In honor of World AIDS Day (Dec. 1), the Stephen Lewis Foundation, an organization that supports the battle against HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, hosted a virtual panel on Dec. 2. Held in partnership with Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA), Wells of Hope and the Women’s International Peace Centre (WIPC), speakers discussed current challenges, stigma and ways to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic affecting some of Africa’s most at risk residents.
In 2023, women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa were the most vulnerable population to the illness, accounting for 62% of all new HIV infections.
“When people in need of services are confronted with stigma and discrimination, when girls are denied education, when there’s gender-based violence and when people can be arrested for who they are or who they love, the result is people in need of HIV prevention,” said Angeli Achrekar, deputy director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), during the program.
She noted there are countries that still require immense aid, as 9.3 million of the 40 million people living with HIV are still in need of better resources to care for patients.
“Treatment services are blocked from care,” Achrekar explained.
While there are still challenges, AIDS deaths worldwide have plummeted 70% since their peak in the early 1990s.
To continue propelling statistics in a positive direction, organizations and world leaders are working to address the human rights issues present in their respective nations in order to provide access to preventative resources.
While HIV/AIDs affects every country differently, the fight to mitigate its threat is a combined global effort.
Work in Eswatini: ‘We Don’t Want to Lose the Gains We’ve Made as a Country’
Based in the southern African nation Eswatini— the country most ravaged by HIV/AIDS, with 27.9% of its adult population infected— SWAGAA raises awareness about gender-based violence and its implications on the local community.
“[Gender-based violence] is a cause in the sense that once HIV positive, some people are subjected to violence because of their HIV status,” SWAGAA Executive Director Nonhlanhla Dlamini said. “And also, we have people who through violence… get infected with HIV.”
Despite the high percentage of HIV cases in Eswatini, the country has made significant progress in its plight against the epidemic. Eswatini recently reached the 95-95-95 target, meaning: 95% of the population living with HIV is aware of their status, 95% of those aware are receiving treatment and 95% of people in treatment are virally suppressed.
Although there’s been improvement in Eswatini, HIV infection rates have multiplied among the country’s young people. Now, SWAGAA’s goal is to reach the country’s youth.
“Young people are [more] scared of being pregnant than contracting HIV,” said Dlamini. “We want to try and work with those young people […] and make them understand that HIV is still there and that we don’t want to lose the gains we’ve made as a country.”
Work in Uganda: ‘They Know It’s Not Them Alone‘
In Uganda, Wells of Hope is working toward providing more access to treatment and preventative measures to its inmates, the population estimated to be the most affected by HIV in the country.
Approximately 15% of men and 24% of women incarcerated in Uganda suffer from HIV/AIDS, according to The Uganda National Medical Alliance for Prisoners’ Support (TUNMAPS).
Wells of Hope Deputy Executive Director Marjorie Lunkuse Lwanga has witnessed great change as access to information and resources has increased in the 16 years the Stephen Lewis Foundation has supported her organization.
Increased distribution of food supplements for infected inmates and sensitization training for their families to debunk misconceptions about the disease have contributed to less discrimination against and death among HIV-positive patients while boosting their physical and mental health.
Also based in Uganda, the Women’s International Peace Centre is working to diminish the shame women and youth may feel surrounding HIV, as many have contracted the virus through sexual violence. By building victims’ confidence and reminding them they are worthy of love, the feminist organization has pushed many women to become leaders within their communities who provide counseling, food and information.
“This provides them an opportunity to be a part of the decision-making table,” said WIPC Deputy Executive Director Juliet Were. “This has boosted their capacity and confidence because they know it’s not them alone. There are also other women championing that cause, and in a way, reenergizing them and contributing to movement building.”
She desires an expansion of informative campaigns in Uganda to reach more adolescents who may be affected by HIV/AIDS.
Dlamini agrees as infection rates have multiplied among Eswatini’s youth.
“Young people are [more] scared of being pregnant than contracting HIV,” said Dlamini. “We want to try and work with those young people […] and make them understand that HIV is still there and that we don’t want to lose the gains we’ve made as a country.”