Health Discrimination against people at risk of HIV hinders the fight against AIDS

According to a UN report, discrimination against people with AIDS or at increased risk of infection is hindering the successful fight against the immunodeficiency disease in some countries. The number of infections is rising in 28 countries worldwide.

One of the causes is that people do not seek medical help for fear of stigmatization, according to the report by the UN program Unaids on World AIDS Day, 1 December. Infection with the HI virus can lead to the fatal disease AIDS if left untreated.

According to Unaids, same-sex sex was banned in 63 countries in 2023. In these countries, the infection rate among men who have sex with men is five times higher than in countries that do not criminalize such relationships.

If discrimination stops, the UN goal of eliminating AIDS as a threat to public health by 2030 can be achieved. New drugs must also become cheaper and be available in all regions of the world, Unaids demands.

39.9 million people are living with HIV

"To protect the health of all, we must protect the rights of all," said Unaids Executive Director Winnie Byanyima. "When girls are denied education, when gender-based violence goes unpunished, when people can be arrested because of who they are or who they love, when it is dangerous for people to access health services because of who they belong to, it results in people being denied access to HIV services that are essential to saving their lives and ending the AIDS pandemic."

According to the program, 39.9 million people worldwide are living with HIV. Almost a quarter of them are not receiving the life-saving medication. In 2023, 630,000 people died in connection with AIDS and 1.3 million people were newly infected with the HI virus.

Peak not expected until 2039

In recent years, the number of new HIV infections has decreased globally, according to a new study by the US Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). According to the study, fewer and fewer people are dying from the disease. There has been a particularly sharp decline in infections and deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. In other regions, however, the figures have risen.

The study, which appeared in the specialist journal "The Lancet HIV", also predicts a global peak. According to the study, 44.4 million people could be infected with HIV in 2039, before the numbers slowly decline in the following years.

SDA