The end of HIV/Aids may not be possible if the war on drugs continues

published on July 26, 2012 in The Guardian

The 2012 international Aids Conference in Washington DC has so far been a feel-good event framed by encouraging developments in HIV/Aids treatment and research. The theme of the conference, an "Aids-free generation", refers to the elimination of new Aids infections among children by 2015 – a commendable objective that not so long ago would have been received as a farce. Such optimism is warranted and welcome, as there has been surplus of good news in recent years – the most encouraging is a recent push by scientists to discover and develop a "functional cure" for HIV.

While President Barack Obama skipped the conference, Hillary Clinton showed up to confirm the US's dedication to the cause, stating: "I'm here to make it absolutely clear that the US is committed and will remain committed to achieving an Aids-free generation. We will not back off and we will not back down. We will fight for the resources necessary to achieve this historic milestone."

However, beyond all of this optimism lies a few deeply disturbing trends and omissions. While the Obama administration did lift a decades-old travel ban on people with HIV in 2009, the US still denies visa entrance to two of the communities most affected by HIV/Aids: drug users and sex workers.

Their absence has angered many, and lead to the construction of protest satellites in Kiev and Kolkata, as well as rolling demonstrations throughout the week. But perhaps the strangest transgression has been the inability of attending politicians to confront the reality of HIV transmission in 2012: that injecting drug use accounts for one third of new HIV infections outside of sub-Saharan Africa, and that while new infections have been falling since the 1990s, HIV rates have increased 25% in seven countries, largely as a result of needle and syringe sharing.

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The end of HIV/Aids may not be possible if the war on drugs continues

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