UN agency on HIV/Aids pledges to address discrimination

Dar es Salaam. Stigma and discrimination have been singled out as some of the major stumbling blocks to ensuring effective HIV programmes. They are also a catalyst for the violation of human rights, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has revealed.

To address the matter, the UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé said that the organization was determined to advocate the right of everyone to be free from discrimination by eliminating all forms of discrimination based on HIV status, age, sex, gender identity as well as sexual orientation, disability, race and ethnicity.

Mr Sidibé revealed this in a statement issued by UN information center in Dar es Salaam on Friday March 2^nd.

He said, “We will not achieve our vision for health or realize any of the Sustainable Development Goals if we do not confront discrimination, this is particularly pertinent in health care, workplace and educational settings.”

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights report, HIV, the law and human rights in the African human rights system: key challenges and opportunities for rights-based responses provides a guide for the continental response to human rights violations in the AIDS response.

Some of these include inequality, discrimination towards people living with HIV, limited access to HIV treatment, restrictive intellectual property regimes, conflict and migration, to mention a few.

The report also highlighted good practices from across the African continent, including law and policy reform, progressive court decisions and programmes to advance human rights protection and access to HIV and health services.

For his part, UNAIDS Country Director and Representative to Tanzania, Leopold Zekeng emphasized, “We need to ensure that everyone enjoys the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.”

He added, “We call for everyone to promote acceptance, inclusion and compassion towards ensuring zero discrimination.”