Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began

Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic began, over 60 million people have been infected
with HIV and more than 20 million have died of AIDS. Despite wide-ranging
interventions to curtail its further spread and to mitigate the impact of its effects,
there are around 16 000 new infections each day and at the crux of the epidemic
are young people, accounting for over 50 % of this daily toll. That is why young
people are, and must be, at the centre of action on HIV/AIDS.
Silence, taboos and myths often surround HIV/AIDS because it is associated with
private and intimate behaviours. In this context, many factors may restrict young
people’s full enjoyment of human rights and leave them particularly exposed to
HIV infection, or vulnerable to needless suffering, if they are infected.Promoting human rights in the context of HIV/AIDS is not only an imperative of
justice to overcome existing forms of discrimination and intolerance. It is also a
tool to prevent the further spread of the epidemics. Indeed, human rights action
can help to:
•Empower individuals and communities to respond to HIV/AIDS.
•Reduce vulnerability to HIV infection.
•Lessen the impact of HIV/AIDS on those infected and affected.