Social inequalities and injustices hindering HIV war success, says official

The fight against HIV and Aids will not succeed if social inequalities and injustices are not tackled.

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima told a public lecture at the University of Nairobi that there is a need to build a fair society if the war against HIV and Aids is to be won.

"A society that is not equal is a society where pandemics and ill health will always remain," Byanyima told a packed hall where University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor Prof Stephen Kiama was in attendance.

Byanyima said HIV to her is more than a disease, it is also an injustice.

“With everything we know from 40 years of this pandemic, no one should be infected by HIV and no one should die from AIDS-related causes," she said.

Byanyima said 26 young girls and women between the ages of 10 and 24 are infected daily in Kenya.

“Out of five new infections, four are girls and one is a boy,” she said.

Byanyima said sexual violence, poverty and other forms of injustice fuel the infections.

"HIV is driven by inequalities and we can end those inequalities."

Byanyima said violence against women and girls is driven by the injustices of poverty and patriarchy.

She said there are tools to prevent and treat HIV and enable people to live long and healthy lives.

The official said if countries do the right thing, a world without Aids by 2030 is possible.

"I want us all to imagine for a moment a world where everyone, everywhere, has access to quality health care paid for by public resources. After all, it is their right. A world where all children complete secondary school paid for by public resources. Again, it is their right."

Byanyima said for the scourge to end, everyone must have a fair chance at a long, healthy, and fulfilling life.

She said everyone's human rights must be respected.

UNAIDS leads and inspires the world to achieve zero new HIV infections.

It also seeks to end discrimination and ensure no Aids-related deaths.

Statistics from the state show that almost 317,919 people living with HIV are not yet on treatment, while another 316,828 are yet to know their status.

There are more than 288 new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women every week in Kenya.

Besides this, the eight per cent mother-to-child transmission rate translates to an annual 4,800 new infants joining the people living in HIV communities.

Byanyima said 38.4 million people globally live with HIV, and 75 per cent of them are on treatment.

“In 2021, 1.5 million got infected and 650,000 died,” she said.

Byanyima said HIV/Aids can end by 2030 if proper strategies are put in place.

She cited the four most important things to end the scourge and be prepared for future pandemics.

This includes making health technologies accessible for all , rethinking unequal global financial architecture,  achieving equal rights for gender, youth and women and ending discrimination for everyone living with HIV and those at risk of getting affected.

Byanyima decried that several lives were lost in the early 1990s despite the fact that antiretroviral drugs had been discovered but were not affordable as they sold at $12,000.

She said reprieve came after a 12-year campaign when a company in India made generic drugs that retailed at $120.

Byanyima said laws at World Trade Organisation allowed companies to hoard technologies.

“Rewards do not have to be profits yet people are dying. Many of the diseases we have here could be treated if scientists were rewarded differently. The reward doesn't always have to be profit from people dying. Never again should Africa stand in the back of the queue while our own doctors and nurses are dying,” she said.

Byanyima said countries must build their capacity to produce their own medicines locally.

“We can’t afford to sit. We encourage local production, we have scientists, it is not difficult,” she said.

Byanyima said local production ensures that countries have what they need to protect themselves with when pandemics strike.

She said the global financial architecture must be relooked for countries such as Kenya to have a space at the decision-making table instead of ‘getting handed what others have decided.’

Byanyima said, “We are calling for a better system where we have an equal chance, justice in the global financial system. Epidemics don't wait."

She said there should be no discrimination.

Byanyima noted that being gay is still illegal in 67 countries, including Kenya.

“More than 115 countries criminalise drug use. These laws drive people underground. We have the evidence. When these laws are removed, the risk of HIV comes down."

-Edited by SKanyara