Equalize World AIDS Day, 1 December 2022

Equalize World AIDS Day, 1 December 2022

Last Thursday, we marked UN World AIDS Day – also marking 20 years since Anglo American first began offering lifesaving anti-retroviral therapy to its employees in Southern Africa.

The theme for this year was Equalize, emphasising the need to work together to end the inequalities related to HIV.

The latest report from UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, reveals that during the last two years of Covid-19 and other global crises, progress in tackling the HIV pandemic faltered and support resources reduced significantly, putting millions of lives at risk as a result.

The report also highlights that four decades into the HIV response, inequalities still persist for the most basic services such as testing, treatment, and condoms, and even more so for new technologies. With just eight years left to the 2030 goal of ending AIDS as a global health threat, it is becoming even more vital that economic, social, cultural, and legal inequalities are addressed.

A Look at HIV in 2021
Last year, there were more than 38 million people around the world living with HIV, of which:

  • 36.7 million were adults (15 years or older)
  • 1.7 million were children (0 – 14 years)
  • 54% of all people living with HIV were women and girls
  • 28.7 million had access to treatment, which means nearly 10 million people were still waiting treatment
  • 1.5 million people became newly infected and 650,00 people died from AIDS-related illnesses.

Tackling Injustice and Inequality

This year’s Equalize theme is a call for greater action in a number of areas including:

  • Increasing the availability, quality, and suitability of services, for HIV treatment, testing and prevention, so that everyone is well served
  • Reforming laws, policies, and practices to tackle the stigma faced by people living with HIV so that everyone is shown respect and is welcomed
  • Ensuring the sharing of technology to enable equal access to the best HIV science, between communities and between the Global South and North.

“We will only truly win against HIV/AIDS when everyone, everywhere, has access to healthcare, prevention, and treatment services,” says our Head of Health, Dr. Elton Dorkin.

“Key to this is removing the injustices and inequalities that put vulnerable people at greater risk of becoming infected with HIV and prevent those who need it from getting the lifesaving treatment they need. This emphasis on equality lies at the heart of this year’s World AIDS Day.”

What is Anglo American doing to help Equalize?

Anglo American has been a corporate leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS for more than 30 years.

In that time, we have demonstrated that investing in HIV prevention, treatment, and care has an immeasurable and positive impact on our employees, communities, and business performance.

One of the defining moments was the decision to roll out anti-retroviral therapy to our employees in Southern Africa in 2002. This much-needed access to life-saving treatment significantly changed the narrative of HIV – from one of despair to one of hope.

Dr Elton explains: “In line with the UNAIDS Equalize theme, all our current HIV-related programmes are focused on ensuring equitable access to care and support for the most vulnerable groups in our communities.

“As well as the healthcare services that we provide to employees and communities, as part of our Sustainable Mining Plan, we are investing in a range of programmes that enable local organisations – from community health providers to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and faith-based groups – to access and implement the best evidence-based models to address key health concerns and inequalities.”

Anglo American’s programmes to improve HIV/AIDS support and care

Anglo American has been a corporate leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS for more than 30 years. Here are five programmes we are currently supporting to enable access to care and support for the most vulnerable groups in our communities.

Click here to discover more about our current HIV/AIDS programmes

How You Can Help

“It’s the responsibility of all of us to prevent and control infectious diseases – including HIV/AIDS,” says Dr Elton. “Please actively encourage family, colleagues, and friends to practice safe sex, know their status, and get tested for HIV/AIDS by using our workplace and community HIV prevention and treatment services.

“We can also all help to challenge injustice and inequality, through educating ourselves and understanding which groups of people are at higher risk and then supporting them to access HIV prevention, care, and support.”

For more information, please speak to your local occupational health team.

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