Ahead of World AIDS Day on 1 December, a new report by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) highlights the critical role of human rights in ending the AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030. Titled “Take the rights path to end AIDS,” the report outlines how stigma, discrimination, and punitive laws hinder progress in the fight against HIV. Despite significant advancements in HIV treatment and prevention, human rights violations continue to block access to essential services. In 2023, 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses, and 1.3 million people acquired HIV.

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS said that despite huge progress made in the HIV response, human rights violations are still preventing the world from ending AIDS. 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, she added.

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. In at least 28 countries, the number of new HIV infections is on the rise. To bring down the trajectory of the pandemic, it is imperative that lifesaving programmes can be reached without fear by all who need them.

Every day in 2023, 570 young women and girls aged between 15 and 24 acquired HIV. In at least 22 countries in eastern and southern Africa, women and girls of this age group are three times more likely to be living with HIV than their male peers.

The human rights challenge

Nomonde Ngema, a 21-year-old HIV activist said that Marginalised communities, including women, girls, and LGBTQ+ individuals (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and others), remain disproportionately affected. Sub-Saharan Africa illustrates this disparity starkly: every day, 570 young women aged 15 to 24 acquire HIV, a rate three times higher than their male peers. Globally, 9.3 million people living with HIV are not receiving life-saving treatment. Discrimination and violence against girls must be tackled as a human rights and health emergency.

Criminalisation obstructs progress

Punitive laws targeting marginalised communities exacerbate the crisis. In 2023, 63 countries still criminalised same-sex relationships. HIV prevalence among gay men and other men who have sex with men is five times higher in these countries than in those where such laws do not exist.

Axel Bautista, Community Engagement Manager at MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health & Rights said that punitive laws and policies keep vulnerable people away from the help they need to prevent HIV, test for HIV, and treat HIV. Instead of punishing marginalized communities, governments need to uphold their human rights.

Bridging the innovation gap

Scientific breakthroughs, such as long-acting injectable medicines, offer hope but remain inaccessible to many due to high costs and limited production.

Alexandra Calmy, HIV lead at the University Hospitals of Geneva said that Medical tools that save lives cannot be treated merely as commodities. The revolutionary therapeutic and preventive options currently being developed must be made accessible without delay to achieve universal reach.

The report calls for a human rights-centred approach to ensure equitable access to these life-saving innovations.