Supporting community action on AIDS in developing countries
MDG’s and the Law:
Creating an Enabling
Legislative Environment
Anton Kerr
Head of Policy – The International HIV/AIDS
Alliance
Chair – The Commonwealth HIV&AIDS Action
Group
Supporting community action on AIDS in developing countries
Why is an enabling legislative environment essential to
meet MDG6?
1. State of the global AIDS epidemic
2. Legal environments that influence HIV responses
3. How punitive laws undermine efforts to scale up HIV
prevention, treatment, care and support
4. Examples of how laws impact on effective HIV responses
5. Why law reform is urgent
6. Role of Parliamentarians – the change you can make happen
7. India – the complexities of leadership and change for good
Supporting community action on AIDS in developing countries
State of the global HIV epidemic
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34 million living with HIV globally
HIV related deaths fell to 1.8 million, from 2.2 five years ago
2.5 million deaths averted though scaled up access to ARV’s
The rate of new infections fell in 33 countries
68% of PLWA live in Sub-Saharan Africa (only 12% global
population) and it is where 70% of new infections occurred in 2010
• New infections in SS Africa have fallen by 26%
• 6.6 million people on ARV’s, 20% increase in the last year alone
• Infection rates amongst ‘key populations’: sex workers, MSM,
people who use drugs are up to ten times higher than the infection
rate in the general population – the impact of bad laws
Supporting community action on AIDS in developing countries
Legal environments that influence HIV
response comprises:
• Laws and regulations, including customary and religious laws
• Judgement of courts, tribunals and traditional village courts
• Law enforcement practices of police and prosecution authorities
• Management of prison systems and other closed settings such
as detention centres for people who use drugs
• Programmes providing access to justice for communities
through legal aid for PLWA and education for communities
about their rights
Supporting community action on AIDS in developing countries
Punitive laws undermine efforts to scale up HIV
prevention, treatment, care and support
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Laws that criminalize ‘key populations’ make the delivery of a public
health approach very difficult
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They increase stigma and discrimination
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Dissuading the most vulnerable from claiming their rights to access
health services
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Can exacerbate gender inequality
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Prevent effective HIV prevention services, including providing condoms
and clean needles
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Encourage police harassment of outreach prevention
Supporting community action on AIDS in developing countries
Examples of how laws impact effective HIV responses
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In Russia where injecting drug users are criminalized HIV prevalence
has doubled in the past five years and 60% of drug users are now HIV+
In Australia, the UK, Canada, Netherlands where drug use is treated as
a public health issue HIV infection amongst people who use drugs is
less than 1%
In Cambodia supporting sex workers to access and consistently use
condoms has lead to 250% reduction in HIV over 14 years with similar
successes observed in Cotonou and Benin. Much of this success is
attributed to engaged and supportive police force
Where sex between men is criminalized HIV prevalence rates are as
high as 40% amongst MSM compared to less than 5% in countries
committed to equality
Supporting community action on AIDS in developing countries
Why law reform is urgent
• The lives that can be saved, the human, social and financial
costs that can be reduced
• Global financial crisis leading to greater focus on value for
money, on what works - evidence based, rights based
• Need to invest in responses appropriate to local epidemic
• It is now possible to bring an end to AIDS - UNAIDS Investment
Framework, Treatment as Prevention
• The most undermining laws are remnants of colonialism
Supporting community action on AIDS in developing countries
Role of Parliamentarian – the change you can
make happen
• Know your epidemic
• Engage with communities affected by HIV, identify their
vulnerability – what can you change
• Facilitate dialogue between the Ministry of Heath and Justice
• Promote an informed and progressive police force who
understand the importance and role of HIV prevention
• Promote peer support for law reform amongst like minded MP’s
through APPG’s and across the Commonwealth
• Utilize the Commonwealth Secretariat for technical support to
fast track law reform
Supporting community action on AIDS in developing countries
India – the complexities of leadership and
change for good
This short film tries to capture in a few minutes a battle that took 10
years to successfully repeal the colonial sodomy law that
remains in place in the majority of Commonwealth states.
There is so much to be done to realize the potential we have to
bring an end to AIDS in a generation, we need to work better
together to do this faster, smarter, better.
Thank you
Supporting community action on AIDS in developing countries
THANK YOU!