The 2024 Discrimination Report by Aids-Hilfe Schweiz highlights the ongoing difficulties faced by people living with HIV and documents cases of discrimination in 2024. It is particularly alarming that a significant proportion of these incidents occur within the healthcare sector, which has a severe impact on the mental health of those affected. People living with HIV are turned away from doctors’ surgeries and hospitals, receive unnecessary special treatment, or find that their diagnosis is disclosed without their consent.

In addition, the issue of age is coming more into focus. The median age of people living with HIV in Switzerland is now 54; more than half are aged between 45 and 64. The number of older people living with HIV will continue to rise. However, particularly in geriatric care – that is, the medical care of older people – there is a persistent lack of knowledge about HIV, leading to inappropriate treatment and unnecessary stigmatisation. Healthcare professionals must be better trained to ensure non-discriminatory care.

Andreas Lehner, Chief Executive of Aids-Hilfe Schweiz, expresses his concern: ‘The current figures should serve as an urgent wake-up call. It is an untenable situation that people living with HIV face discrimination both within the healthcare system and in other areas of life. We are particularly concerned about the treatment of older people living with HIV. They have often endured decades of discrimination, including the traumatic era of the AIDS epidemic. Targeted training for professionals to recognise and prevent discrimination is essential.”