Press release and statement archive

Today, on Human Rights Day, three UN agencies are launching a colourful, interactive cartoon booklet called “HIV/AIDS Stand Up for Human Rights”. The cartoon is part of a global campaign to tackle HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination and other human rights violations.

Despite having the highest adult HIV prevalence worldwide at close to 40%, Botswana has managed to mount an effective response to AIDS over the past few years. “Botswana’s growing AIDS movement is the result of President Mogae’s leadership and openness on AIDS coupled with the active involvement of people living...

UNAIDS strongly welcomes the “Call for Action” made today by the UK Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn, in which the UK pledges to strengthen its political commitment, to improve the way its development assistance is made and to promote greater donor coordination to combat the global AIDS...

The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS today release a detailed and concrete plan to reach the 3 by 5 target of providing antiretroviral treatment to three million people living with AIDS in developing countries and those in transition by the end of 2005. This is a vital step towards...

As part of World AIDS Day 2003, cricket teams playing international matches on or around 1 December have committed to wearing red ribbons as a sign of support for the millions of people around the world living with HIV and AIDS.

In recognition of World AIDS Day on 1st December, MTV channels worldwide will premiere global and local programming featuring some of the world’s top artists in the network’s biggest ever commitment to HIV/AIDS awareness, including the premiere of the all-star event 46664 – The Concert in Association with MTV’s Staying...

The global AIDS epidemic shows no signs of abating. Five million people became infected with HIV worldwide and 3 million died this year alone – the highest ever. The findings are featured in “AIDS Epidemic Update 2003,” a comprehensive new report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic issued today by the...

UNAIDS welcomes the decision of the South African Government to provide antiretroviral treatment on a national scale to people living with HIV in the country. The new South African national initiative will make that country’s fight against AIDS truly comprehensive, with treatment complementing prevention efforts. Its implementation will bring hope...

UNAIDS today welcomed draft legislation introduced by the Canadian government that would amend the country’s patent laws to allow drug makers to manufacture and export lower-cost generic medicines to developing countries.

Harvard University, the World Economic Forum and UNAIDS hosted the first ever meeting of business, government and civil society in China discussing the potential role of partnerships to combat HIV/AIDS in China. Calling on all stakeholders to increase their efforts, the meeting highlighted the future economic impact of AIDS and...

At the opening of the 11th International Conference for People Living with HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS and WHO stressed that stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS must be eradicated as a critical component of expanding access to treatment and care.

UNAIDS applauds today’s agreement between the Clinton Foundation and four generic pharmaceutical companies -- Aspen Pharmacare Holdings, Cipla, Ranbaxy Laboratories, and Matrix Laboratories -- to dramatically lower the price of HIV/AIDS treatment in the developing world. This builds on the Clinton Foundation’s work with the governments of several countries in...

Nelson Mandela launched a worldwide music-led campaign, 46664, in London to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Africa, and to call on citizens around the world to pressure their governments to respond to AIDS as an international emergency.

A consensus agreement on how to significantly scale up the global response to the millions of children orphaned and made vulnerable by AIDS marks critical progress, according to the heads of UNICEF and UNAIDS who were speaking at a high-level meeting involving key international partners working to address the complex...

On World Food Day, when attention is drawn to the more than 800 million hungry people across the globe, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) announced that the World Food Programme (WFP) has joined UNAIDS as a Cosponsor. Together with the eight existing Cosponsors, WFP will strengthen the...