Dr. Richard Konteh in commemorating World AIDS Day, echoes António Guterres the UN Secretary-General saying, “Health is a human right. Health must be a top investment priority to achieve universal health coverage. On this World AIDS Day let us recognize that, to overcome COVID-19 and end AIDS, the world must stand in solidarity and share responsibility."
Every year, on 1 December, the world commemorates World AIDS Day. People around the world unite to show support for people living with and affected by HIV and to remember those who lost their lives to AIDS.
In 2020, the world’s attention has been focused by the COVID-19 pandemic on health and how pandemics affect lives and livelihoods. COVID-19 is showing once again how health is interlinked with other critical issues, such as reducing inequality, human rights, gender equality, social protection and economic growth. With this in mind, this year the theme of World AIDS Day is “Global solidarity, shared responsibility”.
COVID-19 has demonstrated that, during a pandemic, no one is safe until everyone is safe. Leaving people behind is not an option if we are to succeed. Eliminating stigma and discrimination, putting people at the centre and grounding our responses in human rights and gender-responsive approaches are key to ending the colliding
pandemics of HIV and COVID-19.
In a new report, Prevailing against pandemics by putting people at the centre, UNAIDS is calling on countries to make far greater investments in global pandemic responses and to adopt a new set of bold, ambitious but achievable HIV targets. If those targets are met, the world will be back on track to ending AIDS as a public health
threat by 2030.
Global solidarity and shared responsibility requires us to view global health responses, including the AIDS response, in a new way. It requires the world to come together.
Now is the moment for bold leadership for equal societies, the right to health for all and a robust and equitable global recovery.
This World AIDS Day, join D-Unifier in calling on leaders to step up their efforts to achieve a healthier society, and let us demand global solidarity and shared responsibility.