Intercommunal Pride Cyprus: HIV Rights Are Human Rights
At Intercommunal Pride in Cyprus, the AIDS Solidarity Movement – Cyprus reminded the crowd that HIV rights are human rights.
At the fifth edition of Intercommunal Pride in Cyprus, the AIDS Solidarity Movement – Cyprus and CY Checkpoint took the stage with a message that sits at the heart of our work: access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment is a human right.
“Pride is solidarity”
The speakers described Pride as a space that brings communities together across identities and borders. “Pride is solidarity. Pride is resistance and persistence,” they said. “It’s about refusing to accept exclusion, invisibility, and discrimination as the price of being our true selves.”
A global HIV response under pressure
The speakers warned that the global HIV response is facing serious challenges. Funding has been severely reduced, and communities are losing access to medication, prevention and basic health care. Stigma and discrimination continue to affect people living with HIV.
She stressed that this hits hardest those facing overlapping struggles: migrants, refugees, people with disabilities, queer and trans people, and people living with economic hardship. “For us, HIV treatment and prevention are part of human rights,” she said. That includes access to testing, PrEP, prevention tools and accurate information, “without shame.”
HIV rights at Intercommunal Pride Cyprus
The message came with action. That evening, the team offered free, anonymous HIV and STI testing, free condoms and lubricants, free HIV self-tests, and information on PrEP until 11 pm.
Why this matters for access
Our WHO Europe medication map tracks whether HIV medicines are available and reimbursed across 53 countries and areas. Behind every status on that map are people for whom access depends on funding, policy and freedom from stigma. Community organisations like these keep that access real.
Watch the speech (AIDS Solidarity Movement – Cyprus segment starts at 09:40):
