Remarks by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly
9 June 2022
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are gathered today to assess our progress in the implementation of the Political Declarations on HIV and AIDS, which aims to end the epidemic by 2030.
Since the first reported cases, over 79 million people have contracted HIV, and over 36 million people have died from AIDS-related illness.
To this day, AIDS continues to take 13,000 lives every week.
I would therefore like to start by expressing my most heartfelt condolences and by extending my sincerest sympathy to the millions whose lives have been lost or impacted by the crisis over the last four decades.
Excellencies,
We are brought together today as the world works to recover from COVID-19 – a pandemic that exacerbated preexisting inequalities and profoundly hindered our efforts to not only fight the spread of HIV/AIDS but to achieve SDGs more broadly.
COVID-19 has shown us how critical pandemic and epidemic preparedness, and equitable access to health services, are to alleviating public health crises, and to bolstering future pandemic resiliency.
Striving to achieve the 2025 AIDS targets is an opportunity to work together to increase investments towards public health systems and pandemic responses, and to draw on the hard-learnt lessons from the HIV/AIDS crisis for our recovery from COVID-19, and vice versa.
10 million people living with HIV are currently unable to access anti-retroviral treatments – a particularly prominent issue amongst already vulnerable populations, who bear a disproportionate impact of HIV.
Negative attitudes and beliefs about people with HIV, ignorance, prejudice and unfounded fears of contagion often results in social stigma, discrimination, and even refusal of healthcare services. We must ensure not only their safety and well-being, but also access to treatment and legal protections.
As I have emphasized throughout my Presidency, I firmly believe that equal access to healthcare is an essential human right to guarantee public health, for all.
No one is safe, until we are all safe.
I am saddened to share that UNAIDS data shows that AIDS-related deaths are not declining fast enough for the epidemic to end by 2030, as was originally set.
Failing to do so will result in the loss of 7.7 million lives over the current decade.
Excellencies,
COVID-19 has put significant pressure on HIV responses, healthcare systems and people, exacerbating the AIDS epidemic.
Ensuring equitable access to life-saving services is an absolute priority, for both COVID-19 vaccinations and HIV retro-viral treatment.
The intersection of these crises is an opportunity to tackle these issues together.
The sense of urgency and the multilateral consensus built around this Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, I believe, only demonstrates our capacity for unity in times of crisis.
I am therefore confident in our ability to meet and even surpass the benchmarks set over the next four years.
Let us take the necessary steps to close the funding gap in AIDS response and in public health systems so they serve us all.
As such, in the power of our unity, I call upon each of you to act urgently to end inequalities which is critical to end AIDS by 2030.
I thank you.