Ahead of World AIDS Day UNAIDS launched Wednesday (Nov. 27) a report calling on leaders to tackle human rights as a key part of their strategy to ending the public health issue.
Officials notably pointed to laws or social norms which result in blocking people from accessing life-saving treatment.
"When girls are denied education; when there is impunity for gender-based violence; when people can be arrested for who they are, or who they love; when a visit to health services is dangerous for people because of the community they are from—the result is that people are blocked from being able to access HIV services that are essential to save their lives and to end the AIDS pandemic. To protect everyone’s health, we need to protect everyone’s rights."
Fewer people contracted HIV last year than at any point since the rise of the disease in the late 1980s, a report has revealed.
“Progress has been driven by biomedical advances, and advances in the protection of human rights and by community activism but big gaps remain in the protection of human rights and these gaps are keeping the world from getting on the path that ends AIDS,” Christine Stegling, the deputy executive Director of UNAIDS said.
However, the number of new HIV infections is on the rise in at least 28 countries.
The Head of HIV Services welcomed the result of studies on Lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injection tried on young women in South Africa and Uganda.
READ ALSO: A twice-yearly injection offers 100% protection against HIV in trial of young women
Long-acting medicines that only need to be injected a few times a year could tip the scales but only if a human rights approach is taken to share the technology to bring down prices and enable production in every part of the world.
Of the 39.9 million people living with HIV, 9.3 million people are still not accessing life-saving treatment. Last year, 630 000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses, and 1.3 million people around the world newly acquired HIV.
The UNAIDS new report titled "Take The Rights Path" brings together the latest research, case studies, and recommendations for getting the world on track. It includes guest essays by Elton John, by Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba, by Irish President Michael D. Higgins, by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, and by former President of the International AIDS Society Adeeba Kamarulzaman amongst others. It provides a clear roadmap: Take the rights path to end AIDS.
