The challenge
Since the AIDS pandemic first swept across the globe in the 1980s some 79 million people have been infected with HIV. Of those, 38 million people were living with HIV in 2020.
40 years into the epidemic we know a lot about HIV and AIDS – we know how HIV is passed on, we know how we can protect ourselves, and we have medicine that can keep us alive until we die of old age. We have the tools to stop the epidemic. And yet, we haven’t stopped it.
680,000 people died from AIDS related diseases and 1.5 million people were infected in 2020.
Deaths that didn’t have to happen – infections that could have been avoided.
Begging the question – what do we need to do to end AIDS before 2030?
"The HIV epidemic is one of the greatest humanitarian crises in recent history. A disaster that has claimed the lives of millions of people.
It is an epidemic that thrives where basic human rights are violated and where prejudice and discrimination flourish.
Inequality, poverty and bigotry fuel the HIV epidemic.
Lars Christian Østergreen, CEO AIDS-Fondet
HIV and AIDS by the end of 2020
37.7 million
people globally were living with HIV
1.5 million
people became newly infected with HIV
680.000
people died from AIDS-related illnesses
27.5 million
were accessing antiretroviral therapy
The link to poverty and inequality
Worldwide, HIV plunges millions of people into poverty every year – it makes earners too sick to work, make breadwinners bedridden and keeps girls and young women out of school.
In turn, poverty fuels HIV – many girls, young women, and men are forced to sell sex so they can buy a loaf of bread or a plate of food.
In addition, discrimination, stigma, and bigotry keep many– and often the same people – on the fringes of society where it is difficult to get formal employment, to access healthcare and to enjoy basic human and democratic rights.
Poverty and inequality are some of the major drivers of the AIDS epidemic – and therefore the solution requires more than condoms. It requires taking a stance against the structures that produce and sustain inequality.
AIDS-Fondet’s international work focuses on countries in regions with a high prevalence of HIV – where the embers of the AIDS epidemic are still pulsing at an alarming level.
The work zooms in on vulnerable groups and seeks to address the factors that keep them at the center of the epidemic.
HIV is a challenge for those who live with it as well as a problem across societies in countries where HIV thrives and poses a considerable threat – especially in East and Southern Africa.
The HIV epidemic disproportionately affects vulnerable groups, namely girls and young women in developing countries, and so-called Key Populations, notably men who have sex with men (MSM) and sexworkers.
We have prevention, we have knowledge, and we have medicine that can keep you healthy and eliminate risk of transmission – so why do we still have AIDS?
"The HIV epidemic is one of the greatest humanitarian crises in recent history. A disaster that has claimed the lives of millions of people.
It is an epidemic that thrives where basic human rights are violated and where prejudice and discrimination flourish.
Inequality, poverty and bigotry fuel the HIV epidemic.
Lars Christian Østergreen, CEO AIDS-Fondet
The end in 2030
AIDS-Fondet works to bring both AIDS related deaths and new HIV infections down to zero by 2030. A mission that goes hand in hand with tackling poverty, inequality, and discrimination – key factors that fuel the spread of the virus. But we are not going it alone.
We can achieve more, have a greater impact and sustain positive change if we work in unison within a shared framework, and set common goals.
This is the vision that the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is all about – transforming the world through partnerships and a shared cause.
Not just because it makes sense to pool and direct our efforts – but also because it is necessary if we are to have a planet that is livable for all, everywhere.
A planet without discrimination and a world without AIDS.