For Immediate Release : 1st March 2024, Kampala, Uganda
“To protect everyone’s health, protect everyone’s rights”[1] is 2024’s theme for the Zero Discrimination Day. Zero Discrimination Day which is commemorated on 1st March every year recognizes the need to celebrate the right of everyone in their diversity to live a dignified and productive life.
The International Community of Women Living with HIV Eastern Africa (ICWEA) joins the rest of the world to commemorate the zero-discrimination day. On this day, the progress made to eliminate all forms of stigma and discrimination is celebrated. We celebrate the big victory on tubal ligation of women living with HIV in an extraordinary judgement by Hon Justice Mrima in 2023, “declaring that executing tubal ligation on a woman living with HIV without her consent violated her fundamental rights to dignity, freedom from discrimination, health, and the ability to start a family[2]”
Despite the above, in East Africa, the HIV epidemic disproportionately affects Adolescent Girls & Young Women (AGYW), Key and Vulnerable Populations. Pediatrics and children continue to be left behind of treatment for HIV. Denial of young women and girls to access to HIV prevention tools like CAB LA and Dapivirine Vaginal Ring (DVR) when they are available is a fundamental human rights violation. The region continues to have laws on the shelf that criminalize certain categories of people. These and others contradict and go against clauses in constitutions of these countries. For example, the Constitution of Tanzania, Article 12 is clear that, all human beings are born free, and are all equal and every person is entitled to recognition and respect for his dignity[3]. People living with HIV continue to face stigma and discrimination and mistreatment in their communities contrary to Section 24 of the East African HIV&AIDS Prevention and Management Act 2012[4] that provides that persons living with HIV&AIDS are entitled to enjoying all human rights without discrimination.
Call to action
Protecting everyone’s health means repealing laws that promote discrimination; provision of HIV prevention options and choices; facilitating an inclusive and equitable access to HIV prevention and treatment services to all including children.
Governments and key stakeholders in East Africa are called upon to end discrimination by “putting people first” for healthy and productive community.
Contacts
Twitter: @ICWEastAfrica
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/ICWEasternAfrica.
Website: www.icwea.org
[1] https://www.unaids.org/en/zero-discrimination-day [2] https://www.icwea.org/upholding-dignity-protecting-the-rights-of-women-living-with-hiv-against-forced-sterilization/#:~:text=This%20landmark%20decision%20specifically%20declared,ability%20to%20start%20a%20family. [3] https://www.kelinkenya.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Policy-Analysis-on-the-Enforcement-of-The-East-African-HIV-AIDS-Prevention-and-Management-Act.pdf [4] https://www.kelinkenya.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/EAC-HIV-ACT-2012.pdf
