IFMSA in the Consultations held by the Global Compact to Eliminate All Forms of HIV-related Stigma and Discrimination.

Geneva, Switzerland – On the 29th and 30th of June, IFMSA was present at the consultations by the Global Compact to Eliminate All Forms of HIV-related Stigma and Discrimination.

The meeting, which convened the NGO Delegation, global key population networks, and civil society organisations had the aim to convey and implement  input t from all these different stakeholders towards the development of the architecture, focus, and roadmap of the Global Compact.

The proposal towards the creation of the Global Compact to Eliminate All forms of Stigma and Discrimination transpired at the 41st UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) when the NGO Delegation to the UNAIDS PCB urged UNAIDS to facilitate a global convening around ending HIV-related stigma and discrimination to close the gap in ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030. This call was taken and supported initially by UNAIDS and UN Women and agreed to take the co-leading role of the Global Compact with UNAIDS Secretariat. GNP+ and UNDP joined in as the third and fourth co-convenors of the Global Compact. Community participation and leadership in the Global Compact, represented by GNP+, remains a crucial and important part of the Global Compact’s formation. Community led-responses in the HIV response have been proven to have greater impact, and the engagement of the communities at a high-level multisectoral partnership, such as the Global Compact, will ensure that communities are not only recognized, but is an integral part of the planning, implementation (especially at the country level), and accountability of the Global Compact moving forward.

During the consultation itself, the most relevant discussions revolved around the creation of the framework under which the Global Compact would work in the future, the identification of the most relevant sectors and areas to address, and how we could ensure that stigma and discrimination were addresses at the country and community level. The drafted outcome document was only the beginning in trying to ensure that the international documents, which have been signed with the goal of ending AIDS by 2030, are also going to address stigma and discrimination that people living with HIV and key populations constantly receive.