Ending Inequality is Everyone ’s Business

A health worker at a local health centre in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, prepares a vaccine injection. The dispatch of millions of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa started in February. Credit: UNICEF/Sibylle DesjardinsBy Tlaleng MofokengJOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Feb 25 2021 (IPS) The UNAIDS 2020 Global AIDS Update gave us a clear indication why the world did not meet the Fast-Track targets by 2020. Inequality, perpetuated by structural oppression such as gender inequality; economic disparity; including human rights abuses and violations. For most of us living in sub-Saharan Africa, we don’t need a report to tell us this. Our lives are a litany of inequality we know deep in our guts. Inequality is growing for more than 70% of the global population, solidifying divisions and hampering economic and social development. COVID-19 is impacting the most people in vulnerable situations the hardest— even as vaccines for COVID-19 are becoming available, there is great evidence of inequality in accessing them. Inequality is the unfinished business of the AIDS, sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence responses. Structural challenges are borne unfairly by individuals through differential access to healthcare Confronting inequalities and ending discrimination is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. We have less...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Headlines Health Source Type: news