UN: Like COVID-19, Inequalities Drive AIDS Epidemic
Voice of America
NEW YORK - The head of UNAIDS said Tuesday that inequalities are a chief driver of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, just as they are with COVID-19.
"Inequalities in power, status, rights and voice are driving the HIV pandemic," said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS. "Inequalities kill." Since the first cases were reported 40 years ago, UNAIDS says 77.5 million people have been infected with HIV, and nearly 35 million have died from AIDS. Byanyima told a high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly that nations must end the inequalities that perpetuate HIV/AIDS if they want to meet their target of ending the epidemic by 2030.Young women and their coach Dioguinho bring it in for a team huddle at the start of a football training session run by the Bola de Ouro social program, at the Complexo da Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 16, 2024. Agatha strikes a ball during a football training session run by the Bola de Ouro social program, at the Complexo da Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 16, 2024. Relatives watch a football training session for young women run by the Bola de Ouro social program at the Complexo da Alemao favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 16, 2024.
FILE - A vendor prepares his umbrella as hot days continue in Manila, Philippines, April 29, 2024. FILE - Motorcyclists stop in the shade of a skytrain line on a hot day in Bangkok, Thailand, May 3, 2024. FILE - A man drinks water as he takes a break from cleaning underground sewage on a hot day in Mumbai, India, May 2, 2024.