PURPOSE: Zero Discrimination Day observed on 1 March highlights the urgent need to take action to end inequalities surrounding income, sex, age, health status, occupation, disability, sexual orientation, drug use, gender identity, race, class, ethnicity and religion that are prevalent around the world. States have a moral and legal obligation to remove discriminatory laws and to enact laws that protect people from discrimination. Everyone has a responsibility to hold states accountable, call for change and contribute to efforts to remove discriminatory laws.
FORUM: “We stand together” Zero Discrimination Day 2025. Community healthcare and support providers are too often faced with challenges—stigma, discrimination, criminalization, funding cuts, and political backlash—despite their primary role in ensuring that health services reach everyone in need, including the most vulnerable. Compounding this, the current crisis caused by the shift in U.S. government funding has resulted in deep anxiety and pain for many community organizations as the future of life-saving community-led HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support programmes are at risk, despite the clear evidence of the positive impact of community-led services. Community led services are essential to the sustainability of the AIDS response up to and beyond 2030, yet community-led responses are too often unrecognized, under-resourced and in some places even under attack. Crackdowns on civil society and on the human rights of marginalized communities are obstructing communities from providing HIV prevention and treatment services. The underfunding of community-led initiatives is leaving them struggling to continue operating as well as holding them back from expanding. If these obstacles are removed, community-led organizations can add even greater impetus to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. The sustainability of the AIDS response now and into the future is critical with communities at the centre. It’s time Now to reaffirm global commitment to their leadership. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #March1, #zerodiscriminationday, #Zerodiscrimination.
EVENTS: March 1st; To observe the Zero Discrimination Day 2025 and its Eleventh edition, the UNAIDS is reflecting on Standing Together with communities. Communities are essential to the sustainability of the HIV response and to broader global health efforts. They must be financed and supported in their steadfast commitment to ensuring that all people living with and affected by HIV have access to the services they need and are treated with dignity and respect. On this year’s Zero Discrimination Day, UNAIDS calls on countries, donors and partners to fulfill their commitments and Stand Together to support communities as they work to build sustainable HIV responses by ensuring that:
Community-led organizations are able to deliver life-saving services and advocate without discrimination or harassment.
Community-led organizations can legally be registered in the country they are working in and receive sustainable funding.
Communities are supported in providing health services to vulnerable and marginalized groups.
Communities are supported and funded in work to monitor respect for human rights including ending the criminalization of key populations, stigma and discrimination and gender inequalities.
Government health services include community representatives within their structures as partners in the development, implementation and monitoring of health programmes to ensure they are accessible and acceptable to people living with HIV and marginalized populations.
On 1 March, and across the whole month of March, events, activities and messages will remind the world of this vital lesson and call to action: to protect everyone’s health, protect everyone’s rights. The EU region and partner countries have addressed HIV-related rights violations, societal barriers, including laws and policies, stigma and discrimination that fuels the AIDS pandemic. To date, 29 countries, none of which are EU member states, have joined the Global Partnership on assisting countries in achieving the 10–10–10 targets by removing laws that harm and creating laws that empower. Register to participate!
STATEMENTS: “Through upholding rights for all, we will be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and to secure a safer, fairer, kinder, and happier world – for everyone.” Message from Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, on Zero Discrimination Day 2025, March 1st.
“The only way to end AIDS is by working together with communities. They build trust and reach people which many traditional health facilities find hard to reach—the most marginalized, and people who face stigma and discrimination,” said Mme Christine Stegling, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director. “To end AIDS by 2030, sustained investment and support for community-led responses is crucial.”
“No society can thrive where discrimination exists,” said Mr. Marc Angel, Vice President of the European Parliament and a long-time HIV activist. “Every right denied, every barrier imposed weakens us all. On Zero Discrimination Day, let’s make it clear: equality is not an option—it’s a necessity. We stand together.”
PUBLICATIONS: Read the FACTS ABOUT HIV CRIMINALIZATION.
The Global AIDS Strategy 2021-2026 set as a target that less than 10% of countries would criminalise sex work, possession of small amounts of drugs, same-sex sexual activity, and HIV exposure, non-disclosure and transmission.
Impact on the ground: Reaching the Global AIDS Strategy's 10-10-10 targets within the Global Partnership’s six settings. Read the Global partnership for action to eliminate all forms of HIV-related stigma and discrimination (PDF).
PODCASTS: Some national laws and sanctions violate international human rights norms and stigmatize and discriminate against already marginalized populations. Decriminalisation saves lives and helps advance the end of the AIDS pandemic. Listen the audio-Podcasts!
CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: Participate to the Zero Discrimination Day 2025 by joining the campaign. Let’s Stand Together with communities on the frontlines of the HIV response. Explore the posters and the action toolkit! and Get the communication materials!
WHY WE CELEBRATE THE DAY?
On Zero Discrimination Day, March 1st, we celebrate the right of everyone to live a full and productive life—and live it with dignity and free from discrimination. Zero Discrimination Day started with a focus on HIV to highlight how people can become informed about and promote the rights of people living with and affected by HIV.
By Recognizing decriminalization as a critical element in the response, countries made a commitment that by 2025 less than 10% of countries would have punitive legal and policy environments that affect the HIV response.
In recent years it has expanded to focus on ending all forms of discrimination that impact on quality of life, health and well-being.
GET INVOLVED!
The health sector has a critical role to play through generating data on how stigma and discrimination impacts populations most affected by HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections. The health sector also plays an important convening role for multisectoral partnerships to address the broader determinants of health.
It is vital to address stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings, including for men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who use drugs, people in prison and transgender people to end epidemics of HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs. Equitable, quality and person centred health services require health care staff who are compassionate and non-judgemental experts.
Change starts with awareness. Take the interactive quiz to test your knowledge about the criminalization of HIV.
PARTNERSHIPS
The Day is , co-organized by the World Health Organization (WHO); the PAHO/WHO; the UNAIDS; The Global Partnership for Action to Eliminate all Forms of HIV-Related Stigma and Discrimination (Global Partnership), brought together high-level speakers who are passionate about ending discrimination in the European Union (EU) and beyond.
Together we can end HIV-related stigma, discrimination, inequalities and AIDS by 2030.
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UNAIDS is highlighting the urgent need to take action to end the inequalities surrounding income, sex, age, health status, occupation, disability, sexual orientation, drug use, gender identity, race, class, ethnicity and religion that continue to persist around the world.