GENEVA, 8 July 2021—UNAIDS is shocked and saddened by the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, the President of Haiti, during an attack by gunmen at his private residence. It also sends its sincere hopes that the First Lady, Martine Moïse, will recover from the injuries that she sustained during the incident.
“My thoughts are with the family of President Moïse at this incredibly difficult time,” said the UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. “I sincerely hope that the First Lady will recover from her injuries. She is a strong friend to UNAIDS and a staunch champion in the response to the HIV epidemic, both in Haiti and across the region.”
Ms Moïse, above left, has chaired Haiti’s Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Country Coordinating Mechanism since 2017 and is a close ally of UNAIDS. She is also a member of the Spouses of Caribbean Leaders Action Network and champions its work around the Every Woman, Every Child initiative in Haiti. Among Ms Moïse’s priorities are combatting violence against women and girls, teen pregnancy and human trafficking. She also supports the agenda to prevent and eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
In June, Ms Moïse spoke on behalf of the Caribbean Community at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS.
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.
