UNAIDS said the critical role of human rights in ending the AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030.
A new report entitled “Take the right path to end AIDS,” outlines how stigma, discrimination, and punitive laws hinder progress in the fight against HIV.
Globally, 9.3 million people living with HIV are not receiving life-saving treatment. In 2023, 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses, and 1.3 million people acquired HIV.
As the world approaches the 2030 deadline, UNAIDS emphasises that ending AIDS is not just a health issue – it is a human rights mandate.
HIV/AIDS is a public health threat disease. Thus, World AIDS Day celebrated on December 1 every year is a day to remember the more than 42 million lives lost to HIV/AIDS.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) called for some US $16.9 billion aid fund to address the escalating global hunger crisis.
WFP says as hunger continues to rise, 343 million people across 74 countries are experiencing acute food insecurity. This includes 1.9 million people who are on the brink of famine, with catastrophic hunger recorded in regions such as Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, over 170 million people face acute hunger, making the continent the focus of half of WFP’s funding needs for 2025.
Conflict in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Sahel, combined with climate extremes exacerbated by El Niño, has deepened the crisis.
The Middle East is witnessing alarming levels of food insecurity, with Gaza, Syria, and Yemen among the hardest-hit regions.
In Gaza, 91 per cent of the population is acutely food insecure, and 16 per cent are living under catastrophic conditions.
Syria and Yemen face similar challenges, with millions dependent on food assistance amid ongoing conflict.
In Asia and the Pacific, 88 million people are struggling with hunger caused by climate-related disasters.
The region’s vulnerabilities have been compounded by extreme weather events, which have disrupted food systems and livelihoods.
Latin America and the Caribbean are also severely affected, with over 40 million people food insecure and 14.2 million identified as needing immediate assistance.
The US $16.9 billion funding would allow the organization to feed 123 million of the hungriest people globally in 2025.
Likewise, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has also urged a US $10 billion fund for next year (2025) to meet critical needs and implement sustainable solutions for millions of refugees, displaced persons and stateless people worldwide.
The ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, Ukraine and Lebanon as well as refugee problems in Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Of the 139.3 million targeted beneficiaries, 34 million (24 per cent) are refugees, 68 million (48 per cent) internally displaced, 12 million are returnees, and about 4.5 million are stateless people under the agency’s mandate.
Around US $2.1 is required for UNHCR programmes in the Middle East and North Africa, US $1.2 billion in Europe, US $957 million in Asia and the Pacific, and US $815 million in the Americas.
Across the African continent, US $2.1 billion is needed in the East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes, US $1.2 billion in West and Central Africa and US $451 million in Southern Africa.
With forced displacement reaching record levels, he stressed the importance of global solidarity, urging governments, donors, and the private sector to contribute to the US $10 billion target.
