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Attaining UNAIDS’ proposed societal and legal barrier targets could stop 440 000 AIDS-related deaths 

January 12, 2021

UNAIDS has called on countries to make far greater investments in global pandemic responses and adopt a new set of bold, ambitious but achievable HIV targets for 2025.

An analysis was performed focused on available studies that have quantitatively measured the negative impact of stigma and discrimination and the criminalization of sex work, drug use and same-sex sexual relationships on HIV prevention, testing and treatment efforts.

The analysis suggests that failure to make any progress on HIV-related stigma and discrimination would undermine efforts to reach the HIV testing, treatment and viral suppression targets, resulting in an additional 440 000 AIDS-related deaths between 2020 and 2030, and that failure to make any progress across all societal enablers would undermine efforts to reach HIV prevention targets, resulting in 2.6 million additional new HIV infections over the same period.

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Source: UNAIDS