In a sharp assessment of the current situation in the health crisis, Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif warned that more than nine million people do not receive treatment, while 4,000 girls and young women contract the virus every week.

A staggering three -quarters of them live in Africa south of the Sahara, she noticed, reminding Member States that while HIV is “Completely treatable and preventable … The world is out of the field in final aids.“

Stigma fuel crisis

“Stigma and discrimination prevent concrete progress and pave the way for a resurgence of infections,” said Ms. Al-Nashif.

“Together we have the power and responsibility of changing this. When human rights are promoted, health is protected.“

Other speakers repeated the need for human rights -based approaches to ensure universal access to treatment. They warned that discrimination and harmful laws aimed at marginalized societies prevent access to prevention, testing and care.

Keep the rights in the core

Florence Riako Anam from the global network of people living with HIV (GNP+) quoted Nelson Mandela and said HIV is “more than one disease – it’s a human rights issue.”

In many countries, criminalization, stigma and discrimination are continued on sexual orientation, gender identity, drug use and sex work to prevent HIV response efforts with deadly consequences.

GNP+, an NGO that collects Stigma data since 2008, has been researching 100,000 people in 100 countries. The results: Almost one in four respondents experienced HIV-related stigma.

Breaking barriers

“To quit AIDS for good, we need to dismantle the human rights -related barriers It prevents certain populations from accessing the services they need, and tackle the in -depth gender’s inequalities and underlying inequalities that drift sharply various health results, ”said Vuyiseka Dubula, leader of society, rights and gender by the global fund for combating AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Mrs. Dubula, who lives with HIV in South Africa, noted that although global progress has been significant-new infections down by 61 percent and AIDS-related deaths by 73 percent in more than 100 countries in the last two decades, there is still a lot of work to be done.

“This is something to be proud of, but we can go even further in the next five years if we are really focused on ending HIV,” said Ms. Dubula and referred to goal 3 (SDG3) to ensure healthy life for everyone.

Compassion on cruelty

Adeeba Kamarulzaman of the World Health Organization (WHO) Science Council and Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics repeated the need for more compassionate methods to tackle the epidemic.

She pointed to Malaysia, her homeland, which once faced a devastating HIV epidemic, but has since made significant progress.

In countries that decriminalize drug use, knowledge of HIV status is 15 percent higher, and the HIV incidence is five percent lower, she explained, adding that infection rates in places where sex work is decriminalized is further reduced by 4.5 percent.

“When we choose compassion rather than cruelty when we invest in people instead of punishing them, we save lives,“Said Dr. Kamarulzaman.

Persistent discrimination

Erika Castellanos, a transgender woman and CEO of Global Action for Trans Equality, talked about her experience in Belize, where LGBTIQ+ people faced 10 years in prison before 2016. Even after the law was overturned, there has not changed little.

“Stigmatization, discrimination and institutional barriers continue in the systems that deny us dignity in the services that exclude us and in the communities that still see us as less than human,” said MS Castellanos, who has lived with HIV for 20 years.

“I’m here because of the hard work, sweat, blood and tears from countless people, many of whom did not survive this epidemic,” she told Human Rights Council.

“I live – because of an HIV response that appreciated my life.“