Growing inequality could reverse a decade of progress in the fight against HIV, the director-general of the World Health Organization said at an international AIDS conference in Montreal on Monday.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who addressed the AIDS 2022 conference via video, said the “overlapping crises” of COVID-19, inflation and cuts in foreign aid by rich countries were accelerating inequality and disrupting health services.
“In almost every country, the gap between rich and poor is widening and the global cost-of-living crisis is pushing more people into poverty,” Tedros said. “Populism continues to influence domestic and global politics, weakening support for those most in need, including migrants and refugees.”
While the number of HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths are much lower than they were a decade ago, progress can easily be reversed, he added.
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Read more: Visa denials condemned at Montreal AIDS conference, federal minister cancels speech
An estimated 1.5 million people were infected with HIV last year and about 650,000 AIDS-related deaths, according to the United Nations.
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“Access to life-saving tools for prevention, testing and treatment, whether for HIV, COVID-19 and now monkeypox, too often depends on chance: where you were born, the color of your skin and how much you earn,” Tedros said.
He called on countries to tailor responses to the individual needs of communities affected by HIV and said donor nations should maintain funding for global health.
The international AIDS conference continues until Tuesday at the convention center in downtown Montreal, the Palais des congres de Montreal. More than 9,000 delegates from around the world were scheduled to attend in person, and another 2,000 registered to participate remotely.
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will make an announcement at the conference later in the day related to domestic HIV funding. AIDS conference organizers criticized the Canadian government for denying visas to hundreds of delegates and for International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan’s decision to withdraw at short notice.
A coalition of Canadian HIV and AIDS organizations is calling on the federal government to increase funding from about $73 million a year to $100 million a year.
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1:54 Canada criticized for higher HIV rates than other industrialized countries Canada criticized for higher HIV rates compared to other industrialized countries
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