial powers themselves. 

The now scrapped punitive anti-LGBTQ+ law in Mauritius, the Supreme Court of Mauritius recently noted, “was not the expression of domestic democratic will but was a course imposed on Mauritius and other colonies.”

Such laws harm public health.

Criminalization of LGBTQ+ people generates justified fear amongst people who need access to health services, and amongst the frontline workers who provide those services.

In criminalizing countries, there is decreased provision and uptake of HIV prevention services, and decreased uptake of HIV care and treatment services. A study in sub-Saharan Africa showed that HIV-prevalence among gay men and men who have sex with men was five times higher in countries that criminalized same-sex relationships than in non-criminalized settings.

Criminalizing countries have significantly lower rates of both knowledge of HIV status and HIV viral suppression among all people living with HIV.

Such punitive laws have no “law and order” justification.

In decriminalizing homosexuality in Singapore, there was clear recognition by the Government that there was no basis for making private sexual behaviour between consenting adults a crime.

Such laws lead to harassment.

As the Supreme Court of India has stated, punitive legislation has “become an odious weapon for the harassment of the LGBT community by subjecting them to discrimination and unequal treatment.”

There is extensive evidence that such discriminatory laws increase exposure of people to brutal hate crimes, police abuse, harassment, blackmail, torture, and denial of access to healthcare, education and housing. 

They also drive impunity and undermine the rule of law, harming LGBTQ+ people, their families, communities, and the whole of society. 

Stigma kills. Solidarity saves lives.

The progress that has been won around the world, in legislation and attitudes, needs to continue, as does the increasing recognition that people should not be criminalized for who they are and whom they love.

Anti-rights policies, proposals and propaganda need to be challenged head on.

Together, we call on all countries to remove all punitive laws against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.

Decriminalization of LGBTQ+ people is vital for protecting everyone’s human rights and everyone’s health.

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.

GENEVA, 21 JUNE 2024—UNAIDS applauds the judgment by the High Court of Namibia, striking out as unconstitutional the law which had criminalised same-sex relationships.  The court found the law incompatible with the constitutional rights of Namibian citizens. This decision, which is in line with a series of judgments by courts in Southern Africa in recent years, marks a significant victory for equality and human rights for all Namibians and will help protect the health of everyone.

"This decision by the High Court of Namibia is a powerful step towards a more inclusive Namibia," said Anne Githuku-Shongwe, UNAIDS Regional Director for East and Southern Africa. "The colonial-era common law that criminalized same-sex sexual relations perpetuated an environment of discrimination and fear, often hindering access to essential healthcare services for LGBTQ+ individuals. To protect everyone’s health, we need to protect everyone’s human rights.”

Originally introduced during colonial rule in Apartheid South Africa and maintained in Namibian law when the country gained independence in 1990, this law had been used to rationalize discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in Namibia. It not only violated the constitutional rights of Namibian citizens but also posed a challenge to public health. The climate created by the law discouraged LGBTQ+ individuals from seeking HIV testing and treatment, undermining efforts to control the epidemic.

"By decriminalizing same-sex relationships, Namibia creates a safer environment for LGBTQ+ communities," said Ms. Githuku-Shongwe. "This allows them to access vital healthcare services, contributing to the global goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030."

UNAIDS urges all countries to follow Namibia's lead, remove punitive laws, and tackle prejudices against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people. Since 2019, Botswana, Gabon, Angola, Bhutan, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Singapore, Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Cook Islands, Mauritius, and Dominica have all repealed laws that criminalized LGBTQ+ people.

A more just, equitable and kind world is a healthier one for everyone.

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.

GENEVA, 2 June 2024—On International Sex Workers’ Day, 2nd June 2024, and every day, UNAIDS stands in solidarity with sex workers in support of their health.

Intersecting forms of structural and societal stigma and discrimination, including punitive laws, policies and practices, widen inequalities and prevent sex workers from being able to protect their health, safety and well-being. Criminalization creates barriers to enabling access to and uptake of vital HIV prevention, testing and treatment, and to sexual and reproductive health services. For sex workers who are transgender, migrants or from racial and ethnic minorities, multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination create additional barriers to services and increase risks of facing violence and harassment.

A study in sub-Saharan Africa found that the likelihood of living with HIV was seven times higher for a sex worker in a country that criminalizes sex work compared with a country that decriminalized sex work. Another review found that criminalization of any aspect of sex work was associated with reduced condom access and use and increased rates of violence. Decriminalization of sex work could avert between 33% and 46% of HIV infections among sex workers and their clients over a ten-year period.  

Among countries reporting to UNAIDS, 22% of sex workers had experienced stigma and discrimination in the past six months. 12% of sex workers had avoided accessing health-care services due to stigma and discrimination in the past 12 months. One in five sex workers experienced violence in the past 12 months.   

Currently 168 countries have punitive laws that criminalize some aspect of sex work. But a growing number of jurisdictions are recognizing the need to decriminalize sex work to protect sex workers. In May this year Queensland in Australia became the latest jurisdiction to decriminalize sex work. 

“To protect sex workers’ health, leaders need to accelerate action to tackle the stigma, discrimination and violence that sex workers face. This will require decriminalization. The evidence is clear: punitive laws hurt sex workers and need to be removed,” said Christine Stegling, Deputy Executive Director, UNAIDS.  

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.

GENEVA, 30 May 2024— The Government of Australia and UNAIDS have today signed a new multi-million-dollar partnership to strengthen the fight against both non-communicable and communicable diseases, including HIV, to ensure better health outcomes for people in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. The signing took place at UNAIDS during the 77^th World Health Assembly.

The AU$12 million funding agreement will support governments and local communities in the region to improve HIV prevention, testing and treatment while reducing stigma and discrimination. The funds will be dedicated to advancing the HIV response in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Cambodia over the next four years.

“This is an important investment for the region, and a valuable partnership for UNAIDS. It will deliver multiple benefits, including tackling rising HIV infections in some countries,” said Christine Stegling, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director. “This much-needed financial support by the Australian government will go a long way in the fight to end AIDS as a public health threat in the Pacific and Southeast Asia by 2030. More than that, it’s a demonstration of Australia’s commitment to protect people’s health and human rights beyond its own borders.”

Efforts to prevent new HIV infections in the Pacific and Southeast Asia need to be scaled up urgently as epidemics are rising in a number of countries including Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Philippines. Stigma and discrimination are contributing to the rise, obstructing access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment services, particularly for men who have sex with men.

The financial injection, for both HIV prevention and treatment, adds to the existing AU$25 million multi-year (2022-2027) partnership between UNAIDS and the Australian Government in the Asia Pacific region, representing an expansion of the longstanding programming partnership. It’s also part of Australia’s Partnerships for a Healthy Region – an Australian Government initiative that works with governments and civil society organisations in the Pacific and Southeast Asia to build resilient, equitable and inclusive health systems that can respond to shared health challenges.

“Australia’s domestic response to HIV has always recognised that the people closest to the issue are also best placed to lead on the solutions. As policy makers and funders we must listen, support, and build genuine partnerships with affected communities and civil society organisations,” said Dr. Lucas de Toca, Australia’s Ambassador for Global Health. “Australia is proud these principles of listening and supporting are central to our new partnership with UNAIDS and Health Equity Matters. This new partnership will support locally led solutions to the HIV epidemic in our region – enabling affected communities to lead the response.”

Domestically, Australia remains committed to ending its AIDS pandemic by 2030 and recently announced a AU$43.9 million investment to boost the fight against HIV. Australia is well on the way to reaching the 95-95-95 targets by 2025.

“This commitment is a practical expression of solidarity and co-operation between the people of Australia and our near neighbours in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Cambodia,” said Dash Heath-Paynter, Chief Executive Officer of Health Equity Matters. “By investing in the HIV response in our region we plant the seeds for a healthier, more prosperous future, with a lighter burden of stigma and discrimination. We recognise the leadership exercised by both the Australian Government and UNAIDS in making this commitment."

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.

GENEVA, 29 May 2024—As LGBTQ+ communities and allies take to the streets to mark PRIDE month, UNAIDS is speaking out in solidarity, rejecting the criminalization, discrimination and stigmatization of LGBTQ+ people and insisting on respect for all.

“The PRIDE celebrations are a demonstration of the power of inclusivity,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. “PRIDE has brought the world a long way in the struggle to protect the human rights of LGBTQ+ people. So much has been won. But the progress that has been made is under threat. The world needs the spirit of PRIDE more than ever today: to protect everyone’s health, we need to protect everyone’s rights.”

There is much to celebrate. UNAIDS data shows that 123 countries do not penalize same-sex relations. This represents the highest number of countries rejecting criminalization ever.

More and more countries have been scrapping the harmful punitive anti-LGBTQ+ laws which are often leftovers of colonial rule. Since 2019 alone, Botswana, Gabon, Angola, Bhutan, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Singapore, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cook Islands, Mauritius and Dominica have all repealed laws that had criminalized LGBTQ+ people.

However, the human rights of the LGBTQ+ community are threatened by a globally coordinated and well-funded extremist anti-rights network who are spending millions promoting hate and social division and are proposing ever more draconian laws to punish LGBTQ+ people. Attacks on LGBTQ+ people violate human rights and undermine public health.

This perilous time calls for courage and solidarity from everyone. PRIDE has always been as much about protest and commemoration as celebration. The first marchers in New York more than 50 years ago knew that PRIDE was the antidote to stigma and discrimination – a rejection of the shame that others sought to impose on them.

Movements spearheaded by LGBTQ+ activists have driven much of the progress that has been made in protecting everyone’s human rights and protecting everyone’s health.

Today we are at a hinge moment: the end of AIDS as a public health threat is realisable in this decade, but progress is imperiled by the pushback on human rights.

At a time when support for human rights defenders is vital and urgent, funding support for civil society organizations is shrinking, as donor countries cut their budgets.

The evidence is crystal clear: stigma kills, solidarity saves lives.

This is a moment for solidarity. This is a moment for PRIDE.

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.

GENEVA, 15 May 2024—Ahead of IDAHOBIT, commemorated worldwide on 17 May, UNAIDS is calling on governments everywhere to protect the human rights of LGBTQ+ people. Protecting the human rights of every person, UNAIDS research shows, is essential for protecting public health, because it enables inclusive and equitable access to health services without discrimination.

The movement for human rights for all has made important progress. For example, whereas, at the start of the AIDS pandemic, most countries criminalized LGBTQ+ people, now two thirds of countries do not.

However, more than 60 countries still do while another 20 countries criminalize gender expression and identity.

“Stigma, discrimination and criminalization can be lethal,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “In the response to HIV, we have learned that a human rights-based approach is critical in responding to a health crisis and leaving no-one behind. Countries must remove these discriminatory criminal laws and introduce legislation which protects rights if we are to end AIDS as a public health threat for everyone.”

Discrimination, violence and criminalization force many LGBTQ+ people underground and away from health services; as a result, gay men and other men who have sex with men, and transgender people, are more affected by HIV. Globally, in 2022, men who have sex with men were 23 times more likely to acquire HIV, and transgender women 20 times more likely to acquire HIV than other adults aged 15–49.

Criminalization of LGBTQ+ people in particular causes significant harm to health. In sub-Saharan Africa, men who have sex with men in countries where they are criminalized, are five times more likely to be living with HIV than in countries that do not criminalize same-sex sexual behavior.

As a recent IAS - Lancet report demonstrated, violations of human rights have multiple damaging impacts on public health. Treating people as criminals drives people away from vital services for fear of arrest and discrimination, resulting in them not accessing HIV prevention, treatment and care.  In addition, strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws have been associated with a lack of knowledge about HIV testing and HIV status.

“For far too many people in our LGBTQ+ communities and beyond, the most basic things are still too far from reach, because of the discrimination, stigma, and violence they face every day,” said the international lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex association, ILGA World, co-Secretaries General Luz Elena Aranda and Tuisina Ymania Brown.  “This is why they are rallying behind an urgent cry: ‘No one left behind: equality, freedom and justice for all,’ reminding us of the importance of rejecting discriminatory laws, policies, and attitudes.”  

Criminal laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity are a breach of the right to privacy and non-discrimination and impede the HIV response. UNAIDS calls on all states to repeal such laws and to introduce legal protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Global Commission on HIV and the Law have made the same recommendations, as have the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and several other United Nations agencies.

UNAIDS stands with LGBTQ+ people everywhere who are facing hate, discrimination and marginalization, and calls for an end to their criminalization.

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.