The NOBODY campaign asks governments not to disappear from the fight against AIDS

Salud por Derecho with the support of more than 40 organizations from around the world launched a new campaign in May denouncing the lack of funding for the fight against the AIDS pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean.  The withdrawal of international aid in middle-income countries, where more than half of people with HIV live, could create a resurgence of the disease as the funding disappears, if funding is not found elsewhere.  The most vulnerable populations and civil society organizations that support them will be most affected by the loss of funding. 

The NOBODY campaign asks the international donors and organizations, such as the Global Fund, for a change in the resource allocation policies and a protocol for responsible exit, among other requests. At the same time, the campaign asks the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean for:

• An increase in health budgets and the fight against AIDS budget, especially those aimed at key populations;
• Greater support for civil society organizations so that they can continue to develop their work of prevention and assistance to the most vulnerable populations; and
• Legislation that protects the human rights of its citizens, eliminating stigma and criminalization, and guaranteeing all people access to health and medicines.

The campaign, launched in Panama, will expand to other countries in the region such as Belize and Paraguay, which are beginning to suffer the consequences of the withdrawal of International AIDS funding. The plan for the campaign is to expand throughout South America and the Caribbean and ideally reach out across the globe to other countries struggling.

The NOBODY campaign aims to ensure that everyone fulfils their role in the fight against AIDS: if governments disappear, if donors disappear, if civil society disappears, we will not be able to end AIDS. It is a responsibility shared by all: nobody can disappear.

To learn more, please visit the campaign website, where you can also find their full report:  http://www.nobodycandisappear.org/

Photos from the Sol Salud por Derecho presentations at AIDS2018 in Amsterdam are available here.