Respect for human rights is an effective means of combating HIV. Discrimination and marginalisation, on the other hand, lead to infections. That is why the 18th International AIDS Conference wants "Rights here and now". We report daily.
The 18th International AIDS Conference has been taking place in Vienna since Sunday. Around 25,000 people from the fields of science, prevention and self-help are coming together. In addition to medical issues, the conference is focussing on the topic of human rights. The motto is: "Rights Here, Right Now".
In many countries, stigmatisation still means that people are unable to protect themselves well against HIV. For example, gay or positive people who have to fear discrimination usually live in hiding - and may not take advantage of information and treatment options.
If there are any at all. For example, the more homophobic a society is, the worse the HIV services for men who have sex with men are. In many countries, they are still completely absent or completely inadequate.
There is a similar problem with drug use. People who inject drugs are usually prosecuted and pushed into parallel worlds. However, this does not reduce drug use. Instead, prosecution prevents drug users from receiving information on how they can protect themselves against HIV.
In Eastern Europe and Central Asia in particular, the number of infections has therefore risen considerably in recent years - the vast majority of infections occur when syringes are shared. Many of these HIV infections could be prevented!
In order to save lives, renowned scientists from all five continents are now calling in a "Vienna Declaration"to replace the "war on drugs" with a sensible drug policy.
Last but not least, only around five million people with HIV worldwide are still receiving the life-saving medication - according to UNAIDS, another 10 million urgently need it. More treatment would also lead to fewer new infections because the drugs significantly reduce the likelihood of transmission.
Here, too, the demand is: "Rights here, right now!" However, this is only possible if the countries of the world provide even more money for the Global Fund against HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria.
Take the G8 countries, for example: Five years ago, they promised 50 billion euros by 2010 - so far they have only paid 30 billion.
Of course, Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe (DAH) and ICH WEISS WAS ICH TU will also be at the start in Vienna. Detailed reports, background information and commentaries on the conference are available daily on the newly launched information and service portal aidshilfe.de.
In the d@h_blog DAH employee Werner Bock reports on the conference events - and does not leave out fashionable petitessen.
And of course there is also news from Vienna here on iwwit.de this week.
