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Statement
on World AIDS Day
HIV/AIDS, Human Rights and Law Project, Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
December 01, 2009
The HIV/AIDS,
Human Rights and Law Project was established by Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights in 2004 to enable and cultivate a legal and human
rights response to HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe. The project seeks to
use law and rights-based programming in stemming the advance of
the AIDS pandemic in Zimbabwean communities, including the provision
of free legal services to persons living with and affected by HIV
and AIDS. To date the project has provided free legal representation
to PLHIV whose rights are violated in cases such as unlawful dismissal
from work, inheritance issues and access to health services among
others.
On the occasion
of commemorating World AIDS Day 2009 under the theme 'Universal
Access and Human Rights', the HIV/AIDS, Human Rights and Law project
notes the following:
1.1 The effects
of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe have been very grave and far-reaching. The
pandemic continues to present major challenges to every facet of
human development in our country. Everyone is living with HIV at
either personal, family or community level.
1.2 There are
now 33.4 million people living with HIV in the world, and more than
half of these live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Universal access to treatment
in Southern Africa, and Zimbabwe in particular, remains a mirage.
Access to HIV and AIDS treatment, prevention and care is proving
to be a mammoth task for most people in Zimbabwe where less than
half of the people who need treatment are receiving it. In Zimbabwe,
out of the 350 000 people who urgently need treatment, only 190
000 people are enrolled in the government roll-out programme. Commitment
from central government to facilitate its obligation to ensure the
highest attainable standard of health including treatment, care
and support is lacking.
1.3 The recognition,
respect and promotion of the rights and fundamental freedoms of
women, children, minority groups and people living with HIV is important
for Zimbabwe to positively advance a sustainable response to HIV
prevention, treatment and care.
Therefore we
call upon the government to:
- Show commitment
to universal access to treatment and create conditions which would
assure medical service and medical attention to all in the event
of illness.
- To commit
resources to the provision of essential primary health care, including
ensuring that health services are accessible and affordable to
marginalized communities in the rural areas who continue to bear
the burden of travelling long distances and incurring huge medical
bills in order to obtain treatment.
- Show commitment
to their duty to respect, protect and fulfill basic human rights
as an important effort towards universal access to treatment and
the achievement of the highest attainable standard of health.
- Ensure that
health care financing from the central government meets the set
15% of the total national budget as per the Abuja Declaration
of 2001.
Visit the ZLHR
fact
sheet
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