KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 1

UNAIDS' new report 'Dangerous Inequalities' shows that unequal access to rights, services, science, and resources is holding back the end of AIDS.

'Dangerous Inequalities' unpacks the impact on the AIDS response of gender inequalities, inequalities faced by key populations, and inequalities between children and adults.

It sets out how worsening financial constraints are making it more difficult to address those inequalities.

Gender inequalities and harmful gender norms are holding back the end of the AIDS pandemic. Gender-based violence is increasing women's risk of HIV infection and constraining access of women living with HIV to life-saving services. In areas of high HIV burden, women subjected to intimate partner violence face up to 50 per cent higher chance of acquiringHIV.

'The world will not be able to defeat AIDS while reinforcing patriarchy,' said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima in a statement issued today on the occasion of World AIDS Day.

'We need to address the intersecting inequalities facing women. In the areas of high HIV burden, women subjected to intimate partner violence face up to a 50 per cent higher chance of acquiring HIV. Across 33 countries from 2015-2021, only 41 per cent of married women aged 15-24 could make their own decisions on sexual health.'

The effects of gender inequalities on women's HIV risks are pronounced. One study showed that enabling girls to stay in school until they completed secondary education reduced the vulnerability to HIV infection by up to 50 per cent. When this is reinforced with a package of empowerment support, girls' risks are reduced even further.

Harmful practices (stigma and discrimination, exclusion, hate speech and violence) in many communities discour-age people from seeking care.

Discrimination and stigmatisation against the criminalisation of key populations are costing the lives and preventing the world from achieving agreed AIDS targets. The recent Stigma Index 2.0 study in Nepal shows that more than 5 per cent of people living with HIV generally avoid going to local facilities to seek HIV and other related services.

A survey done in 2020 showed that there has been a decline in new HIV infections among people who use drugs in Nepal. However, among other groups, including men who have sex with men, transgender persons and sex workers, there is a slight increase in new HIV infections. Facing an infectious virus, failure to make progress on key population undermines the entire AIDS response.

In 2021, funding available for HIV programmes in lowand middle-income countries was US$ eight billion short.

A version of this article appears in the print on December 2, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.