virus from the infected partner. Universal access to ART is a matter of public health because it is a mechanism that reduces transmission of the virus among the population.26 39. The Court notes that the preceding concepts have been taken from different reliable sources, but medical science is continually making progress in this area and, consequently, the references cited here as an illustration are without prejudice to more recent discoveries, and do not call them into question. In addition, the Court takes no position in technical discussions and questions relating to the medical and biological sciences. 40. According to data from the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (hereinafter also “UNAIDS”), since 1981, 76.1 million people have become infected by HIV, 35 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic; 36.7 million people were living with HIV in 2016; 20.9 million people had access to antiretroviral therapy in June 2017; 1.8 million people became newly infected with HIV in 2016, and one million people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2016. In Guatemala, UNAIDS estimated that 46,000 people were living with HIV in 2016 and, of these, 36% had access to antiretroviral therapy. Among pregnant women, 19% had access to treatment or prophylaxis to prevent the transmission of HIV to their babies. According to figures from the Pan-American Health Organization (hereinafter “PAHO”) for 2013, the HIV epidemic in Guatemala was classified as concentrated because there was a prevalence of less than 1% in the general population; also, it was estimated that each year there were 7,557 new cases, which situated Guatemala as the country with the greatest number of people living with HIV in Central America.27 A.2. Laws enacted to treat HIV/AIDS in Guatemala 41. The Guatemalan legal framework contains various provisions on protection of the right to health and on the State’s obligations with regard to providing care for people living with HIV/AIDS. Article 93 of the 1985 Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala (hereinafter “the Guatemalan Constitution”) establishes that “[t]he enjoyment of health is a fundamental right of the individual, without discrimination of any kind.”28 Regarding the State’s obligations in relation to health and social assistance, article 94 of this instrument indicates that “the State shall ensure health and social assistance for all the inhabitants,” and that it “shall implement, through its institutions, prevention, promotion, curative, rehabilitation, coordination and other pertinent actions in order to ensure the most complete physical, mental and social well-being.” In addition, article 95 recognizes that “[t]he health of the inhabitants of the Nation is a public right,” and that “[e]very person and institution is obliged to safeguard its conservation and restoration.” 42. With regard to social security, article 100 of the Guatemalan Constitution indicates that “[t]he State recognizes and guarantees the right to social security for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Nation,” and that “[t]he system is established as a national, standardized The World Health Organization has mentioned the following as key populations: “sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people, and those who inject drugs.” Cf. World Health Organization, Guidance on couples HIV testing and counselling including antiretroviral therapy for treatment and prevention in serodiscordant couples, 2012, pp. 5 and 31. 26 Cf. Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), Fact sheet – World AIDS Day: Global HIV statistics 2017. Available at: http://www.unaids.org/es/resources/fact-sheet; Pan-American Health Organization, Annual Report 2012-2013 (evidence file, folio 9581); Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), UNAIDS Terminology Guidelines ONUAIDS (evidence file, folio 8460), and Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), Guatemala. Available at: http://www.unaids.org/es/regionscountries/countries/guatemala. 27 28 Cf. 1985 Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala (evidence file, folio 9738). 13