World Aids Day: For all the Successes, Aids is Not Yet Over

By Michel Sidibé

This World Aids Day, we are highlighting the importance of the right to health and the challenges that people living with and affected by HIV face in fulfilling that right.

The right to health is a fundamental human right—everybody has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, as enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Tremendous progress against Aids over the past 15 years has inspired a global commitment to end the epidemic by 2030.

The world will not achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)— which include the target of ending Aids by 2030—without people attaining their right to health.

This right is interrelated with a range of other rights, including the rights to sanitation, food, decent housing, healthy working conditions and a clean environment.

The right to health means many different things: that no one person has a greater right to health care than anyone else; that there is adequate health-care infrastructure; that health-care services are respectful and non-discriminatory; and that health care must be medically appropriate and of good quality.

But the right to health is more than that—by attaining the right to health, people’s dreams and promises can be fulfilled.

On every World Aids Day, we look back to remember our family members and friends who have died from Aids-related illnesses and recommit our solidarity with all who are living with or affected by HIV. From the beginning, the Aids response was built on the fundamental right to health and well-being.

The Aids community advocated for rights-based systems for health and to accelerate efforts for the world to understand HIV—how to prevent it and treat it.

Too many people, especially those who are the most marginalised and most affected by HIV, still face challenges in accessing the health and social services they urgently need.

Deaths declining We all must continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people being left behind and demand that no one is denied their human rights.

This year has seen significant steps on the way to meeting the 90–90–90 treatment targets towards ending Aids by 2030.

Nearly 21 million people living with HIV are now on treatment and new HIV infections and Aids-related deaths are declining in many parts of the world. But we shouldn’t be complacent.

In eastern Europe and central Asia, new HIV infections have risen by 60 per cent since 2010 and Aids-related deaths by 27 per cent. Western and central Africa is still being left behind.

Two out of three people are not accessing treatment. We cannot have a two-speed approach to ending Aids.

For all the successes, Aids is not yet over. But by ensuring that everyone, everywhere accesses their right to health, it can be.

The writer is the Executive Director of UNAids