Press release and statement archive

Winnie Byanyima, speaking at the first meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) since her appointment as the UNAIDS Executive Director, has outlined her priorities for 2020. Noting that, “The global response to HIV and the Joint Programme provide one of the strongest examples of the value of multilateralism...

UNAIDS congratulates Sri Lanka for achieving the elimination of vertical transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis. “Sri Lanka’s remarkable achievement gives me hope and shows that change is possible. It is clear that when a country ensures that services are accessible and stigma-free for women, including for women living with...

On Universal Health Coverage Day, I stand in solidarity with all people who lack access to the health services that they need. Today, 10 000 of those people will die. Every two minutes, a woman will die giving birth. And every second, three people will be pushed into extreme poverty...

Human rights are key to ending AIDS and have been at the heart of every struggle and every success we have had since the beginning of the epidemic.

UNAIDS applauds the decision by the parliament of Australia’s Northern Territory to decriminalize sex work. The Sex Industry Bill 2019 enhances the safety of sex workers and their clients by applying public health legislation to operators of sex service businesses and by allowing sex workers to work together. The legislation...

On World AIDS Day, UNAIDS salutes the achievements of activists and communities in the struggle against HIV. We remember and we honour all those whom we have lost along the way. Activists challenged the silence and brought life-saving services to their communities. But the countless contributions by women and many...

A new report by UNAIDS, Power to the people, released ahead of World AIDS Day, shows that where people and communities living with and affected by HIV are engaged in decision-making and HIV service delivery, new infections decline and more people living with HIV gain access to treatment.

UNAIDS warmly welcomes the appointment of Ghada Fathi Waly as the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna.

UNAIDS is pleased to welcome Winnie Byanyima as its new Executive Director. Ms Byanyima brings to the role more than 30 years of experience in political leadership, diplomacy and humanitarian engagement.

UNAIDS is hugely encouraged by the firm commitment that donors have shown to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). At its Sixth Replenishment Conference, held in Lyon, France, on 9 and 10 October 2019, the Global Fund raised US$ 14.02 billion, the highest amount ever...

On the International Day of the Girl Child, which this year runs under the theme “GirlForce: unscripted and unstoppable”, UNAIDS reaffirms the imperative to empower, invest in and engage adolescent girls and young women in shaping the AIDS response and the broader health and development agendas.

UNAIDS is deeply saddened by the death of the former President of France, Jacques Chirac, an early champion of the AIDS response.

New initiatives to support access to health care announced at the UNAIDS Health Innovation Exchange meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly

The United States’ PEPFAR program, the George W. Bush Institute, Merck and UNAIDS are aiming to end AIDS and cervical cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa within a generation through an innovative public-private partnership

Developed over 18 months, Stronger Collaboration, Better Health: Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All outlines how a dozen multilateral health, development and humanitarian agencies will collaborate to be more efficient and provide more streamlined support to countries to deliver universal health coverage and achieve the health-related...

United Nations Member States have pledged to accelerate common efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, which include, under SDG 3, Good Health and Well-Being, ending AIDS.

NEW YORK/GENEVA, 23 September 2019—UNAIDS welcomes the strong commitment made by United Nations Member States to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan today welcomed city, municipal, and global leaders to Fast-Track Cities 2019, the inaugural conference of more than 300 cities and municipalities prioritizing their responses to urban HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and viral hepatitis. Speaking at the conference, Mayor Khan highlighted the problem of health inequalities across the...

UNAIDS warmly welcomes the appointment of Winnie Byanyima as its new Executive Director. Ms Byanyima has more than 30 years of experience in political leadership, diplomacy and humanitarian engagement.

ECOSOC resolution calls for the United Nations General Assembly to convene a high-level meeting to review progress made against the 2016 Political Declaration on Ending AIDS

A new report released today at the 10th IAS Conference on HIV Science in Mexico City, Mexico, shows that the world is lagging behind in its commitment to end the AIDS epidemic among children and adolescents.

The pace of progress in reducing new HIV infections, increasing access to treatment and ending AIDS-related deaths is slowing down according to a new report released today by UNAIDS.

Donor government disbursements to combat HIV in low- and middle-income countries totaled US$8 billion in 2018, little changed from the US$8.1 billion total in 2017 and from the levels of a decade ago, finds a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and the Joint United Nations Programme on...

UNAIDS regrets unnecessarily involving the authorities in Malawi in its outstanding issue with the Mango Network.

Board members also approve UNAIDS 2020-2021 budget and the establishment of an independent evaluation function

New data show that in 2019 around 48* countries and territories still have restrictions that include mandatory HIV testing and disclosure as part of requirements for entry, residence, work and/or study permits

UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) have signed a strategic framework for cooperation and collaboration to strengthen and accelerate support to countries’ efforts to end AIDS. The framework outlines the existing, wide-ranging scope of collaboration between the two organizations, and highlights specific areas...

UNAIDS also calls for urgent action to integrate full HIV combination prevention with sexual and reproductive health services as study finds extremely high HIV incidence among women

UNAIDS welcomes the decision of the Constitutional Court of Colombia to remove the section of the criminal code that criminalizes HIV and Hepatitis B transmission. Overly broad criminalization of HIV transmission is ineffective, discriminatory and does not support efforts to prevent new HIV infections.

UNAIDS applauds the landmark decision of the High Court of Botswana to declare unconstitutional key provisions of Sections 164 and 167 of the Botswana Penal Code. Those provisions criminalized certain private sexual acts and have led to discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Botswana.

A new report from the United Nations Secretary-General, Galvanizing global ambition to end the AIDS epidemic after a decade of progress, has been presented to United Nations Member States during the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly. The Member States gathered at the United Nations in New York...

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are becoming increasingly interested in developing the local production of quality-assured medicines and other health technologies. This is due to its potential to assist LMICs in improving access to quality-assured medicines and other health technologies, achieving universal health coverage (UHC), and reaching the health-related targets...

UNAIDS deeply regrets the decision of the High Court of Kenya to maintain key provisions of Sections 162 and 165 of the Kenyan Penal Code. Those provisions criminalize certain private sexual acts and lead to discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Kenya.

The West Africa Commission on Drugs, UNAIDS and the Global Commission on Drug Policy today presented the Model Drug Law for West Africa to ministers of health of the Economic Community of West African States.

UNAIDS and partners have launched a new initiative to leverage the potential of innovations to improve the health of all. The Health Innovation Exchange will link innovators to investors and innovations to implementers. Launched on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, the initiative aims to support...

UNAIDS warmly welcomes the appointment by the United Nations Secretary-General of Gunilla Carlsson as Executive Director, a.i., of UNAIDS. Ms Carlsson joined UNAIDS in February 2018 as the Deputy Executive Director for Management and Governance and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Discriminatory laws drive key populations out of reach of critical health and social services

New global survey aims to fill the data gap on the mental well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people to create better conditions and improve health

UNAIDS extends its heartfelt thanks to the Executive Director of UNAIDS for his outstanding contribution to the global response to HIV

Results from a large-scale European study among serodiscordant gay couples show that adherence to effective treatment prevents transmission of HIV

UNAIDS welcomes the announcement that David Malpass will be the new President of the World Bank, beginning his five-year term on Tuesday, 9 April 2019.

UNAIDS and UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, are seriously concerned by new criminal law provisions that came into force yesterday, 3 April 2019, in Brunei Darussalam. The provisions, which impose the death penalty for same-sex sexual activity, adultery and for having a child outside of marriage...

UNAIDS presented a new Action Plan to its Board members during a special session of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB), held on 28 March 2019. The Action Plan sets out a series of priority areas that UNAIDS will be working on to create a positive organizational culture and increase...

Five countries met the target three years ahead of the 2020 deadline and 18 more are on track; however, most countries are lagging behind and risk missing the target completely. UNAIDS urges countries to step up action.

A coalition of United Nations Member States, United Nations entities and leading human rights experts meeting at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Austria, today launched a landmark set of international legal standards to transform and reshape global responses to the world drug problem.

Expanded data collection and analysis provides better understanding of HIV epidemic in Nigeria

A report released today by UNAIDS shows that despite a decline in new HIV infections globally, HIV incidence is not declining among people who inject drugs. HIV incidence was 1.4% among people who inject drugs worldwide in 2017 and one third of new HIV infections outside of sub-Saharan Africa are...

Every day, 460 adolescent girls become infected with HIV and every week 350 adolescent girls die of AIDS-related illnesses

SEATTLE/GENEVA, 6 March 2019—UNAIDS welcomes the results from the HPTN 071 ( PopART) trial. The results showed a 30% decline in new HIV infections where HIV prevention, including home-based HIV counselling and testing, was provided, as well as referral to HIV care and treatment for people testing positive for HIV...

SEATTLE/GENEVA, 5 March 2019—UNAIDS is greatly encouraged by the news that an HIV-positive man has been functionally cured of HIV. The man was treated by specialists at University College London and Imperial College London for advanced Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2016 using stem cell transplants from a donor who carried a...

On Zero Discrimination Day, UNAIDS calls on countries to examine discriminatory provisions in their laws and policies and make positive changes to ensure equality, inclusion and protection

My call this year is focused on changing discriminatory laws and practices that block people from accessing health and other life-saving services.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Shannon Hader as the new Deputy Executive Director of Programme of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The African Union has passed a motion of support for the Executive Director of UNAIDS Michel Sidibé recognizing that the invaluable work of UNAIDS, under the leadership of Mr Sidibé, has saved many lives and has had a decisive impact on the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

UNAIDS welcomes the pledge by the President of the United States of America to stop HIV transmission in the country by 2030. The President made the announcement during his State of the Union Address to Congress on 5 February 2019.

During a visit to the Good Samaritan Foundation and Home for people living with HIV in Panama, Pope Francis has urged people not to discriminate against their neighbours. The Good Samaritan Foundation and Home, or Casa Hogar El Buen Samaritano, is currently home to 16 people living with HIV aged...

At a high-level meeting in Dakar, Senegal, UNAIDS, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries in western and central Africa to do more to stop new HIV infections among children and adolescents and increase HIV testing and treatment coverage.

As the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) launches its sixth replenishment for its next three-year funding cycle, UNAIDS is urging donors to fully fund the Global Fund.

UNAIDS warmly welcomes the appointment of Rico Gustav as the Executive Director of the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+).