WASHINGTON/GENEVA, 15 April 2024—A new report released today by UNAIDS and Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria shows how countries are leveraging their HIV responses to both ensure impact on the HIV response and also to improve broader national health and well-being. The report finds that investing now to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 will not only follow through on the commitment to end the pandemic but also magnify the broader health benefits of HIV specific investments.

The report, Expanding the HIV response to drive broad-based health gains, profiles country examples from Colombia, Côte D’Ivoire, Jamaica, South Africa, Thailand and Uganda. Experiences in these six countries indicate that strengthened HIV responses have contributed to broader health benefits. Far from being in isolation, HIV treatment, prevention and care programmes are also helping to build more robust health systems that enhance access to people-centred care and bolster pandemic preparedness.

For example, the integration of HIV and non-HIV specific services is increasing access to holistic, comprehensive health services needed for people living with and affected by HIV. In Côte d’Ivoire, Jamaica, South Africa and other countries, service platforms originally developed to respond to HIV are leveraged to provide a broad range of health services, including prevention, screening and treatment of noncommunicable diseases.

HIV care is inspiring models of care in other areas. In Colombia, a model of care specifically developed for HIV is now being used for the provision of comprehensive, coordinated care for other chronic diseases, including diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Health system components strengthened through HIV investments are also improving a wide array of health outcomes in addition to those related to HIV and AIDS. In Côte D’Ivoire, laboratory systems strengthened through HIV investments are contributing to diagnostic services for multiple health issues, including maternal and child health, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis and COVID-19.

As progress lags in achieving many of the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, efforts to end AIDS stand out as a beacon of hope. Since 2010, annual new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have declined globally by 38% and 51%, respectively.

Angeli Achrekar, Deputy Executive Director of Programmes at UNAIDS, said “This report highlights the need for more purposeful efforts by countries to identify and capitalize on ‘win-win’ opportunities that efficiently and effectively increase the reach of health services to accelerate progress towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 and to reach other health-related Sustainable Development Goals.”

The report concludes with a series of recommendations to further leverage the wider health benefits through increased and sustained HIV investments. It says that particular attention is required to maintain and further strengthen investments in robust, sustainable community networks of people living with HIV and key populations, including networks led by women and young people.

Chris Collins, President and CEO of Friends of the Global Fight, said: “The HIV response is a force for multistakeholder engagement, human rights-based programming, community leadership and constant innovation. These are strengths we need to bring to health services more broadly, including pandemic preparedness and Universal Health Coverage. But this catalytic role for the HIV response is only possible if governments, donors and communities invest adequately and commit to accelerated progress against HIV.”

To join the April 16 (09:00 ET/15:00 CET) webinar highlighting the report findings, please register here.

Thank you to the Elton John AIDS Foundation for its support of this project.

Friends of the Global Fight

Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria advocates for U.S. support of the Global Fund, and the goal to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. For more information about Friends of the Global Fight, visit www.theglobalfight.org.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

GENEVA, 5 February 2024—It is with profound sadness that UNAIDS learns of the passing of Dr Hage G. Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia. President Geingob was a distinguished leader, a tireless advocate for social justice, and a steadfast supporter of efforts to end AIDS.

The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima, expressed her deep condolences, stating, "I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing of President Geingob. He was a true people’s leader, a leader I admired and whose guidance I benefitted from. My heart goes out to his family, especially his wife Monica Geingos, the First Lady of Namibia. Africa has lost a giant son. May he rest in peace.”

President Geingob was not only a statesman who was instrumental in the anti-apartheid movement, he was also a compassionate leader who was dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of the people of Namibia and around the world. Most recently he proposed doubling the value of the cash transfers the Government of Namibia gives monthly to poor and vulnerable Namibians. He was a pan-Africanist leader who was committed to peace, democracy and a united Africa.

President Geingob's dedication to addressing the challenges posed by HIV and to fight inequality were evident throughout his tenure. Under his leadership, Namibia made significant strides in the fight against the HIV epidemic, creating a supportive legal and policy environment.

He positioned the Government of Namibia among the global AIDS leaders, funding more than 70% of the country’s HIV care and treatment from domestic resources. He helped lead global efforts to accelerate actions on Sustainable Development Goal 10 – Reducing Inequalities. Locally, he engaged communities and implemented effective strategies to prevent new infections and provide care and support to people affected by the virus.

UNAIDS acknowledges President Geingob's pivotal role in advancing the global AIDS response, both through his leadership within Namibia and his contributions to international collaborations. His efforts have left an indelible mark on the fight against AIDS, and his vision of ending AIDS in Namibia and across the world will continue to inspire the work of UNAIDS and its partners.

The entire UNAIDS family extends its deepest sympathies to his family, friends, and the people of Namibia during this difficult time. We honour President Geingob's memory and remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure that the progress achieved in the AIDS response continues to benefit people most in need.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

1 December 2023 

World AIDS Day arrives at a defining moment.

AIDS-related deaths have fallen by almost 70 per cent since their peak in 2004, and new HIV infections are at the lowest point since the 1980s.

But AIDS still takes a life every minute.

We can — and must — end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. 

Reaching this goal means heeding this year’s theme: Let Communities Lead.

The path to ending AIDS runs through communities.

From connecting people to the treatment, services and support they need — to the grassroots activism pushing for action so all people can realize their right to health.

Supporting those on the frontlines of the battle against AIDS is how we win.

That means placing community leadership at the centre of HIV plans, programmes, budgets and monitoring efforts. 

We must also remove barriers to community leadership, and ensure space for local civil society groups to take forward their vital work.

Above all, we need funding.

The AIDS response in low and middle-income countries needs over 8 billion dollars more per year to be fully funded.

This must include scaled-up funding for local programmes led by people living with HIV, and prevention initiatives led by communities.

AIDS is beatable.

Let’s finish the job by supporting communities to end this scourge in their neighbourhoods, their countries and around the world.

GENEVA, 29 September 2023—The topic of the global AIDS response—including its successes and invaluable lessons for handling pandemics—permeated many discussions during last week’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. From three High-Level meetings on health, to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit to remarks given to the General Assembly and at High-Level Side events, the lessons from 40 years of responding to HIV—including the principle of leaving no one behind—were repeatedly referenced in the context of a future of health and equality for all.

In his remarks to the General Assembly, United States President Joe Biden referenced success against AIDS as a platinum example of what global solidarity and shared responsibility can achieve. “HIV/AIDS infections and deaths plummeted in no small part because of PEPFAR’s work in more than 55 countries, saving more than 25 million lives,” said President Biden. “It’s a profound testament to what we can achieve when we act together when we take on tough challenges and an admonition for us to urgently accelerate our progress so that no one is left behind.”

At the opening of the SDG Summit, Irish prime minister, Leo Eric Varadkar noted that half-way to the 2030 targets we are not where we would wish to be with only 15% of the SDGs on target. He added that despite this there is progress. “More than 800 million people have been connected to electricity since 2015, 146 countries have met or are on track to achieving the under-five mortality target, and effective HIV treatment has halved global AIDS-related deaths since 2010,” said Mr Varadkar. “This progress shows that change is possible, that backsliding is not inevitable, and that poverty, pollution and gender inequality are not pre-ordained. They are trends that can be reversed, problems that can be solved and tragedies that can be averted.”

While celebrating the collective success against AIDS, UNAIDS urged leaders to keep HIV high on political agendas for three reasons. “Firstly,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, “The job is not yet done—43 years into the pandemic, there are still more than 9 million people waiting for life-saving treatment, more than 1.3 million new HIV infections every year and AIDS took a life every minute in 2022. Secondly: We know how to end AIDS and, we have the path and the power to do it. And thirdly: The AIDS response is a smart investment yielding other health, social and economic impacts.”  

A number of ministers and heads of state spoke about the economic challenges they face as the result of multiple and concurrent crises, and the need for cooperation and solidarity to overcome these crises while continuing to make critical investments in development and health. Many political leaders noted that while the political will is there, there are not enough domestic resources to invest in health, education and social protection.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminded the international community that there is an urgent need to rethink—and reconfigure--the international financial architecture in order to achieve the SDGs. The same is true for UNAIDS's mission to end AIDS as a public health threat and ensure those gains are sustained well beyond 2030. Ending AIDS requires new and sustained resources, and a different political discourse on funding for development. UNAIDS highlighted the importance for maintaining bilateral funding for PEPFAR and multilateral funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

UNAIDS stressed that as we develop a global architecture for pandemics prevention, preparedness and response, we need to draw from over 40 years of responding to AIDS, because the AIDS response is pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

The importance of community-led responses as essential to reaching marginalized groups and people most affected by pandemics was emphasized. UNAIDS highlighted that the Pandemic Accord must acknowledge the central role of community-led responses and commit member states to include communities and civil society in decision-making, planning, preparation, implementation and monitoring. 

The call to end inequalities was a central theme to UNAIDS’ messaging at UNGA. UNAIDS highlighted the need for equitable, affordable access to life saving medical products and how inequality drives, and prolongs, pandemics. UNAIDS advocated metrics, targets and accountability systems for focusing the response and additionally for advancing human rights to improve public health and warned that human rights violations undermine trust and drive people away from health services.

Finally, UNAIDS called for a multisectoral/whole of society approach to effectively prevent, prepare for and respond to pandemics because pandemics are not merely health crises—they also present political, social and economic challenges which require transformative action by all.

The Executive Director of UNODC, Ms Ghada Waly, on behalf of UNAIDS’ cosponsoring organizations acknowledged that, “The multi-sectoral partnership on HIV/AIDS is as important as ever, bringing together the expertise, assets and comparative advantages of 11 Cosponsors in an exemplary partnership for the development approach of the SDGs.”

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

To mark the 20th Anniversary year of PEPFAR, UNAIDS Executive Director has written a letter to the American people. 

You can read the text of her letter below. Click here to be able to view the actual letter.

Dear American friends,

When AIDS hit Africa it tore my continent. It was said in many communities that every extended family lost someone—it hit my family, too. The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, launched by President George W. Bush, and carried forward by every subsequent President and Congress, has changed that. It has saved millions of lives, pushed back a pandemic, and helped advance economic development and stability. It has shown, too, what it looks like when a country leads by demonstrating the power of compassion and partnership. PEPFAR is the greatest contribution made by any country to ending AIDS. Now, with the end of AIDS achievable this decade, the world needs PEPFAR to finish the job.

I was recently in Washington D.C., where I met with passionate activists from across America. They were there to advocate for the inspirational work of PEPFAR in meetings with members of Congress. Americans are rightly proud of PEPFAR’s contribution to the health and development of tens of millions of people around the world.

In the last 20 years, the U.S. Government has invested more than US$110 billion to support the response to HIV and AIDS in 55 low and middle-income countries with the highest burden of HIV. The results that PEPFAR has helped make possible are remarkable—the rate of new HIV infections has fallen by almost half, AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by two thirds, and three-quarters of people living with HIV are on life-saving medicine. Millions of deaths have been prevented, and millions of babies have been born HIV-free.

Through the global HIV response, PEPFAR’s work has strengthened health and community systems, delivering broader outcomes for health, economic and human development and equity, accelerating progress towards achievement across the Sustainable Development Goals. Annually, PEPFAR has provided support and services through more than 70 000 facility and community health clinics; 3000 laboratories and nearly 30 national reference laboratories, as well as more than 340 000 health care and community workers. PEPFAR’s investment in health systems contributes significantly to national surveillance and health information capacities, which were critical to national COVID-19 responses and remain crucial for managing future pandemics and other public health threats.

PEPFAR has demonstrated the invaluable role of community engagement and civil society for advancing health and sustainable development, from helping faith-based organizations providing essential HIV care and support services across Africa, to ensuring support for Ukrainian civil society as the front-line of the national HIV response throughout the war.

As an important part of U.S. diplomacy, PEPFAR’s unflinching commitment to stand up against discrimination and inequities in HIV services sends a powerful signal that the world needs to ensure that nobody is left behind if we are to end AIDS.

PEPFAR works through partnerships. I look forward to my upcoming joint mission in Africa with PEPFAR and the Global Fund. At UNAIDS, which works on the ground in over 90 countries, including all 55 PEPFAR partner countries, we see the difference PEPFAR makes every day.

Twenty years ago, President Bush launched the creation of PEPFAR by announcing that “seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many”. In 2003, U.S. Congress moved swiftly to authorize PEPFAR within weeks. PEPFAR legislation was reauthorized in 2008, 2013 and 2018, with the bipartisan leadership and support of the U.S. Congress. With the lives of tens of millions of people hanging in the balance, countries, communities and UNAIDS are confident that we can rely on the American people, and that the U.S. Government and the U.S. Congress will continue to demonstrate unparalleled leadership through support for PEPFAR.

What was once a dream, but which PEPFAR’s partnership makes possible—the end of AIDS by 2030—is a reflection of the values of the American people. So today I wanted to write to you to say Thank You.

Yours,

Winnie Byanyima

UNAIDS Executive Director

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations

WASHINGTON DC, 12 April 2023 — The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today designated the Global Health Policy and Politics Initiative at Georgetown as a United Nations Collaborating Center to support and advance policy and laws impacting HIV/AIDS with the overarching goal of addressing the inequalities driving the pandemic.

Bridging the Georgetown School of Health and the O’Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law, the Global Health Policy and Politics Initiative leverages scholarship and technical strengths of policy and law experts embedded across Georgetown University. Matthew Kavanagh, PhD, director of the Global Health Policy and Politics Initiative at the O’Neill Institute, and assistant professor of global health in the School of Health, will spearhead the Collaborating Center.

“Legal and political forces continue to shape not only AIDS but all of the pandemics of our time. With Prof. Kavanagh’s leadership, this new Collaborating Center relationship will help build on the work he did at UNAIDS over the last year and a half and deepen our joint efforts to build the law and policy environment needed to end AIDS,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, during a visit to Georgetown on April 12.

From September 2021 to January 2023, Kavanagh served as UNAIDS’ Interim Deputy Executive Director and special advisor to Byanyima in creating a new policy, advocacy, and knowledge branch at UNAIDS. Kavanagh stood up the structures to achieve the ambitious new Global AIDS Strategy focused on closing the inequalities underlying the continuing AIDS pandemic.

“As a Collaborating Center we look forward to working alongside United Nations colleagues from across the Joint Programme to explore more deeply the political determinants of health  and help inform the development of laws and policies that can help end the HIV/AIDS pandemic and build resilience for future pandemics,” said Kavanagh. “Alongside my global health colleagues at the O’Neill Institute, School of Health, and through Georgetown’s Global Health Institute, we will be able to amplify our collective work to further advance the effective use of law and policy in response to global public health challenges, including HIV.”

Work of the Global Health Policy & Politics Initiative includes the HIV Policy Lab, a collaborative effort between Georgetown University, UNAIDS, and the Global Network of People Living with HIV, to document, track, and ultimately improve HIV-related policy environments around the world as well as work on community-led monitoring and social science research on the political determinants of health.  It was founded at the O’Neill Institute, one of the world’s premier health law and policy institutes that believes that the law is a fundamental tool for solving critical health problems around the world.

“We are thrilled to partner with UNAIDS to launch this innovative Collaborating Center,” said Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, faculty director of the O’Neill Institute, which is also a designated WHO Collaborating Center. “For the past 15 years, the O’Neill Institute’s mission has been to fight for health and justice by advancing laws and policies to tackle critical health challenges worldwide. AIDS changed the world and showed the power of social mobilization. Under the extraordinary leadership of Matt Kavanagh and working with the School of Health, the Center will make a major impact on global public health and justice. I'm proud we are working in deep partnership with UNAIDS.”

“This collaboration reflects our commitment to health equity and presents new interdisciplinary opportunities for students and faculty to advance knowledge and inform policy at the nexus of inequality, law, policy, and HIV,” said Christopher J. King, PhD, dean of the School of Health, a home for scholars and students to work collaboratively across disciplines to address human health and wellbeing from various perspectives. “We are also fortunate to work alongside dedicated faculty members in Georgetown’s Global Health Institute who bring to bear significant scholarship and technical strengths in many aspects of work to eliminate HIV/AIDS.”

The agreement establishing the Collaborating Center, signed earlier today, provides a framework for inter-institutional dialogue and cooperation. In the coming months, the institutions will work to stand up a set of inequality-focused activities, develop formal, regular bilateral consultative meetings, and collaborate on sharing data and political analysis in the years ahead.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

The 51^st meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board concluded today, with commitments to bold action to get the world on track to end AIDS by 2030. The meeting, which brings together member states, civil society and UN agencies, saw a series of pledges made and agreements for joint work which will tackle the inequalities which drive the AIDS pandemic.

“The meeting this week has made vital steps forward – on resourcing, on communities, and on inequalities. Delegates have committed to fully fund the AIDS response, to support community leadership, to amplify the message of U=U (Undetectable=Untransmittable), to fight stigma and discrimination, and to support education, empowerment and Comprehensive Sexuality Education. By turning the commitments made this week into action, we can get the world on track to end AIDS by 2030,” remarked UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima. “We cannot fail. Failing means people die. Together we must win. By ensuring that communities are empowered and included, that inequalities are tackled, and that the HIV response is fully resourced, this generation of leaders can be leaders who overcome the AIDS pandemic.”

The Programme Coordinating Board noted that a fully funded and staffed UNAIDS is essential for progress to end AIDS. As the NGO Delegation put it, “Survival is at stake, real lives are at stake, we need your support now, not later.” Several donor countries including the UK and Ireland announced that they were stepping up their financial contributions. Donor countries stated their intention to shift towards providing more predictable longer-term funding through multiyear commitments. Delegates also committed to support fundraising from new donors from across sectors. Board members welcomed the recommendations of the report of the PCB Bureau based on the recommendations of the Informal Multistakeholder Task Team on the UNAIDS Funding Situation which can ensure full funding for UNAIDS.

“It was so encouraging to see the commitment of delegates to finding the money that is needed for UNAIDS work to lead global efforts to end AIDS,” said the Chair of the Programme Coordinating Board, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, Anutin Charnvirakul.  “With global crises and unaddressed inequalities having put the AIDS response in danger, the world cannot risk a situation in which the UNAIDS Joint Programme is underfunded. Fully funding the vital integrated work of the secretariat and the 11 co-sponsoring agencies that provides the data, advances the essential policy shifts, and lifts up the voices of communities, will save lives and help end the world’s deadliest pandemic. Delegates spoke up powerfully and in no uncertain terms. In 2023 we are all committed to ensuring UNAIDS has the resources the world needs it to have.”

The meeting saw the first international definition of a community-led response to a pandemic, published after a two-year consultative process that brought together 11 governments, representing each region of the world, and 11 civil society representatives. Using the new definitions and recommendations, Minister of Health of Germany, Professor Dr. Karl Lauterbach and the UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima published an article in The Lancet  calling for inclusion of comprehensive “community pandemic infrastructure” in pandemic prevention, preparedness and response in new planning, international agreements, and financing.

Organisations of people living with HIV presented, through the report of the representative of the PCB NGO, vital findings on the importance of amplifying the message of “U=U” or “Undetectable = Untransmittable”, that people living with HIV who achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load, cannot transmit HIV sexually. They shared how communicating this important information widely helps to increase testing and treatment and also helps to combat the stigma that people living with HIV face. Their call to step up amplification of the U=U message won wide support from delegates.

There was endorsement for the work of the Global Partnership for Action to end all forms of HIV-related stigma and discrimination, which has now expanded to include 33 countries. There was praise for Barbados which this week became the most recent country to end the criminalization of same sex relationships.

Considering the power of education to tackle gender inequality and help prevent HIV transmission, the PCB endorsed the call for an integrated, multisectoral and coordinated HIV response. They endorsed  initiatives such as Education Plus, positioning schools as an entry point to address learners’ holistic education, health and protection needs, and backed cross-sectoral collaboration across ministries, families, teachers, school administration and local communities to safeguard rights. They recognised the need for alternative mechanisms to address the needs of young people who are out of school, and the importance of UNAIDS’ support for countries to scale up their comprehensive sexuality education.

The meeting highlighted unacceptable gaps in access to HIV services, including through a thematic segment on how to tackle the current poor performance against global HIV targets among men. A wide-ranging panel showcased innovative approaches to engaging men in all their diversity, finding ways to overcome the harmful gender norms that hold back progress, which will be crucial to achieve the 2030 goal of ending AIDS.

The meeting was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand – the first time in 14 years that the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board has met outside of Geneva, an important shift bringing decision-making closer to the communities most affected. Delegates visited pioneering community-led and public programmes that are helping Thailand to tackle HIV, including learning why and how Thailand is shifting from a punitive to a harm reduction approach to help reduce the risks of HIV infection and other risks for people who inject drugs. They also saw how faith communities are being engaged in work to tackle the stigma faced by LGBT people. Thailand has dramatically reduced new infections through this inclusive approach.

“Thailand has been able to show the world key lessons we have learnt in the AIDS response,” said UNAIDS Country Director for Thailand, Patchara Benjarattanaporn, “including by empowering and supporting communities to lead, decriminalising marginalised communities and tackling stigma. Thailand has also been inspired by lessons from around the world and has been reenergised to ensure that we complete the work of ending AIDS by 2030.”

For its 2023 leadership, the Board elected Germany as Chair, Kenya as Vice-chair and Brazil as Rapporteur and approved the composition of the PCB NGO Delegation for next year. In a video message to the Programme Coordinating Board, Professor Dr. Karl Lauterbach, Minister of Health, Germany, remarked: “Challenging tasks lie ahead of us, but I am confident that collectively we will be able to address them effectively in 2023. For the sake of those we have lost to AIDS over the decades, for the sake of the millions of people living with the virus, for the sake of communities and countries affected, and for the sake of those people – mostly young people – that we can prevent from getting infected, let us uphold our joint commitment to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 and let us work together.”

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have reaffirmed their commitment to accelerate progress toward ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

At the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits under the Chairmanship of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Member States pledged to strengthen community-led responses and increase financing for the HIV response. Echoing the World AIDS Day call to “equalize” the AIDS response, country leaders also agreed to a comprehensive agenda to end the inequalities stalling progress.

The ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030 is aligned with the 2021 UN Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS and the 2021–2026 Global AIDS Strategy and targets.

"We are now in an era where treatment and various options on HIV prevention can be made available and accessible, and it is important to shine a light on where inequalities and gaps continue to persist if ASEAN is to sustainably accomplish these targets,” said H.E. Ieng Mouly, Senior Minister and Chair of Cambodia’s National AIDS Authority.

In 2021 there were an estimated 1.9 million people living with HIV in ASEAN countries and an estimated 78,000 new HIV infections. In most ASEAN countries there are now rising epidemics among young gay men and other men who have sex with men and transgender people.

“Wherever communities are being left behind, ASEAN remains vulnerable to the social and economic fallout of HIV,” said UNAIDS Asia Pacific Regional Director, Taoufik Bakkali. “This Declaration is important and timely. It paves the way for countries to comprehensively address the large gaps in service coverage that remain in several countries, particularly for key populations.”

The ASEAN Declaration calls for focus on key and marginalized populations and explicitly addresses the needs of people living with HIV, men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who inject drugs, sex workers and their partners. It contains wide-ranging commitments, including concrete strategies to achieve the 95-95-95 testing and treatment targets. (By 2025, 95% of people living with HIV in all countries and communities to be aware of their status, 95% of all diagnosed people on treatment and 95% of those on treatment achieving viral suppression.)

End inequalities

ASEAN states have committed to better facilitate the participation of people living with HIV. They pledged to remove barriers to HIV services by improving policy and legal environments. This includes taking steps to reform discriminatory and punitive laws such as those that criminalize key populations and block adolescents from accessing HIV prevention, testing and treatment, and restrict the entry, stay, and residence of people living with HIV. Countries further agreed to take steps to eliminate stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and key populations in healthcare, education, and workplace settings, as well as in communities.

Strengthen, support and sustain community-led responses

Governments said they would ensure the inclusion of people living with HIV, and communities most affected by HIV, in AIDS response planning, implementation and evaluation. Community organizations, and particularly community- and peer-led interventions, should be strengthened and scaled-up. States agreed to continue investing in community-led service delivery, including by adopting and implementing social contracting policies. They also promised to support community-led monitoring and research.

Finance and sustain the AIDS response

The alliance agreed to address HIV response financing shortfalls by raising sufficient domestic and international financial resources to fill gaps. At the same time, they committed to developing and implementing plans to transition from external to domestic funding.  They promised to work to improve efficiency in the use of existing financial resources, including through integration with health and humanitarian responses and universal health coverage mechanisms. They also agreed to regional cooperation for research, sharing good practices, joint interventions and to strategize for improved access to health commodities.

BERLIN/GENEVA, 14 October 2022—As global health leaders arrive in Berlin for the World Health Summit, UNAIDS is calling on countries to challenge the inequalities and injustices that are obstructing efforts to end the HIV pandemic and weakening responses to other health threats. 

UNAIDS recent report In Danger, revealed a faltering HIV response in many countries, with entire groups of people being left highly vulnerable to HIV infection and unable to access HIV treatment, prevention and care services. Data included in the report showed that HIV infections are increasing in 38 countries worldwide and that the pandemic continues to have the worst impact on adolescent girls and young women and key populations such as gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgender people and people who use drugs.

In 2021, there were 1.5 million new HIV infections worldwide—more than 1 million above the 2020 target. Globally, 250 000 adolescent girls and young women aged 15—24 years old became infected with HIV in 2021, while four out of five new infections among this group occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. Key populations and their sexual partners account for 70% of new HIV infections globally. Meanwhile, almost 10 million of the 38.4 million people living with HIV globally are still waiting for treatment to keep them alive and well and stop them transmitting the virus.

“It’s still possible for countries to end the AIDS pandemic by 2030 but it will require additional investment and a relentless focus on challenging gender-based violence, gender inequalities and other social injustices that make people vulnerable to infection and keep them away from HIV prevention, treatment and care services,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, who is in Berlin for the summit. “Laws that criminalize and marginalize vulnerable groups of people are denying the right to health to entire groups of people and holding the HIV response back.”      

At the summit, UNAIDS will also be underlining the need for high-income countries to continue their support for the global HIV response, especially as the economic crisis bites. Many low- and middle-income countries have cut budgets for health, education and other essential services in the last two years as they deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and struggle to meet crippling debt repayments to richer nations.

“It would be tragic, misguided and unfair to expect the world’s poorest to pay for the current global economic crisis for which they bear no responsibility,” said Ms Byanyima. “In fact, additional investments in essential services such as health and education are vital now to help low- and middle-income countries weather the storm and emerge as fairer societies contributing to global health security.”

Achieving the goals of the UNAIDS Global AIDS Strategy 2021—2026 requires that annual investments in HIV services in low- and middle-income countries rise to a peak of $29 billion by 2025—there is a current shortfall of around $8 billion. UNAIDS has commended Germany’s pledge of €1.3 billion for the 7th Replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria—a 30% increase on its 2019 pledge. Germany has also contributed €6 million to UNAIDS for 2022, making it the organization’s fifth biggest donor.

During the World Health Summit, Ms Byanyima will participate in an event hosted by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Health: The Global Effort to End HIV and AIDS: Addressing Inequalities in the AIDS Response to Make the Money Work. The session will take place on Sunday 16 October between 14:00—15:30 CET and will be livestreamed here.

On Tuesday 18 October between 19:00—21:00 CET Ms Byanyima will be in a livestreamed conversation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation: Lives Before Profits: A conversation with Winnie Byanyima on Global Health Justice.

During her visit to Berlin, Ms Byanyima will also meet with communities and activists involved in the HIV response in Germany including representatives from Aktionsbündnis gegen AIDS, Deutsche AIDS Hilfe and AIDS Action Europe. Discussions will include legal barriers to providing HIV services for all in Germany, ongoing support to Ukrainian refugees and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

We do not need to accept pandemics as fate, experts gathered at the International AIDS Conference concurred. By taking specific, well-evidenced, concrete actions to tackle the inequalities driving them, today’s health threats can all be overcome.

As the latest data reveals that progress in the HIV response is stalling, putting millions of lives in danger, as the COVID-19 crisis drags on, and as Monkeypox presents new risks,  all are being held back by inequalities, and all three viruses are in turn further exacerbating those inequalities. However, a focus on tackling underlying drivers of pandemic risk can enable a successful response, scientists, economists and heads of AIDS programmes concurred.

“There are Monkeypox vaccine doses in Europe but none in Africa. Most people at risk of dying from COVID-19 in lower-income countries have still not received a COVID-19 vaccine. New game changing prevention medicines for HIV will not be widely available in lower income counties for years unless there is a dramatic course correction,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director, UNAIDS, and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. “An effective response to disease outbreaks and pandemics means tackling inequalities. That means empowering women and girls to shift power relations between men and women. It means tackling inequalities in access to health services between rich and poor. And it means removing punitive laws that push away from life-saving services LGBTQI+ people, people who use drugs, and sex workers.” 

The application of scientific advancements is currently being undermined by inequalities, delegates at the International AIDS Conference noted.  They recalled how, at the turn of the millennium, civil society and generic manufacturers teamed up to demand access to antiretrovirals  for people living with HIV and their victory against the odds helped save millions of lives. But whilst that battle was won, delegates highlighted that the overall process of research and development, innovation and how that translates into manufacturing, pricing and distribution has remained untransparent and heavily skewed to the interests of rich countries. This played out during the COVID-19 pandemic as tests, vaccines and now antivirals are widely available in rich countries while still scarce in lower-income countries. And now this is repeating again with Monkeypox. 

Inequality is not only about differential risks but is about cycles of power, the imbalance in how laws and policies are implemented, who is empowered by these policies, and who is disempowered. 

“The AIDS movement is one of the best examples of how groups of people experiencing intersecting inequalities can unite to overcome them, leading to millions of lives being saved,” said Professor Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics. “But those gains were not permanent. Now a heating world combined with systemic inequalities mean that new disease outbreaks are becoming more frequent and while technological advancement is important, if there’s not a serious move to tackle inequality, the pattern of prolonged pandemics will only continue.” Professor Stiglitz was speaking at the AIDS Conference’s flagship session entitled “How Inequalities Perpetuate Pandemics: Why We Need a New Approach to End AIDS.”

New HIV infections occurred disproportionately among young women and adolescent girls, with a new infection every two minutes in this population in 2021. The gendered HIV impact, particularly for young African women and girls, occurred amidst disruption of key HIV treatment and prevention services, millions of girls out of school due to pandemics, and spikes in teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence. In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls and young women are three times as likely to acquire HIV as adolescent boys and young men. 

Worldwide, only half (52%) of children living with HIV have access to life-saving medicine, and the inequality in HIV treatment coverage between children and adults is increasing rather than narrowing.​

Racial inequalities drive HIV too. In the United Kingdom and the United States, declines in new HIV diagnoses have been smaller among Black populations than among White. In Australia, Canada and the United States, HIV acquisition rates are higher in Indigenous communities than in non-Indigenous communities. 

Sbongile Nkosi, Co-Executive Director of the Global Network of PLHIV stated “Our experiences to date remind us that responding to pandemics such as HIV and COVID-19 is not just about dealing with a medical condition, it’s also about the environment in which we live and how my social status will determine the care I receive. It means centering interventions around the needs of people, listening to people. When we talk about key populations, we tend to group people. But then we misunderstand inequalities. People live intersecting lives and inequalities affect them differently.” During the disruptions of the last few years, key populations have been particularly affected in many communities – with rising prevalence in many locations. UNAIDS data have shown increasing risk of new infections faced by gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) globally. As of 2021, UNAIDS key populations data show MSM have 28 times the risk of acquiring HIV compared to people of the same age and gender identity while people who inject drugs have 35 times the risk, sex workers 30 times the risk, and transgender women 14 times the risk.

Just as tackling inequalities has been key to progress in tackling HIV,  so it is in tackling COVID-19. But too many COVID-19 responses have ignored this. “We have failed to learn a lot of the lessons from HIV/AIDS in the way we responded to COVID-19. And we need to be honest about that and reflect on where we go from here,” noted Executive Director of the Global Fund, Peter Sands.

“It's time not only to know your gaps but to close those gaps,” said Ambassador John Nkengasong, US Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy. 

Today’s inequalities are bleak. But the most important message is a hopeful one.  We know how to end AIDS by 2030 and also how to overcome Monkeypox, COVID-19 and other current and future health threats: when we tackle the inequalities which drive health risks, we can keep everyone safe.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.