Dr Doherty Meg, Director, Global HIV, Hepatitis and STIs Programmes at WHO HQ; Dr Prasada Rao, former Special Envoy on AIDS to the UN Secretary General; representatives from community and civil society organizations; experts, programme managers and partners, HIV focal points from regional and country offices,
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, and welcome to this World AIDS Day commemoration, the theme of which is End Inequalities, End AIDS – a theme that, amid the COVID-19 response, and at the beginning of this Decade of Action, is especially timely.
In 2020 around 680 000 people died from HIV-related causes globally. Around 1.5 million people acquired HIV and an estimated 38 million people were living with HIV infection.
The HIV epidemic is not over.
Despite having the knowledge and tools to prevent every new HIV infection and each AIDS-related death, the world did not meet the 2020 targets set out in the 2016 political declaration on HIV and AIDS.
In recognition of this lapse, at a High-Level Meeting at the UN General Assembly this year, countries committed to bridge the gaps and accelerate efforts to achieve the 2030 target of ending AIDS as a public health threat.
The South-East Asia Region is home to around 10% of all people living with HIV globally and accounts for 12% of AIDS-related mortality.
Between 2010 and 2020, the Region reduced annual new HIV infections by 46% and AIDS-related deaths by 64%.
An estimated 61% of people living with HIV in the Region are now receiving life-long antiretroviral therapy, enabling them to live healthy and productive lives, and to contribute to sustainable social and economic development.
Amid the COVID-19 response, the Region continues to take targeted action to maintain essential health services, including to prevent, detect and treat HIV.
Gaps and challenges nevertheless remain, at the heart of which are social, economic and legal inequalities – inequalities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which in 2020 alone, pushed as many as 150 million people globally into extreme poverty.
We know what must be done.
Last World AIDS Day, ministers of health from across the Region came together with the express purpose of intensifying action to achieve global and regional targets, highlighting the critical importance of reaching the unreached and underserved, leaving no one behind.
Pursuant to that objective, at the Seventy-fourth session of the Regional Committee in September, ministers made specific note of the need to address the social and economic determinants of the epidemic, recognizing the critical role that stigma and discrimination play in prolonging it.
They underscored not only the need to accelerate coverage of testing and treatment services – including through large-scale adoption of innovative technologies such as HIV self-testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis – but also the value of simplifying approaches at the primary health care level.
They stressed the critical importance of taking a people-centred approach that prioritizes community ownership, action and engagement – an approach that I am pleased to share will be central to the Region’s forthcoming Regional Action Plan for viral hepatitis, HIV and STIs, 2022–2026.
In service of that outcome, it is my pleasure to welcome you today and invite you to contribute towards achieving several objectives:
First, to share experiences and good practices in enhancing community engagement and community-led services towards ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030;
Second, to showcase stories of resilience and highlight the comprehensive health needs of communities, particularly in the context of the challenges raised by COVID-19, and;
Third, to identify gaps in community-led responses and offer recommendations to address them in the forthcoming integrated Regional Action Plan.
Before closing, I thank HIV programme staff, and all health and care workers, for your tremendous efforts to support the COVID-19 response, and to maintain essential health services.
Your contributions have made all the difference.
I thank you for your participation, reiterate WHO’s ongoing and unmitigated support, and wish you an engaging and inspiring World AIDS Day.
Thank you.