
The 2022 World AIDS Day theme is Equalize. The reason for this focus is that HIV reflects economic and social inequity. People with low socio-economic status are worst affected by the epidemic. Also, the worst impacts of the HIV epidemic are found in the least developed countries and the most impoverished neighbourhoods.
In West Africa, the proportion of people living on less than $1.90 a day jumped from 2.3% in 2020 to 2.9% in 2021 and more than 25 million across the region are struggling to meet their basic food needs.