By Bunmi Yekini
On Zero Discrimination Day 2025, global health advocates are raising alarms over a surge in anti-rights and anti-gender movements, warning that these trends could reverse hard-won gains in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
UNAIDS’ 2024 report emphasized that ending AIDS by 2030 requires sustained political and financial investment, alongside human rights protections. However, recent crackdowns on marginalized communities—particularly the LGBTIQ+ population and women seeking reproductive healthcare—are pushing millions away from essential health services, experts say.
East African nations have seen some of the most aggressive legislative actions. Uganda’s 2024 Anti-Homosexuality Act criminalized LGBTIQ+ identities, leading to increased violence and barriers to HIV treatment. In Kenya, restrictive reproductive health policies have limited access to care for young women, while new laws attempt to further criminalize the LGBTIQ+ community. Ghana also proposed similar legislation.
“These laws don’t just fuel discrimination—they make HIV prevention nearly impossible,” said a UNAIDS spokesperson. “People are being driven underground, afraid to seek treatment.”
The reinstatement of the U.S. Global Gag Rule in 2025 further threatens reproductive health access in low-income countries, where U.S. funding plays a crucial role in healthcare systems. Critics argue that such policies, coupled with criminalization of HIV transmission, discourage testing and treatment, undermining global efforts to curb new infections.
Advocates are calling for governments to repeal discriminatory laws, strengthen funding for HIV responses, and reinvest in rights-based health strategies. Without urgent action, experts warn, the goal of an AIDS-free world by 2030 may slip out of reach.