The Parliament of Djibouti has adopted a new plan to Fast-Track the end of the AIDS epidemic and increase protection for people living with HIV and key populations.  

The new strategy was formulated during a workshop attended by deputies as part of Djibouti’s national week of action against HIV. Opened by the Minister of Health and the Speaker of the National Assembly, the event brought parliamentarians together with people living with HIV and representatives of civil society organizations, the national AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria council and the United Nations. The workshop was an opportunity for parliamentarians to hear directly from people living with HIV about the social and legal challenges they face, including stigma and discrimination.  

The participants welcomed recent progress in the response to HIV in Djibouti, especially the decrease in HIV prevalence from 3% in 2000 to 1.6% at the end of 2014 and legislation introduced to strengthen the protection of people living with HIV and other vulnerable groups. The workshop also reviewed critical challenges to the HIV response, including the limited uptake of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and pervasive stigma, discrimination and other human rights violations towards people living with HIV and key populations.

In drawing up the new plan, parliamentarians said better coordination across government was required to implement the non-discrimination provisions of existing legislation. They also called for a public meeting at parliament with the National Network of People Living with HIV to raise awareness about stigma and discrimination.