Working together to end poverty and injustice

HIV and AIDS and basic rights

Photo: Children next to an HIV and AIDS prevention poster in Sierra Leone. Credit: Crispin Hughes/Oxfam

Oxfam believes everyone has the right to a life of dignity and opportunity. HIV and AIDS pushes many families into poverty and poverty makes people more vulnerable to the disease. It is vital that this cycle is broken. Vulnerability to HIV is the lack of power of individuals and communities to minimize their risk of exposure to HIV infection and, once infected, to receive adequate care and support.

HIV and AIDS hits the working-age population the hardest, leaving behind children and the elderly. 15 million children have been orphaned by the disease.

People’s livelihood and ability to generate income is affected if they become ill and valuable resources are then spent on treatment and care. By 2020, a fifth of the agricultural workforce in southern African countries will have been claimed by AIDS, which will have an enormous economic impact on families, communities and countries.

HIV and AIDS also affects health services as greater demands are made on overstretched staff and facilities. Education suffers because the skilled workforce is affected and school attendance falls as children are removed to care for families or to earn an income.

Those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS face stigma and discrimination. When myths, misinformation, taboos, prejudice and fear regarding HIV and AIDS predominate, fundamental human rights are repeatedly abused and violated. Many people with HIV feel they must hide their infections and are too frightened to ask for care and support for fear of facing discrimination in their communities. This is why awareness-raising and education work is so vital.

It also appears that HIV and AIDS prevalence is much higher amongst groups who already suffer from a lack of human rights protection, in particular women and girls.

Gender and HIV and AIDS

The roles women and men play in society affect all aspects of the disease. Women are often less able to negotiate safe sex, suffer greater social stigma from being HIV positive, and as the principal family carers, may have added burdens if there is AIDS within the household.

• More about Gender and HIV and AIDS

Access to treatment

Millions of people die each year simply because they cannot afford the essential medicines that might save their lives. Oxfam is campaigning globally for changes to the international trade rules that prevent poor countries from importing cheap versions of vital medicines

• Read more on the Make Trade Fair campaign and the fight for access to treatments for all

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