World AIDS Day 2024: Take the Rights Path
1 December 2024
1 December 2024 – On the occasion of World AIDS Day 2024, we are placing a spotlight on tuberculosis (TB) that remains a leading cause of severe illness and death among people living with HIV. Conversely, HIV is one of the main drivers of TB. According to the latest WHO Global Tuberculosis Report, there were an estimated 662 000 people with HIV-associated TB in 2023. 161 000 died due to TB, representing one quarter of AIDS-related deaths worldwide.
This year’s World AIDS Day theme is “take the rights path”, highlighting the importance of upholding human rights in order to end AIDS, including HIV-associated TB. Every person with or at risk of HIV-associated TB has the right to access comprehensive services, including prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, care and social protection.
“We have the tools needed to end deaths from HIV-associated TB” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the WHO Global Tuberculosis Programme. “Now we need to reach all those in need, including populations that have limited access to services. Promoting human rights is essential to guarantee that everyone can access life-saving interventions for prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment, including to address the determinants and risk factors.”
WHO recently updated the operational guidance on collaborative TB/HIV activities, included in the consolidated guidelines and operational handbook on tuberculosis and comorbidities. There has been remarkable uptake of collaborative TB/HIV activities over the past decades, however, gaps persist along the cascade of care. This requires additional and sustained focus to ensure that all people living with HIV have access to interventions to prevent TB, including antiretroviral therapy and TB preventive treatment, and to diagnose TB using the latest technologies including WHO-recommended rapid diagnostic tests and urinary lateral flow lipoarabinomannan (LF-LAM) where applicable.
“To protect everyone’s health, we need to protect their rights” noted Dr Meg Doherty, Director of WHO’s Global HIV, Hepatitis and STIs Programmes. “Concerted efforts are needed to end stigma and discrimination, to advocate for the removal of any legal and policy barriers and to ensure that all people living with HIV have equitable access to lifesaving HIV-associated TB services.”
Human rights violations, including stigma, discrimination and legal barriers, disproportionately affect those that are the most marginalised. This limits their ability to access timely services, resulting in risk of poorer TB treatment outcomes and further transmission of TB. Protection and promotion of human rights, ethics, and equity is integral to the WHO End TB Strategy. To uphold human rights for all, it is essential to ensure supportive legislation and a care environment that protects individuals from stigma and discrimination. Services need to address the unique needs of communities that face marginalization or overlapping risk factors, such as migrants, people in prisons and other places of incarcerations or people who use drugs. Meaningful engagement of communities and civil society in all aspects of TB and HIV service delivery is central to promoting policies and programmes that provide equitable services for all.
On World AIDS Day 2024, we call on leaders to take the rights path. By protecting everyone’s rights, we can end stigma and discrimination, ensure access to the full cascade of care for all, and end deaths from HIV-associated TB.
Source: WHO Global TB Programme
