2020 Global HIV Policy Report: Policy Barriers to HIV Progress

2020 Global HIV Policy Report: Policy Barriers to HIV Progress builds on the HIV Policy Lab, by providing critical analysis of HIV-related law and policy data from countries around the world. This new report highlights the gap between scientific recommendations and adopted policies, rating each country by how many recommended policies it has adopted. Read the report here.

The HIV Policy Lab is a collaboration between Georgetown University and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, UNAIDS, the Global Network of People Living with HIV and Talus Analytics.

Improving Laws and Policies to Protect Sex Workers and Promote Health and Wellbeing

In December 2020, the O’Neill Institute released Improving Laws and Policies to Protect Sex Workers and Promote Health and Wellbeing, written in collaboration with Whitman-Walker Institute and HIPS. Based on focus groups with sex workers and interviews with DC government officials, legal experts, sex worker advocates, and victims’ services providers, the report shows the urgent need to change DC’s prostitution and solicitation laws. These data document the harmful effects of DC’s prostitution laws and policing practices on the safety and health of sex workers and the community at large.

The COVID-19 Law Lab

The COVID-19 Law Lab initiative gathers and shares legal documents from over 190 countries across the world to help states establish and implement strong legal frameworks to manage the pandemic. The goal is to ensure that laws protect the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities and that they adhere to international human rights standards. The Lab is a joint project of the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and the O’Neill Institute.

The O’Neill Institute is committed to doing the difficult and necessary work to show that Black Lives Matter and to address systemic racism and inequality. Read the O’Neill Institute’s statement.

COVID-19 Resources

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19), identified in December 2019, has become a major outbreak and has spread rapidly across the world, impacting life and society on all levels. The O'Neill Institute's experts are key resources to the legal and policy approaches to address the pandemic.

Meeting the Needs of People Aging with HIV on the Path to Ending the HIV Epidemic

This May 2021 issue brief discusses the concerted action needed to meet the needs of older people living with HIV. More than half of people living with HIV in the United States are aged 50 or older. The burdens of HIV, aging, and related health comorbidities, combined with the social and structural challenges that people aging with HIV face, necessitate not only a focus on HIV-related outcomes, but also a comprehensive response aimed at treating comorbidities and improving long-term health and quality of life.

Applying the Evidence: Legal and Policy Approaches to Address Opioid Use Disorder in the Criminal Justice and Child Welfare Settings

In our current system, jails, prisons, courts and child welfare are often the intervention points for people with substance use disorders. This report provides recommendations for actions that state and local leaders can take immediately to increase evidence-based practices, decrease arbitrary determinations, and prevent overdose deaths.

UHC Legal Solutions Network

A collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, UNAIDS, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the World Health Organization aimed to establish legal frameworks to achieve universal health coverage. The Network will work with ministers, parliamentarians, policymakers, and civil society to assess legal frameworks for their compatibility with UHC goals.