01, Dec 2017

December 1, 2017 is World AIDS Day, and the theme for this year is the right to health. According to UNAIDS, the right to health involves not just “access to quality health services and medicines”, but also “assurances” such as gender equality, adequate sanitation and housing, health education, and being able to make choices regarding one’s own health, among others. In the weeks leading up to today, the #myrighttohealth campaign has shed light on challenges encountered by people worldwide when exercising their right to health. According to the International Federation of Health and Human Rights Organisations, people with HIV face challenges such as being denied healthcare due to their HIV status, age, gender, or sexual orientation, or when they are unaware of their HIV status because they fear stigma or discrimination. According to WHO, 36.7 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2016. According to UNICEF, 18 children are infected with HIV per hour.