As Aidsfonds, we want UHC that is equitable and rights-based, includes comprehensive and good quality HIV services and is meeting, first and foremost, the needs of people who experience exclusion, such as children, young women, and girls, LGBTIQ+ people, people living with HIV, people who use drugs and sex workers.

We also want governments to get serious about investing in health systems that include self-care interventions, tools, and products, so that young people can take care of their own health in their own homes and when they need it. This is more important than ever as health systems around the world have been overwhelmed by COVID-19. Self-care could significantly improve access to care for vulnerable and marginalised populations, such as adolescent girls and young women living with and affected by HIV, who often face enormous obstacles to accessing clinic-based health care due to poverty, gender-based violence, and vulnerabilities and stigma.

In order to better understand how HIV and sexual and reproductive health services as well as self-care interventions are being integrated into UHC plans, how they are funded, and how rights-based they are, Aidsfonds is gathering data in a number of African countries (Love Alliance countries as well as Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) on the current state of implementation of UHC and self-care commitments with a particular focus on key populations, and young women and girls. The evidence gathered will be used to influence the outcomes of the second UN High-Level Meeting on UHC taking place in September 2023 and the in-country implementation of these outcomes.