One of the most successful US aid programmes, the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) – which has saved 25 million lives in its 20 years of existence – is facing a right-wing backlash based on misinformation. PEPFAR’s five-year budget is due for re-funding by the US Senate and Congress by 30 September, […] Continue reading ->
Ensuring that the HIV responses in countries receive full funding will not only lead to a 40% to 90% reduction in new infections but also result in substantial social and economic benefits, a new report launched by UNAIDS said. The socio-economic benefits countries with a fully financed HIV response will gain are higher educational outcomes, […] Continue reading ->
Over the past week, there has been a steep rise in anti-LGBTQ activity organised by prominent politicians and religious leaders in Kenya and Uganda, which has sparked condemnation by health and human rights activists and fears that this will result in violence. On Thursday, Kenya’s newly elected evangelical president, William Ruto, said he would not […] Continue reading ->
This year, “Equalise” was chosen as the slogan for World AIDS day, observed 1 December. The theme is a call to action around the need to address the injustices that are fuelling the AIDS epidemic as pre-existing inequalities are exacerbated by the serious disruptions to health systems caused by the Ukraine war, COVID-19 pandemic and […] Continue reading ->
The world is not on track to end AIDS by 2030 due to patriarchy, stigma against vulnerable communities and inequality, according to UNAIDS in its 2022 World AIDS Report. The report, titled “Dangerous Inequalities”, points out that unequal power dynamics between men and women and norms that prevent girls and women from exercising their bodily […] Continue reading ->
Twelve African nations have joined with the United Nations and other international organizations in forming a new alliance that will work to prevent new infant HIV infections and to ensure no child living with HIV is denied treatment by the end of the decade. Proponents of the new Global Alliance for Ending AIDS in Children […] Continue reading ->
Ahead of World AIDS Day, 1 December, UNAIDS has warned that the world could face 7.7 million AIDS-related deaths over the next 10 years if leaders fail to tackle inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19. If transformative measures needed to end HIV/AIDS are not taken, the world will also remain dangerously unprepared for pandemics to come, said […] Continue reading ->
UNAIDS hailed a new political roadmap to end HIV/AIDS by 2030 as a “major feat”, but admitted that its implementation would remain a challenge – along with devising ways to measure how inequalities in access to prevention and treatment are reduced for people and groups most at risk. Addressing a UN press briefing on Thursday, […] Continue reading ->
Despite the disruptions of the COVID pandemic, dozens of countries have met or exceeded the ambitious targets set by the UN General Assembly towards a goal of ending AIDS by 2030, with evidence indicating that targets were not just aspirational but achievable, according to a new report by UNAIDS. The report, released today, shows that […] Continue reading ->
A sweeping report on the global pandemic response has found that the World Health Organization should have taken a more “precautionary’ approach to the emerging SARS-COV2 virus in the early days of the pandemic, advising countries earlier on that it could be transmitted person-to-person — rather than only warning of such a “possibility”. The report […] Continue reading ->