Topic: HIV/AIDS
Country: United States
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All United States position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
Without doubt one of the most deadly diseases on earth, HIV is the greatest public health challenge facing the world today Approximately one million people died from the virus in 2017, and the figures are only increasing. While treatable in first world nations like the United States, AIDS is prominent in third world countries due to their lack of medical expertise and sophistication. The United States aims to help quel the global HIV epidemic and give support to nations with medical and scientific disadvantages. The United Nations has an endless list of Non Governmental Agencies that assist people with HIV, one of which is UNAIDS. UNAIDS has set ambitious goals to help halt the AIDS epidemic. The 90-90-90 plan, for example, encompasses a goal to see 90% of people with HIV – diagnosed, treated, and have the disease suppressed by 2020. The United States would like to see this programme acted upon and calls upon the entirety of the governing body to collaborate to achieve the ambitious goal. The USA is home to its own policy directives to fight the AIDS epidemic; ETE is an organization based in New York with targets to reduce new HIV infections to 750 a year and find care for 90% of those affected by AIDS by 2020. The AIDS epidemic is not only persistent due to sexual transmission between partners; AIDS can be and is transmitted from other sources such as needle contamination, blood transfusions, or through birth. These are all dangerous aspects of many third world countries’ societies that can be treated with separate policy directives. To start, the promotion of women and gay rights would play a crucial role in ending the epidemic; as women are forced to stay home in misogynistic societies and bear numerous children sometimes with several partners through unprotected sexual intercourse. Additionally, homosexuality is considered illegal and punishable with death in over 70 countries worldwide, if decriminalized the number of gays with HIV who are not able to seek treatment would decrease significantly. The promotion of clean needle and medical habits also could provide additional assistance to the goal of one day eradicating HIV from our species, this can be performed by supporting NGO groups like Doctors Without Borders who seek to aid third world countries with superior scientific technology and cleaner items. By ending these terrible aspects of countries’ everyday lives we can help further treat the epidemic at hand. At this conference, the United States would like to a resolution focused on assisting countries in need of medical and scientific support to end their HIV epidemic. Ideally, the resolution would be a collaborative effort and no great burden would fall on western countries with booming economies, as we strive to create a united effort to end AIDS.
