The Love Alliance is about us

AIDS ribbon
Last updated on: 05 March 2024

The Love Alliance is about us – people and our power when we come together as communities. Some of us identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer. Some of us use drugs, and some of us sell sex. Some of us are living with HIV. Some of us identify with or embody several of the above. All of us are criminalised or discriminated against in one way or another due to our identity or HIV status or behaviour or purely for political reasons. Every year, tens of thousands of us are arrested, prosecuted, incarcerated, deported, fined or denied access to health and justice in our countries, as well as being forced out of our communities and our countries, just because of who we are.

We, as communities, jointly with our allies, have invested years in pushing for human rights- and evidence-based prevention, treatment and care that could have made the end of AIDS, and Universal Health Coverage (UHC), a reality by now. We advocate for adequate levels of funding and for taking truly human rights-based programs to scale. The Love Alliance is our chance to prioritise and invest in challenging the structural barriers of underfunding, criminalisation and exclusion of us in all our diversity and in all that we have in common. We all know what we need to do in order to build a world where all people are able and empowered to make well-informed, autonomous choices about our bodies without being criminalised, stigmatised or excluded so we can enjoy our health, freedoms, rights and well-being.

Our organisations will lead and will be accountable to our communities for what we achieve through the Love Alliance, but we cannot do this alone. We can’t bring about the positive and structural change on our own and need the strength of our partnership and collaboration with many other like-minded allies across governments, funders, civil society and community groups. We will work in solidarity across countries, across generations/ages and across our communities/identities. We will use experience from our lived realities, evidence from our impact and partners from different sectors. We choose to focus on the things that bring us together rather than set us apart. Together, we will push against gender inequality, other forms of inequity, injustices and criminalisation demanding equity and inclusion in access to health and justice, including comprehensive SRHR and HIV services for all.

Learn more about the Love Alliance

The Love Alliance, a new five-year programme (2021-2025), is based on an unwavering commitment to protecting, promoting and fulfilling sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) globally, unifying people who use drugs, sex workers and LGBTQI movements, and amplifying the diversity of voices in these communities.

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