The challenge of minimizing the impact of AIDS

It is still possible that by the end of this decade AIDS will no longer be a public health threat, which is one of the goals of the 2030 Agenda, but for this to happen, governments must protect the rights of all people living with or at risk of contracting the HIV virus.

This is a warning from the UN, which, like every year on December 1, celebrates World Day against this disease. The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said in its annual report that violations of fundamental freedoms are one of the main obstacles to achieving this goal by the end of 2030.

“When going to the hospital is dangerous for someone because of the community they belong to, they are denied the tools they need to save their life and end the AIDS pandemic. To protect everyone’s health, we must protect everyone’s rights,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima during the report launch.

The document recalls that in 2023, 39.9 million people were living with HIV (about 400,000 more than the previous year), 1.3 million became infected with the virus in the same year and about 630,000 (40,000 less than in 2022) died from AIDS-related illnesses. In addition, about 9.3 million people affected by HIV, almost a quarter of the total, do not have access to antiretroviral therapy, meaning they cannot receive this treatment.

Since the first cases were reported about 40 years ago, some 88.4 million people have become infected with the HIV virus and 42.3 million have died from AIDS-related illnesses.

Faced with these findings, the UN chose this year’s theme for International Disease Control Day to be “let us walk the path of rights” because, according to the joint UN programme, attention to the freedoms of vulnerable populations is key to the fight. against this epidemic.

“Denying girls access to education, maintaining impunity for gender-based violence or detaining a person for their sexuality are also obstacles to a global struggle that has lasted for more than four decades,” Byanyima said in this regard.

The report notes that, looking at those most in need, in 20 countries in eastern and southern Africa, women and girls are three times more likely to be living with HIV than men. Another vulnerable group remains the LGBT community, as activist Axel Bautista recalled during the presentation of the report.

He recalled that 63 countries continue to criminalize same-sex relationships, which is an obstacle to the fight against HIV, given that in these countries the prevalence of the virus among gay men is five times higher than in countries that do not persecute people for their orientation.

“The fight continues, decriminalization of these situations is important but not sufficient, and we must continue to advocate for greater inclusivity,” the Mexican activist said.

Access to treatment

Another way to center the fight against AIDS on human rights is through more universal access to new drugs that make huge advances in treatment, such as new long-acting drugs that only need to be administered a couple of times a year.

“The revolutionary therapeutic and preventive options currently being developed must be made available without delay to achieve universal coverage,” stressed Alexandra Calmy, head of the HIV unit at the University Hospitals of Geneva.

The report recalls that 1.4 million people with HIV are under 14 years of age and that about 5.4 million people living with HIV do not know they are carriers.