Human Rights Protection Essential to Meeting AIDS Public Health Goals for 2030 – Global Issues
BRATISLAVA, Nov 26 (IPS) – Ahead of World AIDS Day 2024, UNAIDS released its report ‘Take a rights approach to end AIDS,’ in which it stressed that the world can meet the agreed goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. – but only if leaders protect the rights of all people living with and at risk of HIV. Gaps in the realization of human rights can stop AIDS from being eliminated as a public health threat by 2030, UNAIDS warned in a report celebrating World AIDS Day.
In the report, titled Take the Route of Rightsthis group says that the global HIV response is at a high level and that the decisions taken now by governments will determine whether the AIDS epidemic is no longer a public health risk at the end of the decade, committing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ).
It highlights that a series of widespread human rights abuses, including the denial of girls’ education, impunity for gender-based violence, the imprisonment of people because of who they are or who they love, and other barriers to accessing HIV care simply because of the community one comes from, are jeopardizing efforts to end the epidemic.
The organization has called on world leaders to ensure that rights are upheld so that everyone in need has access to life-saving services and AIDS is eradicated, or face “a future of needless illness, death, and endless costs.”
“It is absolutely possible to end AIDS—the way is clear. Leaders must only choose to follow it,” said Winnie Byanyima, Director General of UNAIDS, told IPS.
HIV/AIDS activists and public health experts in recent years have increasingly pointed to the consequences of human rights suppression in efforts to combat HIV/AIDS.
They highlighted the growing stigmatization and discrimination of key people, including LGBT+ people, and drug users, in several countries, including the introduction of legislation that directly discriminates against those communities. Meanwhile, women’s rights continue to be suppressed or not fully respected in many parts of the world.
The UNAIDS report shows that at the moment, only three countries report no crime during the last 10 years for not disclosing HIV, showing it, or transmitting it and they do not have laws that criminalize selling sex, same sex, possession of minor drugs. , transgender people, or HIV non-disclosure, exposure, or transmission. It also shows that 44 percent of all new HIV infections worldwide are among women and girls.
Activists say it is important that criminal laws and other laws that harm human rights be removed, and at the same time, laws and policies are enacted that promote the rights of everyone affected by HIV and AIDS.
“The science couldn’t be clearer—crime exacerbates the HIV epidemic and erodes trust in the health system that is needed not only for an effective HIV response but also for robust responses to the epidemic at large. But these gaps can be overcome—what’s missing is political will,” Asia Russell, Executive Director of campaign group Health GAP, told IPS.
There are concerns, however, that against a background of growing authoritarianism and a backlash against rights in many countries, this will be a challenge.
“Victimized and criminalized communities are tools that dictators turn to over and over again, driving people away from life-saving health services and making entire communities less safe,” Russell said.
Ganna Dovbakh, Executive Director of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRA), went further, suggesting that the rise in crime meant that achieving the end of AIDS as a public health threat increasingly seemed like “wishful thinking.”
“It sounds ridiculous. “Given the anti-gender and human rights movements around the world, it sounds very ambitious,” he told IPS.
However, although the report raises concerns about how the failure to ensure human rights affects efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and the possibility of doing nothing about this issue to stop or reverse progress in fighting the disease, UNAIDS points out that it has been successful. in countries where people-centered approaches to HIV/AIDS have been adopted.
“Seven countries in Africa (Botswana, Swatini, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) have reached the goals of UNAIDS testing and treatment (95-95-95) for the entire population.
“This is a testament to global unity, African political leadership, and strong collaboration between governments, communities, civil society, science and the private sector,” said Byanyima.
“While there are growing threats from anti-LGBTQ extremists in the US, Russia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and elsewhere, not all countries turn a blind eye to crime,” Russell said. “However, some governments have recently rejected this approach—such as Namibia, which points to the racist and colonial roots of such laws and their debilitating impact not only on the HIV response but on society as a whole.”
However, the report highlights the extent of the global challenge to end AIDS by the end of the decade.
By 2023, 9.3 million people living with HIV were not receiving antiretroviral treatment, and 1.3 million people were newly diagnosed with HIV. In regions where the numbers of new HIV infections are increasing the fastest, only slow progress is being made in scaling up pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). These regions also lag behind sub-Saharan Africa in meeting the 95-95-95 HIV testing and treatment targets, according to the report.
It also said that coverage of prevention services among people at high risk for HIV is very low—often less than 50 percent—and that HIV infection is increasing in at least 28 countries around the world.
“These countries must look at their goals and plans and build a path towards rights to fight their epidemic,” said Byanyima.
Despite this, the group remains hopeful that the disease can be eliminated as a public health threat by the end of the decade—if governments act now.
“It is still possible, but the leaders must act now to break down the barriers that affect health. I am always optimistic, but it will only happen if countries with increasing epidemics change the way they protect everyone’s rights to protect everyone’s health,” said Byanyima.
Others agree, but say that governments may need to be pushed to take the necessary steps to end AIDS.
“We have interventions that can defeat the AIDS crisis—if implemented at scale, where the people most in need are at the front of the line rather than being pushed back. “What is missing is equal access to scientific development and human rights and political will,” said Russell.
“The case for closing the HIV funding gap, repealing criminalization laws, and accelerating the deployment of advanced protective technologies could not be stronger. Unfortunately. Most governments are not showing, themselves, the leadership we need… pressure is needed now to force government action—the political will to tackle the AIDS crisis rarely happens out of grace; it arises due to the pressure of accountability from the communities,” he added.
Mark Harrington, Executive Director of the Treatment Action Group, said decades of advances in medical science mean “the toolkit we have to prevent and treat HIV, and to ensure people can live long lives regardless of HIV status, is better than it’s ever been.” but governments must be encouraged to ensure that they are “responsive to the health needs of their people to fulfill the promise of all these decades of research results.”
“Political will must continue to be created and strengthened. As activists, that is our job. Over the past four decades, scientists and activists have made incredible strides against the once incurable disease. We need to continue reminding policy makers of their duties and communities of their rights to health,” he told IPS.
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
