# Fighting HIV/AIDS, Upholding Human Rights December 01, 2024 In 2023, an estimated 1.3 million people globally acquired HIV and 630,000 people died from HIV-related causes—the fewest number of new infections since the 1980s and half the HIV-related deaths seen in 2010. The world has made significant strides in responding to HIV/AIDS, in large part thanks to global efforts to increase access to antiretroviral therapy. The availability of antiretroviral therapy has turned what was once a fatal disease into a disease that is preventable and treatable. Still, with an estimated 39.9 million people currently living with the disease and over a million people acquiring HIV every year, there is much work to be done. On December 1, we celebrate [World AIDS Day](https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-aids-day/2024) to commemorate the people who live with HIV/AIDS and those who have died from the disease. The theme for this year’s World AIDS Day is “Take the rights path: My health, my right!,” highlighting how ending HIV/AIDS is closely tied to upholding human rights. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a viral infection that weakens a person’s immune system, making them more vulnerable to other infections and certain types of cancer. If left untreated, HIV can develop into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the most advanced stage of HIV infection. HIV spreads from person to person through sexual intercourse and sharing needles, and it can also be transmitted from mother to child through pregnancy or breastfeeding. Although anyone can get HIV, the burden of HIV is higher in some regions than others. A little less than half of all new infections occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, while a growing proportion of new cases are occurring in eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. Antiretroviral therapies like PrEP not only protect people from acquiring HIV, but they also suppress the viral load in people living with HIV—and people with undetectable viral loads cannot transmit the virus. Access to antiretroviral therapies is critical to stopping the spread of HIV and ending AIDS, however, almost 1 in 4 people living with HIV are not being treated. People from key populations such as sex workers, people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, and transgender women are not only at disproportionately higher risk of acquiring HIV, but they are also more likely to face barriers in accessing testing and treatment. The [2024 Global AIDS Update](https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2024/global-aids-update-2024) identifies stigma, discrimination, societal inequalities, and gender-based violence as major barriers that make it hard for people to avoid HIV and manage HIV when they have it. Punitive laws that criminalize same-sex relations or drug use, for example, not only discriminate against people and infringe upon their human rights, but they also create an environment where people who are most at risk can’t access HIV services. The Global AIDS Update reports that HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men was up to 12 times higher where same-sex relations were criminalized and prosecuted. This World AIDS Day, the World Health Organization is drawing on the idea that health is a human right, and human rights are inextricably tied to health. Under a human rights framework, all people regardless of status or identity are entitled to access needed health care without fear of discrimination or violence. So much of the progress in increasing access to HIV testing and treatment has been because of the efforts of human rights and patient advocates to raise awareness and political will for global collaboration. The long history of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the journey to get to where we are today shows that global collaboration and upholding human rights work—and are in fact, necessary—for ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic. To learn more about the global burden of HIV/AIDS, explore our resource pack on [Global Infectious Diseases](https://repository.gheli.harvard.edu/repository/collection/resource-pack-hiv/). Teaching Resource - [Disparities in HIV Prevalence, Prevention and Treatment: An Explainer and Research Roundup](https://journalistsresource.org/health/hiv-disparities-research-roundup-explainer/), The Journalist’s Resource 2023 Selected Resources - [HIVinfo Fact Sheets](https://hivinfo.nih.gov/understanding-hiv/fact-sheets), HIVinfo 2024 - [Take the Rights Path To End AIDS – World AIDS Day Report 2024](https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2024/take-the-rights-path-to-end-aids), UNAIDS 2024 - [2024 Global AIDS Update - The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads](https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/documents/2024/global-aids-update-2024), UNAIDS 2024 - [Under Threat: The International AIDS Society-Lancet Commission on Health and Human Rights](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00302-7/abstract), The Lancet 2024 - [State of Inequality: HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria](https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240039445), World Health Organization 2021 Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)