Ballouz, Tala, Nour Gebara, and Nesrine Rizk. "HIV-related stigma among health-care workers in the MENA region." The Lancet HIV (2020).
In its commitment to end the HIV epidemic by 2030, UNAIDS set the 90-90-90 targets for testing, retention, and viral suppression. In 2016, a new and fourth 90 target—namely, that 90% of people living with HIV should have a good health-related quality of life—was advocated to be equally important. Although health- related quality of life is influenced by various factors, one highly important determinant is exposure to stigma and discrimination.
Stigma has accompanied the HIV epidemic since the beginning and remains prevalent worldwide. Yet, in some settings, such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, stigma is more pronounced because of the interplay between religion, culture, and geopolitics. The MENA region is one of two WHO regions (the other being Eastern Europe and Central Asia) that has an increasing HIV incidence: estimates reveal that the number of new infections increased by 10%, and the number of AIDS-related deaths by 9%, since 2010.
Key populations account for the majority of people living with HIV in the MENA region and together with populations at higher risk face high levels of stigma because of their gender identity, sexual orientation, sex work, or drug use. The stigmatising and discriminatory attitudes that exist not only among the general population, but also in specific care-giving populations such as health-care workers, might result in a biased provision of care.3 This stigma can affect access to care for people living with HIV, and creates a gap in the HIV care continuum, thus hindering efforts to reach the 90-90-90 targets. Read more via Lancet