Human rights are fundamental to addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic, according to health experts at U.S. Africa Command's 4th Annual HIV/AIDS Awareness Event, December 15, 2010.

This year's event, following the World AIDS Day theme "Universal Access and Human Rights" addressed a number of topics relating to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care, recognizing that these are fundamental human rights.

"We will never stop the disease unless we stop the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS," said Dr. Rafaat Hanna, U.S. AFRICOM's Office of the Command Surgeon.

According to Hanna, who spent five years working in Kenya, HIV/AIDS can lead to human rights violations and can contribute to the spread of the virus. He explained that many people who contract the disease are assumed to be sex workers, injecting drug users, or homosexuals. This stigma deters many people from testing, particularly in Africa, where many people are denied employment, health insurance, and other benefits due to their positive HIV status.

"Stigma and human rights violations impact negatively all aspects of prevention including testing, treatment, and counseling," said Hanna. "…Prevention of HIV related stigma and human rights violations is critical in slowing the impact of the epidemic."

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most heavily affected by HIV/AIDS, accounting for 68 percent of the global total. There is, however, evidence of a decline in the incidence of HIV/AIDS in Africa. According to the 2010 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), HIV incidence has fallen by more than 25 percent between 2001 and 2009 in 33 countries, 22 of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The prevalence of AIDS in Africa weakens African governments, militaries, and economies, hindering peacekeeping efforts and negatively impacting overall security and stability on the continent. African military members in particular are at higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS than the civilian population.

U.S. Africa Command supports African militaries in establishing HIV/AIDS prevention programs through its Partner Military HIV/AIDS Program (PMHAP), as part of the DoD HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP) to reduce the spread of the disease among military personnel in African nations. These programs are also key implementing agencies of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). HIV prevention programs have been established in 27 African nations.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) works in partnership with PEPFAR and is the main program implementer, contributing roughly 60 percent of its funding.

Representing USAID at the meeting, Dr. Diana Putman, chief of U.S. Africa Command's Health and Humanitarian Activities Branch, stressed the importance of working with African leaders to spread awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with a focus on prevention.

"What we have to continue to look at is how we can get our own leaders to communicate to the African military leaders that this is a readiness issue; this is a national security issue," Putman stated. "That remains a challenge for us at U.S. Africa Command to continue that education process at the highest levels."