Today, on World TB Day, we must recognize the urgent need to end the TB epidemic around the world, especially among people living with HIV.

TB remains a leading cause of severe illness and death among people with HIV. According to the World Health Organization Global TB Report 2022, people with HIV are 14-18 times more likely to fall ill from TB compared to people without HIV. About one in three AIDS related deaths were in 2021 were due to TB.  We cannot allow this to continue. We must ensure that all people living with HIV and those vulnerable to TB have access to TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services.

We continue to miss opportunities to deploy the tools we have against HIV / TB co-infection.  Almost half of people living with HIV who developed TB in 2021 were not diagnosed or reported to have TB and coverage of TB preventive therapy among eligible HIV positive persons remains at only 42%.

Like in the responses to HIV and COVID 19, inequalities are the root cause making some people at higher risk of TB, due to social economic, geographic, gender factors and humanitarian and crisis situations. Legal and policy environments also affect access to health services for those who need them the most. We shall not forget that for any health programs to work, we need to put people at the center and engage beneficiaries, particularly the less served communities, to be part and parcel of the planning, implementation and monitoring the response.   

Today on World TB Day, I would like to call on all our partners to redouble efforts to ensure early identification, treatment, and prevention of TB in people living with HIV by scaling up the recommended screening and diagnostic tools, providing integrated quality treatment and care, rolling out short-course TB preventive treatments, and removing barriers that affect the smooth implementation of programs.

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.

On Zero Discrimination Day 2023, commemorated on March 1, UNAIDS highlights the need to remove laws that criminalize people living with HIV and key populations.* The 2023 theme, “Save lives: Decriminalize”, points to the positive impact on health and life outcomes when discriminatory and punitive laws are removed.

In 2021, the world set ambitious law reform targets to remove criminal laws that are undermining the HIV response and leaving key populations behind. Recognizing decriminalization as a critical element in the response, countries made a commitment that by 2025 less than 10% of countries would have punitive legal and policy environments that affect the HIV response.

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, said:

"Criminalizing laws chase people away from life-saving treatment. Those need to be removed. The only reason people are still dying of AIDS is the inequalities in society, from social norms, from the lack of opportunities in school, etc. and all these come together to make them more at risk."

"At the country level, repealing criminal laws that are driving people away from HIV prevention and treatment is critical.”

These targets are ambitious but they are necessary

Research in sub-Saharan Africa has shown that the prevalence of HIV among gay men and other men who have sex with men was five times higher in countries that criminalize same-sex sexual activity compared to those that do not, and 12 times higher where there were recent prosecutions.

Criminalization of sex work increases both the risk of sex workers acquiring HIV and their vulnerability to violence perpetrated by clients, police and other third parties. The criminalization of the clients of sex workers has also been repeatedly shown to negatively affect sex workers’ safety and health, including reducing condom access and use, and increasing the rates of violence.

Decriminalization of drug use and possession for personal use is associated with significant decreases in HIV incidence among people who inject drugs, including through greater access to harm reduction services, reductions in violence and arrest or harassment by law enforcement agencies.

Winnie Byanyima said:

"We have the evidence that when you repeal criminal laws on same-sex relations that the risk of contracting HIV falls, the risk of new infections amongst gay men, MSM, drops significantly.

"To me HIV is a disease but it's more a social injustice. It's driven by inequalities in society. These are not things that can happen without a consensus in the society, so we need everybody on board."

Law reform is therefore critical if we are to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

The targets are ambitious but not impossible

Indeed, recent experience is proving just how possible they are.  In 2022 alone Belgium and Australia have removed laws criminalizing sex work; Zimbabwe decriminalized HIV exposure, non-disclosure, and transmission and the Central Africa Republic reduced the scope of its HIV criminal laws; Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis, Singapore and Barbados have repealed old colonial laws criminalizing same-sex sexual activity. Kuwait repealed a law criminalizing the imitation of the opposite sex, a law used to target transgender persons while New Zealand removed travel restrictions relating to HIV.

However, despite such encouraging reforms, the world is not on track to ensure that less than 10% of countries have punitive legal and policy environments that create barriers to accessing HIV services. In 2021, 134 reporting countries explicitly criminalized or otherwise prosecuted HIV exposure, non-disclosure or transmission; 20 reporting countries criminalized and/or prosecuted transgender persons; 153 reporting countries criminalized at least one aspect of sex work; and 67 countries now criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, according to UNAIDS. In addition, 48 countries still place restrictions on entry into their territory for people living with HIV, while 53 countries report that they require mandatory HIV testing, for example for marriage certificates or for performing certain professions. 106 countries report requiring parental consent for adolescents to access HIV testing.

Such laws and sanctions violate international human rights norms and stigmatize and discriminate against already marginalized populations.

Decriminalisation saves lives and helps advance the end of the AIDS pandemic.

* Key populations are communities at higher risk of HIV infection including gay men and other men who have sex with men, people who use drugs, sex workers, transgender people and people in prisons and other closed settings.

One year on, the war in Ukraine continues to inflict massive suffering and destruction. Since the start of the war on 24 February 2022, more than 13.5 million people have been internally displaced or forced to flee to neighboring countries as refugees, including people living with HIV and key populations.

Ukraine, the country with the second-largest AIDS epidemic in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, has been hit hard by the war.

The country was making strong progress in the AIDS response by: 1) increasing the number of people living with HIV on life-saving medicine (more than 150 000 people are on treatment out of 240 000 living with HIV); 2) working hand in hand with community-based organisations and 3) reaching full state financing of innovative HIV prevention services among key populations.

The shock of the war pushed all stakeholders to protect those precious gains.  

The government of Ukraine and civil society partners have received enough anti-retroviral therapy (ARV), tuberculosis medicine, and opioid substitution therapy (OST) to provide uninterrupted treatment for everyone with the support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), UNAIDS, and other partners.

Civil society has been the engine of the national HIV response along with the Ukrainian Public Health Centre before the war and throughout the year. They have delivered services, medicines, and humanitarian aid to those in need without fail despite bombings, attacks, lack of electricity and reduced access to the east and south of the country.

This effort needs our ongoing support and funding. We cannot let Ukraine’s HIV response fall back.

UN agencies and partners on the ground have been working closely with local authorities to reach and help people in need. More recently they have delivered humanitarian assistance to  hard hit territories in the country that have only now become accessible.

“Delivering essential aid and assistance relies on collaboration,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. “A coalition of government, civil society and international organisations has been and continues to be a cornerstone of the effective HIV response in Ukraine during the war. UNAIDS stands in solidarity with all the people and our partners working so hard on the frontlines.”    

A UNAIDS Emergency Fund has enabled partners across the country to sustain HIV care and support services, as well as providing direct humanitarian assistance and targeted support to the most vulnerable. This has meant, for example, creating dozens of shelters for internally displaced persons, including people who use drugs, LGBTIQ+ people, and other key populations linking HIV service providers with available humanitarian assistance programmes. The Fund has received support from the Red Cross Monaco, the United States of America and Germany.

With further funding from Germany, civil society organizations in Moldova, Poland, and other neighboring countries united their efforts to improve access to services for Ukrainian refugees living with HIV.

UNAIDS has issued an urgent call to the international community for additional funding for civil society organisations to keep providing essential HIV support services in Ukraine and in countries receiving refugees in need of HIV services.

UNAIDS will continue to support HIV prevention, testing, treatment, care and support for people across Ukraine affected by the war and people displaced by the conflict.

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, 23 January 2023— The end of the Mosaico HIV vaccine trial must lead to a continued drive to innovate as well as an urgency to ensure that proven HIV prevention and treatment options reach all who need them, says UNAIDS. Rapid progress against the HIV pandemic is possible if existing prevention and treatment options are made available through the sharing of technologies, expanding provision, and tackling barriers to access. The development, and sharing, of long-acting prevention and treatment options are also important to expand coverage.

“The disappointment of the vaccine trial further underlines the importance of rolling out available HIV treatment and prevention innovations, including oral PrEP, long acting injectables and the vaginal ring,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. “The search for a vaccine must continue, but it’s important to remember that despite this setback the world can still end AIDS by 2030 by delivering all the proven prevention and treatment options to all the people who need them.”

Although there were no safety concerns flagged during the vaccine trial, it is being discontinued after an independent review of the research found no evidence of reduced risk of HIV infection among participants. The trial began in 2019 as a private-public partnership that included the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., the HIV Vaccine Trials Network and the United States Army Medical Research and Development Command. The trial enrolled 3900 men who have sex with men and transgender people across eight countries in Europe and the Americas, including the United States. Participants received four injections over 12 months, either of the vaccine or a placebo, with the monitoring board finding no significant difference in the HIV acquisition rate between the two groups.

Global research efforts into vaccines and a cure must carry on. At the same time, the world cannot wait for, or depend on, a vaccine or cure. The end of AIDS by 2030, as promised, is still possible, but leaders have no time to wait.

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, 27 January 2023—The Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Winnie Byanyima is calling on world leaders to address the unsustainable external debt service burdens of developing countries which are widening inequalities and undermining the health and livelihoods of millions of people.

Rising interest rates, a strong dollar and inflation are depleting budgets for education, health, including for HIV, and social services in highly indebted developing countries.

“Low-income countries are spending up to four times more on debt repayments than they are on health,” said Ms Byanyima, addressing global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “In 2021, almost half of all developing countries cut health spending and about 70% cut spending on education.”

Efforts to end AIDS are also being impacted. In 2021, UNAIDS saw that globally the number of new HIV infections dropped only 3.6% from 2020, the smallest annual decline since 2016. The impact was also felt in funding for HIV. Donor funding for the AIDS response was 10% lower in 2020 that it was in 2010 and domestic financing fell 2% for a second year in a row in 2020. UNAIDS estimates that continuing on the current trajectory would lead to 7.5 million AIDS-related deaths by 2030, and millions of new HIV infections.  

In 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, low- and middle-income countries transferred almost US$ 1 trillion in debt service to external creditors. The International Monetary Fund calculates that over 60% of low-income countries are now in debt distress or high risk of it—22 of these countries are in Africa, the continent with the highest burden of HIV. 

“COVID-19 proved to us that our health and our economies are locked together,” said Ms Byanyima. “Global leaders must urgently agree on a comprehensive multilateral legal framework to restructure the debt of developing countries. This catastrophic debt crisis is claiming lives and locking millions of children out of the future they deserve.”

She argued that health, education, social protection and climate action should be recognised as global public goods that every government contributes to. “We are becoming wider and wider apart with a global economy that extracts from the weakest and gives to those with the strongest elbows,” said Ms Byanyima.

At a time when debt repayments are crippling health budgets, rich countries are putting the profits of pharmaceutical companies, banks, private lenders and financial institutions ahead of people’s lives in the global south. Almost three years into the COVID-19 pandemic and rich countries are still preventing developing nations from producing generic COVID-19 tests and treatments.

“Without an urgent rethink, the world could sleepwalk into a convergence of health and financial crises that could crush developing countries,” said Ms Byanyima.

UNAIDS is concerned that intellectual property barriers continue to deny millions of people access to lifesaving health technologies. Long-acting medicines for HIV prevention and treatment that are today available in the global North, are still beyond the reach of the developing countries most affected by HIV.

At a time when debt repayments are crippling global south health budgets, UNAIDS is calling for the pharmaceutical company ViiV to reduce the price of long-acting HIV medicines and allow all developing countries to produce generic versions. UNAIDS is also calling on World Trade Organization member countries to ease intellectual property rules for COVID-19 tests and treatments.

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, 20 December 2022—UNAIDS welcomes the judgement by the High Court of Kenya at Nairobi recognizing that coerced sterilization of women living with HIV is a violation of their human rights.  

The judgement follows a case brought forward in 2014 by a Kenyan woman living with HIV who was coerced by professionals at a health facility to undergo tubal ligation thus taking away her ability to have children. The High Court found that the performance of this operation without consent amounted to a violation of her rights to non-discrimination, to dignity, to health and to family.  

“This decision is an important step in protecting the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women living with HIV,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “UNAIDS stands ready to work with all governments to ensure such practices are eliminated completely and that women living with HIV are able to access health services without stigma or discrimination.” 

UNAIDS intervened in this case with an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief that informed the Kenyan High Court on the health guidelines and human rights standards that each country must follow to respect, protect and guarantee the human rights of people living with HIV, and the impact that such involuntary practices can have on the HIV response. The Kenyan Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV/AIDS (KELIN) and the African Gender and Media Initiatives Trust (GEM) were also petitioners in this case.  

HIV-related stigma and discrimination has a significant impact on the health, lives and well-being of people living with or at risk of HIV. Stigma and discrimination hinders the HIV response by limiting access to broader sexual and reproductive health and other health services. UNAIDS continues to work daily to ensure that governments invest in preventing and responding to violations linked to the forms of intersectional discrimination to which people living with HIV have been subjected. 

The plaintiff in the case stated, “This was never about the money. I wanted to fight for justice for myself and all women who have had this experience, and to ensure this does not happen to other women who are living with HIV who need access to reproductive health services.”  

“This case is an important moment for reproductive justice and the feminist movement. Coercive sterilization of women living with HIV is a violation of women’s most fundamental human rights and undermines effective HIV responses,” said UNAIDS Country Director for Kenya, Medhin Tsehaiu. “It is only through a human rights approach that we will end AIDS as a public health threat.” 

A rights-based approach includes the right to start a family and have children, the right to decide the number and spacing of their children, the right to reproductive autonomy and the right to access quality services to support their reproductive health choices, based on their informed, safe and voluntary consent. These are fundamental human rights that belong to all women, regardless of HIV status, and are guaranteed in global and regional treaties.  

“We welcome the court’s decision and although it took a long time, we are happy that the court found the client’s rights had been violated, and particularly the finding of discrimination on the basis of sex and HIV status,” said Allan Maleche, Executive Director, KELIN. 

The Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026: End Inequalities, End AIDS includes a central role for the promotion of human rights, gender equality and dignity, free from stigma and discrimination for all people living with and affected by HIV. It is a commitment by UNAIDS to an ambitious vision to end gender inequalities and realize human rights, including the right to health, calling on all partners and stakeholders in the HIV response in all countries to transform unequal gender norms and end stigma and discrimination.

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, 13 December 2022—UNAIDS warmly welcomes the appointment of Erika Castellanos as the new Executive Director of GATE (Global Action for Trans Equality). GATE works to ensure justice and equality for trans, gender diverse and intersex communities through strategic partnerships with diverse global entities, including UNAIDS and other United Nations bodies and mechanisms.

Born in Belize, Erica started her activism focusing on the rights of people living with HIV and sex workers. She brings to her work her lived experience as a transgender woman living with HIV and as a member of different communities of key populations.

“Erika Castellanos is an internationally recognized and highly respected HIV and human rights activist. UNAIDS appreciates our partnership with Erika as a civil society delegate to our Programme Coordinating Board" said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. “GATE’s work as a trans-led organization has been critical to foster the engagement of trans, gender diverse and intersex communities in the AIDS response. We look forward to continuing our work with Erika and GATE in addressing the inequalities affecting these communities”.

Erika Castellanos joined GATE in April 2017 as Director of Programs. In February 2022, she took the role of Interim Executive Director during which time she has continued to solidify GATE’s position as a global leader in trans, gender diverse and intersex advocacy.

Erika has served various positions at national, regional and global levels including as Executive Director of the Collaborative Network for Persons Living with HIV (C-NET+) – Belize, Vice-Chair of the Board of the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), board member of the HIV Justice Network and co-chair of the ViiV Positive Action program for men who have sex with men and transgender people. In 2018, Erika was the first openly transgender advocate to be appointed to the Board of the Global Fund, as part of the communities delegation.

Erika will begin her new role as GATE’s Executive Director on 1 January 2023.

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.

CHAING MAI/GENEVA, 13 December 2022—UNAIDS welcomes confirmation from the United Kingdom that it will be increasing its funding to UNAIDS from £2.5 million in 2021 to £8 million in 2022.

UNAIDS also welcomes plans being finalized for a multi-year funding agreement between UNAIDS and Ireland for the period 2023 to 2026. 

In recent weeks, a series of donors have been announcing funding commitments to UNAIDS. 

The decisions were shared at the 51st meeting of UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board being held in Chaing Mai, Thailand, and will help provide to secure predictable and timely funding to UNAIDS to enable UNAIDS to deliver on the Global AIDS Strategy 2021-2026.

“We warmly welcome the United Kingdom’s decision to announce further funding to UNAIDS, and Ireland’s multi-year commitment, which underscore both countries’ bold commitment to end AIDS and tackle the inequalities that continue to drive the pandemic,” said the Executive Director of UNAIDS Winnie Byanyima. “The United Kingdom and Ireland are valued and steadfast partners to UNAIDS, and their support allows us to provide the leadership and coordination that the global HIV response requires at this critical time.”

Both the United Kingdom and Ireland share UNAIDS commitment to an equality based, evidence driven approach to ending AIDS which champions the rights of women, girls and the key populations most vulnerable to HIV infection.

Thank you to the United Kingdom for contributing a further £8 million to UNAIDS.

We are grateful for the UK's partnership and support, and for their commitment to the AIDS response. #PCB51 pic.twitter.com/tnd61NKWoi

— UNAIDS (@UNAIDS) December 13, 2022

We are pleased to be finalizing a multi-year funding agreement with Ireland, as announced at #PCB51.

Thank you Ireland for your support and your longstanding commitment to the AIDS response. Together we can #endAIDS by 2030! pic.twitter.com/pLAwYjR631

— UNAIDS (@UNAIDS) December 13, 2022

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, 13 December 2022—UNAIDS welcomes the judgement by the High Court in Barbados to strike down the country’s colonial-era gross indecency and buggery laws that criminalised consensual same-sex relations.

“This historic decision is a significant step towards protecting the human rights and dignity of LGBT people in Barbados,” said Luisa Cabal, UNAIDS Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. “It will also strengthen the country’s HIV response by helping to reduce stigma and discrimination faced by LGBT people and increasing the uptake of HIV testing, treatment and prevention services.”

Under section 9 of the Barbados Sexual Offences Act, punishment could lead to life imprisonment for men engaging in same-sex sexual activity. Under section 12, both men and women were criminalised and liable to up to 10 years imprisonment. Laws that punish consensual same sex relations, in addition to contravening the human rights of LGBT people, act as a barrier to improving health outcomes, including in the HIV response. Such laws sustain stigma and discrimination against LGBT people and stop LGBT people seeking and receiving healthcare for fear of being punished or detained. Decriminalisation saves and changes lives and builds stronger societies.

Barbados becomes the third Caribbean country this year to announce the repeal of such discriminatory legislation. The case was filed by two Barbadian LGBT advocates with local organisation Equals Barbados providing community support, and the regional LGBT umbrella organisation, the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality, convening the process.

Earlier this year, courts in Antigua and Barbuda and St Kitts and Nevis also struck down as unconstitutional laws that criminalised gay men and other men who have sex with men. There now remain six countries in the Caribbean that criminalize gay sex between consenting adults, all of them former British colonies. They are Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

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, 10 December 2022—On International Human Rights Day, UNAIDS is highlighting that the AIDS pandemic will only be ended if the human rights of all people are fully respected.

UNAIDS is emphasising the need for law and policy reform to ensure the human rights of people living with HIV, women and girls, and all marginalised populations, including gay men and other men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who use drugs, and sex workers.

“It’s clear that when communities of people suffer from human rights violations, the response to HIV is undermined,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima.

Multiple and intersecting inequalities that drive the HIV pandemic are exacerbated by, and exacerbate, human rights violations. A UNAIDS report released ahead of World AIDS Day, Dangerous Inequalities, revealed how human rights violations hamper the AIDS response.

Stigma and discrimination, criminalization and marginalization are driving new infections among key populations by blocking access to HIV prevention, treatment and care services. Around the world, 68 countries still criminalize same sex relationships, which prevents tailored service outreach to communities most affected by the pandemic and deters people from visiting public health facilities. In sub-Saharan Africa, studies have shown that in countries where they are criminalised, HIV prevalence is many times higher among gay men and other men who have sex with men and sex workers, compared to countries where they are not. In 2021, 70% of all new HIV infections worldwide were among key populations and their sexual partners.

UNAIDS supports the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) in its #NotACriminal campaign against the dehumanising and denigrating impact of laws that criminalise identities and health status. During its World AIDS Day campaign this year, UNAIDS has been urging countries to challenge the inequalities driving the AIDS pandemic by equalizing access to HIV services.

In 2021, a young woman or girl aged 15—24 years old acquired HIV every two minutes. In sub-Saharan Africa, this group is three times more likely to acquire HIV than adolescent boys and young men of the same age group. These inequalities are not inevitable. Enabling girls to complete secondary education dramatically reduces their vulnerability to HIV, and when countries take measures to tackle gender-based violence and secure access to key services, their risk of HIV infection further decreases.

“Respect for the human rights of all people is key to overcoming the AIDS pandemic,” said Ms Byanyima.

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.