“The path to a world free of AIDS begins and ends with human rights,” UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem has said. “The right to knowledge that is accurate and unbiased. The right to be treated with dignity and respect. The right to feel safe, no matter who you are or who you love.”
Fulfilling these rights has led to great progress against HIV and AIDS. New HIV infections have declined by 39 per cent since 2010, from 2.1 million to 1.3 million in 2023. However, the world is not on track to reach its target of fewer than 370,000 new cases by 2025.
Indeed, HIV remains a significant global public health issue, disproportionately affecting those who are marginalized, including sex workers, transgender individuals, men who have sex with men, and communities facing poverty and inequality.
Punitive laws criminalizing sex work, same-sex relations and gender diversity can drive people underground and fuel the spread of the virus. Even in places where supportive laws are in place, stigma and discrimination can still limit access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, information and services – raising risks especially for women and adolescents.
Globally, 44 per cent of all new HIV infections were among women and girls of all ages in 2023, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. This is absolutely linked to the fact that across dozens of countries, nearly half of women face constraints on their bodily autonomy and reproductive agency, such as their ability to make their own decisions about whether to have sex, use contraception or seek healthcare.
The international community can accelerate progress towards halting the AIDS epidemic by putting human rights at the centre of the response and ending stigma and discrimination. With that in mind, the theme for World AIDS Day this year is: “Take the rights path.”
HIV-related bias and intolerance are clear violations of human rights. Every individual has the right to live free from prejudice and achieve good health. Ensuring equitable access to sensitive, non-judgmental sexual and reproductive healthcare and HIV prevention, testing and treatment information and services empowers people to make informed decisions and manage their sexual health.
To be sure, knowledge is a prerequisite for choice. Everyone has the right to age-appropriate, scientifically accurate and culturally competent information about sexual health, grounded in human rights and gender equality. Health education must be approached with positivity, sensitivity, equity and respect for people in all their diversity, including those living with or at risk of HIV.
As Dr. Kanem has said, “This World AIDS Day, let us come together in taking the rights path – the path to greater human dignity and choice, and to the end of AIDS.”
