In 2014, the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern & Southern Africa (RST ESA), in collaboration with cosponsors and other regional partners, launched the Regional Strategy for Preventing and Responding to Human Rights Crises and Violations in the ESA Region. The overriding purpose of the strategy was to strengthen the effectiveness and impact of efforts that promote and protect the human rights of people living with HIV and other key populations and vulnerable groups within the national and regional level responses to HIV.
In addition to people living with HIV, key populations include lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered persons. Vulnerable groups include women and girls, adolescents and young people, prisoners, migrant and mobile populations, people with disabilities, and refugees and other displaced persons.