Human rights response critical to fight spread of HIV in Solomon Islands

A workshop on HIV, human rights and the law in Honiara has heard that a human rights response was critical in the fight to reduce the spread of HIV in the Solomon Islands.

Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team Trainer Seema Naidu says if the rights of people living with HIV are respected and they are treated with dignity and not stigmatised in Pacific societies, then more people will be willing to come forward for testing and treatment.

The five-day workshop aims to identify and discuss emerging legal and human rights issues surrounding HIV.

They include the human rights based approach to address issues such as stigma and discrimination, gender, privacy, confidentiality and third party notification.

Others are the right to health, mandatory testing and willful transmission.

Participants will also develop strategies to address these issues within their organisations.

Twenty participants from non-governmental organisations and government departments are attending the workshop.

Source: SIBC