World AIDS Day is a time for reflection, remembrance and re-energizing efforts to address HIV. The latter seems particularly critical this year as we find ourselves in a state of political, economic and social upheaval such as has not been seen for decades.
Until recently, we seemed to be in an era of unprecedented global collaboration on health and, in particular, HIV. But, the UK’s decision to ‘Brexit’, the election of Trump in the US and the ascendance of conservative nationalist parties across Europe and much the rest of the world all signal a rejection of this sense of global community and solidarity, a marginalization of minorities and a return to more inward-looking nations where national interests eclipse international concerns at every turn. The implications for HIV responses are deeply troubling.
Read more of Laura Ferguson’s World AIDS Day blog post for the journal Reproductive Health Matters »