The world can end AIDS – if everyone’s rights are protected. With human rights at the centre, with communities in the lead, the world can end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

On 1 December WHO joins partners and communities to commemorate World AIDS Day 2024. Under the theme “Take the rights path: My health, my right!”, WHO is calling on global leaders and citizens to champion the right to health by addressing the inequalities that hinder progress in ending AIDS.

Key messages

A woman is holding a HIV and STI prevention kit

Health is a human right

Everyone should have access to the health services they need, including HIV prevention, treatment and care services when and where they need them. Protecting rights means ensuring that healthcare is available to everyone, without any discrimination, regardless of their HIV status, background, gender, or where they live.

Prevention empowers and protects

Empowering individuals with access to HIV prevention tools, education, and services protects not only their health but also their rights. Equal access to prevention is key to stopping new infections.

A woman is posing in front of a painted wall

Address stigma and discrimination

Stigma and discrimination undermine the fight against AIDS. Protecting human rights is essential to achieving universal HIV care and breaking down barriers to access.

People are sitting at a table outside a parked van

Prioritize and reach vulnerable and key populations

Ending AIDS requires that we prioritize and engage everyone who is living with, at risk for or affected by HIV, including vulnerable and marginalized populations - children, men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who use drugs, sex workers, and people in prisons and other closed settings. This is essential to ensure an effective and durable response to HIV that honor’s the right to health.

A man is sitting in the waiting room at a medical facility

Champion access to life-saving treatment to achieve HIV viral suppression

With early diagnosis and consistent antiretroviral therapy, people living with HIV can lead long, healthy lives—just like those who are HIV-negative. Achieving and maintaining an undetectable viral load by taking antiretroviral therapy as prescribed means zero risk of transmission, empowering individuals and protecting communities.

A person is holding a smart phone showing an add promoting HIV self-testing

Advance towards an AIDS-free future

By protecting everyone’s right to health and bringing down new infections, we can achieve an AIDS-free generation and ensure the sustainability of the HIV response.