Update

On 4 April, Bordeaux became the latest city to sign up to the Paris Declaration to end the AIDS epidemic in cities. The Mayor of Bordeaux and former French Prime Minister Alain Juppé signed the declaration alongside UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé at the opening of AFRAVIH, the international francophone HIV and hepatitis conference being held in Bordeaux, France, from 4 to 7 April.

In signing the Paris Declaration, mayors commit to putting their cities on the Fast-Track to ending the AIDS epidemic. Mr Juppé committed to achieving the 90–90–90 targets—whereby 90% of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 90% of people who know their HIV-positive status are accessing treatment and 90% of people on treatment have suppressed viral loads—in Bordeaux in the next two years. He also committed to eliminating stigma and discrimination and developing a people-centred approach to the AIDS response. In addition, he said, it was crucial to educate young people on HIV, citing a lack of knowledge among French young people.

Since its launch on 1 December 2014, more than 250 cities and municipalities have signed the Paris Declaration. Leaders in those cities have recognized that their strategies for responding to the AIDS epidemic also offer them a platform to address the need for social inclusion, protection, safety and health.

With more than half of the world’s population currently living in cities and urban areas accounting for a large and growing proportion of people living with HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and other diseases, cities will play an essential role in ending AIDS. The risk of contracting, and vulnerability to, HIV and TB is often higher in urban areas compared to rural areas, owing to a number of reasons, including migration, unemployment and social and economic inequalities.

The AFRAVIH conference will focus on the 90–90–90 targets as well as innovations on HIV treatment and prevention and on scientific advances.