New modeling shows that if program coverage halves, an additional 1.1 million children could contract HIV and 820,000 more could die from AIDS-related causes by 2040, bringing the total toll among children to three million infections and 1.8 million deaths.
Even maintaining current service levels would still result in 1.9 million new infections and 990,000 AIDS-related child deaths by 2040 due to slow progress.
“The world was making progress in the HIV response, but persistent gaps remained even before sharp cuts in global funding disrupted services,” said Anurita Bains, UNICEF Associate Director for HIV and AIDS.
“While countries have moved quickly to mitigate the impact of funding cuts, eliminating childhood AIDS is at risk without targeted action. The choice is clear: invest today or risk reversing decades of progress and losing millions of young lives.”
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According to the latest 2024 data before budget cuts disrupted services globally, 120,000 children aged 0 to 14 contracted HIV and 75,000 died from AIDS-related causes, the equivalent of around 200 child deaths every day.
Among adolescents aged 15 to 19, 150,000 have contracted HIV, about two-thirds of them girls, with girls accounting for 85 percent of new infections in this age group in sub-Saharan Africa. Only 55 percent of children living with HIV have received antiretroviral treatment, compared to 78 percent of adults, leaving around 620,000 children without treatment.
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to bear the greatest burden, with 88 percent of children living with HIV and more than 80 percent of new AIDS-related infections and child deaths.
Concerns over judicial independence in Pakistan
Pakistan’s latest constitutional amendment, adopted without broad consultation, undermines judicial independence and raises serious concerns about military accountability and the rule of law, warned Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Adopted on November 13, the amendment creates a new Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) to handle constitutional cases, thereby depriving the Supreme Court of this role.
It also reviews judicial appointments and transfers, raising concerns about judicial independence, since the president – on the advice of the prime minister – has already appointed the FCC’s first chief justice and judges.
“These changes, taken together, risk subjecting the judiciary to political interference and executive control,” Türk said. “Neither the executive nor the legislature should be able to control or direct the judiciary, and the judiciary should be protected from any form of political influence in its decision-making process. »
Erosion of checks and balances
The amendment also establishes lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution and arrest for the president, field marshal, air force marshal and fleet admiral, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported (OHCHR).
“Sweeping immunity provisions like these undermine the accountability that is the cornerstone of the human rights framework and democratic control of armed forces under the rule of law,” the UN human rights chief said.
More anti-discrimination laws needed to support minorities
“Diversity is our first teacher,” Volker Türk, the UN human rights chief, said at the opening of the Forum on Minority Issues in Geneva on Thursday.
The forum serves as a global platform for topics that concern ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities.
Thursday’s discussion focused on the root causes of exclusion, discrimination and intergroup tensions.
Legal protections canceled
Mr. Türk lamented that minorities remain disproportionately affected by poverty, unemployment and homelessness.
“We are seeing land grabs and displacement, cultural suppression and even forced evictions of ancestral homes and lands to make way for tourism and trade,” he said.
He added that even in democratic countries, some governments are reducing legal protections, reducing participation and hiring quotas, and allowing searches and surveillance.
The digital sphere is no better. About 70 percent of people targeted by hate speech on social media typically belong to minority groups, he continued.
Fight discrimination and hatred
To break the “vicious” cycle of discrimination and hatred, more anti-discrimination laws need to be adopted, Türk stressed, adding that less than a quarter of countries have such legislation.
In addition, minorities must be invited to participate in politics and the workplace, human rights must be included in educational programs and minority rights defenders must be protected, he added.
Finally, he called for investing in reliable data systems to hold accountable those who violate minority rights.
Originally published in The European Times.
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