On World AIDS Day, 1 December, UNAIDS called on global leaders to protect the human rights of everyone living with or at risk of HIV. The organization emphasized that safeguarding these rights is essential to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
A new report, “Take the Rights Path to End AIDS,” highlights that despite progress in the HIV response, human rights violations are obstructing access to critical HIV services.
“When there is impunity for gender-based violence, when people can be arrested for who they are, 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 HIV services that are essential to save their lives and to end the AIDS pandemic,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “To protect everyone’s health, we need to protect everyone’s rights.”
Every minute, someone dies due to AIDS-related causes. Almost a quarter of the 39.9 million people living with HIV globally still lack access to life-saving treatment. New HIV infections are rising in at least 28 countries, and UNAIDS stresses the need for accessible HIV prevention, testing, and treatment programs for all, without fear or discrimination.
The criminalization and stigmatization of marginalized communities, including men who have sex with men, people in prisons, drug users, sex workers, and transgender individuals, remain major barriers to accessing HIV services. In 2021, countries committed to reducing punitive laws and policies to ensure that by 2025, less than 10 percent of countries will have such laws and less than 10 percent of people living with HIV and key populations experience stigma and discrimination.
SUBHED: HIV Infections on the Rise in Asia Pacific, UNAIDS Urges Action
In Asia and the Pacific, the situation is dire, with 17 AIDS-related deaths every hour and a new HIV infection every two minutes. From 2010 to 2023, new HIV infections surged in several countries, including Bangladesh (20 percent), Laos (23 percent), Papua New Guinea (104%), and the Philippines (543 percent).
“Instead of punishing marginalized communities, governments need to uphold their human rights and ensure they have the specific information and care they require,” said Eamonn Murphy, Regional Director of UNAIDS Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe Central Asia. “The HIV response is at a crossroads. What governments do now will set the trajectory for whether we end AIDS as a public health threat and achieve a sustainable AIDS response, or whether we fail to achieve this and pay a much higher price in terms of human life and financial costs in the future.”
Legal barriers persist across the region. In Asia Pacific, 20 countries criminalize HIV transmission, exposure, or non-disclosure, while 14 restrict the entry, stay, or residence of people living with HIV. Nearly all countries, except New Zealand, criminalize some aspect of sex work, and many criminalize same-sex relations and drug possession.
The report includes an essay by Adeeba Kamarulzaman, President of Monash University in Malaysia and former President of the International AIDS Society. She argues that aligning drug policy with human rights principles is crucial for advancing public health.
“Only by aligning drug policy with human rights principles would it be possible to advance public health,” Kamarulzaman wrote. “Since offering harm reduction services, needle-sharing has stopped being the main channel for HIV transmission in Malaysia and thousands of new infections have been prevented.”
SUBHED: Laos Reports Rising HIV Rates, Aims to End Transmission by 2030
On 29 November, Lao Deputy Minister of Health Phayvanh Keopaseuth shared new National data ahead of World AIDS Day on 1 December. From January to September, 1,523 people across Laos were reported to be living with HIV, with 53 percent of whom aged 15-29.
According to projections by the United Nations (UN), the HIV infection rate in Laos has risen to 0.42 percent in 2024, up from 0.39 percent in 2023. Since 1990, an estimated 20,000 people in Laos have been infected, most aged 15-49. Currently, 12,803 individuals nationwide are receiving antiretroviral treatment.
The UN’ “95-95-95” initiative targets reducing HIV globally by ensuring 95 percent of people with HIV know their status, 95 percent of those diagnosed begin treatment, and 95 percent of those treated achieve a suppressed viral load, reducing transmission risk.
Phayvanh stated that Laos aims to halt HIV transmission by 2030. However, challenges remain, including the need for improved services and expanded strategies like condom use, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for at-risk groups, self-testing, and early treatment access.
The Ministry of Health has been implementing a national strategic plan for HIV prevention and control (2021-2030). With 196 testing facilities across 18 provinces and a growing network of treatment centers, Laos is working to strengthen its response to the epidemic.
SUBHED: Raising Awareness on HIV Treatment, Prevention
UNAIDS and its partners in Asia Pacific are working to increase public and policymaker awareness about the scientific principle of U=U (undetectable equals untransmittable). This principle states that people living with HIV who maintain undetectable viral loads cannot transmit the virus through sex. The World Health Organization confirmed last year that people with an undetectable viral load have “zero risk” of infecting a sexual partner.
“It’s time we leveraged the full power of U=U to not only save lives, but change attitudes toward people living with HIV,” said Harry Prabowo, Program Manager of the Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV (APN+). “Public health is best served with laws, policies, and practices that support people to be diagnosed early, immediately start treatment, and achieve viral suppression.”
As part of efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination, SEA Against Stigma, a network of journalists and influencers from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, is producing news stories and social media content to raise awareness about U=U.
With a clear message that human rights are integral to the fight against HIV, UNAIDS continues to urge governments, policymakers, and communities to act decisively to protect the health and dignity of all people, particularly the most marginalized, in the ongoing battle to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
Additional information provided by UNAIDS
