A report by the United Nations (UN) on the occasion of World AIDS Day has revealed that inequalities «are standing in the way of ending AIDS».
«If current trends continue, the world will not reach the agreed global targets on AIDS. But the new report shows that urgent action to address inequalities can put the AIDS response on track,» UNAIDS said in a statement.
The report shows how gender inequalities and harmful gender norms are holding back the end of the AIDS pandemic in the first place.
«The world will not be able to defeat AIDS as long as patriarchy is reinforced. We need to address the intersecting inequalities that women face. In areas with a high burden of HIV, women subjected to intimate partner violence face up to a 50 percent greater likelihood of acquiring HIV. In 33 countries, between 2015 and 2021, only 41 percent of married women aged 15-24 could make their own sexual health decisions. The only effective roadmap to end AIDS, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure health, rights and shared prosperity is a feminist roadmap. Women’s rights organizations and movements are already on the front lines doing this bold work. Leaders must support them and learn from them,» said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima.
The effects of gender inequalities on women’s HIV risk are especially pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa, where women accounted for 63 percent of new HIV infections in 2021.
Adolescent girls and young women (aged 15-24) are three times more likely to acquire HIV than adolescent boys and young men in the same age group in sub-Saharan Africa. «The determining factor is power,» according to UNAIDS.
Moreover, they charge that harmful masculinities deter men from seeking medical care. While 80 percent of women living with HIV were accessing treatment in 2021, only 70 percent of men were. «Scaling up gender transformative programming in many parts of the world is key to stopping the pandemic. Advancing gender equality will benefit everyone,» the UN agency insists.
Similarly, the report shows that the AIDS response is being held back by inequalities in access to treatment between adults and children. While more than three-quarters of adults living with HIV receive antiretroviral therapy, just over half of children living with HIV receive this life-saving drug.
This has had deadly consequences. In 2021, children accounted for only 4 percent of all people living with HIV, but 15 percent of all AIDS-related deaths. «Closing the treatment gap for children will save lives,» they wield.
Similarly, UNAIDS argues that discrimination, stigmatization and criminalization of key populations «are costing lives and preventing the world from reaching agreed AIDS goals.»
A new analysis shows that there has been no significant decline in new infections among gay men and other men who have sex with men in both the West and Central African and Eastern and Southern African regions.
Worldwide, more than 68 countries continue to criminalize same-sex sexual relations. Another analysis highlighted in the report found that gay men and other men who have sex with men living in African countries with the most repressive laws are more than three times less likely to know their HIV status than their counterparts living in countries with the least repressive laws, where progress is much more rapid.
«Sex workers living in countries where sex work is criminalized are 7 times more likely to be living with HIV than in countries where sex work is legal or partially legalized,» they note.
«We know what needs to be done to end inequalities. Ensure that all our girls are in school, safe and strong. Address gender-based violence. Support women’s organizations. Promote healthy masculinities to replace harmful behaviors that exacerbate risks for all. Ensure that services for children living with HIV reach them and meet their needs, closing the treatment gap so that we end AIDS in children for good. Decriminalize people who have sex with men, sex workers and people who use drugs, and invest in community-led services that enable their inclusion: this will help break down the barriers that prevent access to services and care for millions of people,» Byanyima reiterated.
