Wale Ajiboye

This session focused on inequities as a driver of the HIV pandemic. It explored strategies to address inequities at national, regional and global levels, and the important role of having all stakeholders engaged, at the table, active and part of the actions needed to be implemented and scaled.

This session, moderated by Mia Malan from Bhekisia Center for Journalism, highlighted strategies to address inequities at national, regional and global levels. To reduce inequities, the Director General of World Health Organization - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, emphasized that inequities must be acknowledged, and there needs to be political commitment that recognizes health as human right, and resources allocated to address financial barriers to sexual health must be encouraged at all levels of government. Rt. Honorable Helen Clark from The Helen Clark Foundation recommends the use of legislative mechanism to reduce inequities: “We cannot accept inequality forever; the issue is not lack of tools to address inequality, we need legal and policy framework to reduce inequities.” Franscisco Ruiz from the White House Office of National AIDS Policy recommended the following to reduce inequities - improve the public health system, incorporate HIV care in primary care settings, allocate resources to address poverty and housing, address stigma and discrimination, and stop HIV criminalization. Midnight Pookasetwattana from APCOM Foundation in Thailand emphasized the importance of community involvement in addressing inequities. Midnight suggested the need to increase access for sexual minority groups and to recognize community expertise in the design and implementation of HIV programs.

This session highlighted the significance of inequities as one of the major barriers to ending the HIV pandemic. The key drivers of these inequities include: reduced political commitment, low resource allocation, social and political determinants of health, racial discrimination, criminalization of HIV, lack of community involvement, and anti-LGBTQ+ movements. If we are going to achieve the 2030 targets, we need to implement and significantly scale local, regional, national, and global strategies to address these barriers.

Jude Thaddeus Njikem

Inequality fuels HIV and hindered COVID-19 response. The session emphasized the need for systemic change beyond healthcare to address root causes. Overcoming self-interest to achieve this is the challenge.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO) emphasised the importance of global health equity and called for tailored health interventions that address the needs of diverse communities in the HIV pandemic. He also highlighted the need for strong political leadership and inclusive policies and collaborative efforts as benchmarks for ending inequities. Helen Clark (The Helen Clark Foundation) focused on the intersection of social justice and health, emphasizing the need for collective action among communities affected by inequities to combat the rise of far-right ideologies and advocate for a unified global campaign to address HIV/AIDS and related social issues effectively. Francisco Ruiz (Director of Office of National AIDS Policy, USA) highlighted the significance of community representation in health initiatives, the need for culturally relevant communication strategies with the involvement of local influencers and to improve HIV prevention efforts amongst racial and ethnic minorities. Midnight Poonkasetwattana (APCOM Foundation, Thailand) emphasised the need for guidelines that cater for the needs of diverse populations with the aim to address the unique challenges faced by marginalised groups. Midnight shared success stories from campaigns ran in Bangkok and in the Asia region and calls for consolidated action.

The discussions underscored the urgency of addressing systemic disparities that hinder progress towards 2030 targets, emphasizing the lack of political commitment and the impact of Covid-19. It highlighted how important social determinants are to health such as poverty and access to housing. Discussants called for strong policy reforms for community-led responses and integration of HIV care into primary health systems, stressing further the importance of inclusive representation within the healthcare workforce. Eliminating the historical injustices faced by racial and ethnic minorities and decriminalizing and coalition-building against anti-rights movements, are also key to ending the inequities.