NAIROBI, 13 December 2024—The 55th meeting of UNAIDS’ Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) has concluded in Nairobi, Kenya, with Board members reaffirming their commitment to end the AIDS pandemic by 2030. Taking place in Africa for the first time in 18 years, the PCB meeting came at a critical moment for...
NAIROBI, 10 December 2024—Today, at the 55th Programme Coordinating Board for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), HIV leaders from across the world called for access to long-acting medicines for everyone who would benefit from them, to build toward a new era in the AIDS response.
The world can end AIDS—if the human rights of people living with or affected by HIV are respected, protected and fulfilled, to put communities in the lead and ensure equitable access to high-quality HIV services.
ABUJA, NIGERIA, 3 December 2024 — The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Funke Akindele, a multiple award-winning actress, movie producer and director, as its new National Goodwill Ambassador (GWA) for Nigeria. This prestigious nomination recognizes Funke Akindele’s outstanding contributions to the...
This World AIDS Day (1 December), sixteen global celebrities, including Hollywood film star Luke Evans and singer-songwriter Sia of the Unstoppable hit song, are uniting behind UNAIDS’ call for world leaders to protect human rights, which they say is vital to ensuring the success of efforts to end AIDS.
GENEVA, 28 November 2024 — A 21-year-old South African HIV activist, Ibanomonde Ngema, will take over the global Instagram account of Academy Award-winner and UN Messenger of Peace, Charlize Theron, on World AIDS Day (1 December) to bring awareness to the first-hand experiences of young people living with HIV. Nomonde...
Ahead of World AIDS Day (1 December), a new report by UNAIDS shows that the world can meet the agreed goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 – but only if leaders protect the human rights of everyone living with and at risk of HIV. The...
UNAIDS remains committed to working collaboratively with governments, business, civil society, communities and especially women’s movements and networks to create a world where the rights and dignity of all women and girls are respected and protected, including women and girls living with, at risk of and affected by HIV.
GENEVA/BAKU, 21 November 2024—The climate crisis could disrupt HIV services and lead to increasing HIV risk for some of the most vulnerable populations, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have warned at the COP29 Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
MHAMID AL GHIZLANE, 2 November 2024 — The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is pleased to announce the appointment of renowned Moroccan artist OUM as its National Goodwill Ambassador in Morocco. The prestigious announcement was made at the Taragalte Festival, held from November 1-3, 2024, in Mhamid El...
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, 1 November 2024 — Ministers at the G20 Ministerial in Rio De Janeiro have made new commitments to tackle AIDS and other pandemics, through addressing the inequalities driving them, both globally and nationally. The commitments have been welcomed as a potential breakthrough against AIDS and other...
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL, 29 October 2024—Today, at a special event organized for the G20 Joint Finance and Health Ministerial, the Brazilian government and experts from the Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics backed calls for efforts to break the “inequality-pandemic cycle” that is fueling continued disease emergencies. Two...
The Executive Director of UNAIDS Winnie Byanyima is calling for accelerated global solidarity to strengthen Madagascar’s response to HIV, including preventing new HIV infections and expanding access to treatment, to end AIDS as a public health threat. Ms Byanyima is visiting the country between 19–24 October to support its response...
GENEVA, 15 October 2024—The Spanish government has today announced a further € 1 million contribution to UNAIDS to support its work to end AIDS by 2030 as part of Sustainable Development Goals. The announcement was made following a meeting between Spain’s Minister of Health Mónica García Gómez and the Executive...
Responding to ViiV’s announcement on long-acting cabotegravir , UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said: “New HIV prevention medication, in the form of a long-acting injection, could transform the lives of people who struggle to take daily pills. The option of an injection that only needs to be taken once every...
Responding to today’s announcement by Gilead on lenacapavir, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said:
UNAIDS expresses deep concern over the recently adopted anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Georgia, which poses serious risks to public health and human rights.
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At the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79) and the Summit of the Future in New York, global leaders called for the revitalization of multilateralism to address pressing global crises, drawing on the success of the global AIDS response as a model of hope and global solidarity.
The extraordinary advances made in the global HIV response are a success story of multilateralism. At the end of 2023, 30.7 million people out of a total of 39.9 million people living with HIV worldwide were on life-saving treatment — four times higher than the 7.7 million who were on...
GENEVA, 19 September 2024—Growing public debt is choking sub-Saharan African countries, leaving them with little fiscal room to finance health and critical HIV services. A new report by UNAIDS, Domestic revenues, debt relief and development aid: Transformative pathways for ending AIDS by 2030 Eastern and Southern Africa | Western and...
NEW YORK/GENEVA, 19 September 2024—With support from UNAIDS, two young social media influencers living with HIV are on their way to the United Nations General Assembly and the Summit of the Future in New York to urge world leaders to partner with them in the response to HIV. Ibanomonde Ngema...
UNAIDS is calling on the international community to respond swiftly and decisively to the World Health Organization’s declaration of the mpox outbreak in several African countries as a public health emergency of international concern. The move came after the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) made a...
GENEVA/MUNICH, 26 July 2024—At the 25th International AIDS Conference (#AIDS2024), UNAIDS urged all participants to stay committed because the end of AIDS is within grasp. UNAIDS called on leaders to embrace new scientific developments to prevent HIV, ensure that the work to end AIDS is fully resourced, and to ‘stand...
GENEVA/MUNICH, 24 July 2024—An estimated 1.3 million people became infected with HIV in 2023, three times more than the target of fewer than 370 000 by 2025. While there has been marked progress in sub-Saharan Africa, for the first time, in 2023 more than half of the new HIV infections...
GENEVA/MUNICH, 22 July 2024—A new report released today by UNAIDS shows that the world is at a critical moment that will determine whether world leaders meet their commitment to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. The report, ‘The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads’, brings together...
A new United Nations report released today shows that the HIV response in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is critically off track. Data in UNAIDS’ global report The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads reveals that in this region, new HIV infections have risen by 20% and AIDS-related deaths...
GENEVA/MUNICH, 22 July 2024—Despite progress made in reducing HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths among children, a new report released today by the Global Alliance for Ending AIDS in Children by 2030 shows that an urgent scale up of HIV services in countries worst affected by the pandemic is required to...
Decriminalization of LGBTQ+ people saves lives: Joint Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima
Beijing, 15 July 2024 – The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and China signed two new Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) to advance joint strategic efforts to end AIDS in China and globally.
GENEVA, 12 July 2024— UNAIDS welcomes the adoption, by consensus, of a critical resolution on human rights in the context of HIV and AIDS at the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Joint UN statement calling for sexual and reproductive health and rights for all
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GENEVA, 10 July 2024— UNAIDS has welcomed the release of Gilead Sciences’ trial results on the injectable long-acting HIV medicine Lenacapavir for HIV prevention. The result “provides hope of accelerating efforts to end AIDS”, UNAIDS says, “but only if Gilead ensures that all people who need it can have access...
GENEVA, 27 June 2024—At the 54th meeting of UNAIDS’ Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) which concluded today in Geneva, Switzerland, governments, civil society and United Nations agencies united in a shared commitment to accelerate progress to meet the 2025 AIDS targets and sustain the gains of the global HIV response toward...
GENEVA, 26 June 2024—UNAIDS welcomes the recent report by Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health, which was presented to the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The report, on Drug Use, Harm Reduction and the Right to Health, demonstrates...
UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, and Executive Director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund), Peter Sands, signed a new strategic framework for cooperation and collaboration to end AIDS (2024 –2028). The agreement renews the organizations’ longstanding partnership and aligns ongoing collaboration with the...
GENEVA, 21 JUNE 2024—UNAIDS applauds the judgment by the High Court of Namibia, striking out as unconstitutional the law which had criminalised same-sex relationships. The court found the law incompatible with the constitutional rights of Namibian citizens. This decision, which is in line with a series of judgments by courts...
On the International day of the African Child this 16 June , UNAIDS is urging African governments and global partners to provide treatment for children living with HIV and to stop new infections among children . The l atest data show that o nly 5 6 % of children living...
UNAIDS has applauded the decision by Mexico to ban the practice of so-called "conversion therapy".
At the G20 preparatory meeting in Brazil, Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Winnie Byanyima, today urged governments to support a new G20 Alliance, proposed by the Brazilian government, to enable life-saving medicines to be produced in every part of the world. Co-Chair of the Global...
On International Sex Workers’ Day, 2nd June 2024, and every day, UNAIDS stands in solidarity with sex workers in support of their health.
The Government of Australia and UNAIDS have today signed a new multi-million-dollar partnership to strengthen the fight against both non-communicable and communicable diseases, including HIV, to ensure better health outcomes for people in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. The signing took place at UNAIDS during the 77th World Health Assembly.
As LGBTQ+ communities and allies take to the streets to mark PRIDE month, UNAIDS is speaking out in solidarity, rejecting the criminalization, discrimination and stigmatization of LGBTQ+ people and insisting on respect for all.
Ahead of IDAHOBIT, commemorated worldwide on 17 May, UNAIDS is calling on governments everywhere to protect the human rights of LGBTQ+ people. Protecting the human rights of every person, UNAIDS research shows, is essential for protecting public health, because it enables inclusive and equitable access to health services without discrimination.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is deeply concerned about the impact of the harmful new legislation in Iraq amending the 1988 anti-sex work law to criminalize LGBTQ+ people. The legislation imposes a prison sentence of between 10 and 15 years for same-sex sexual relations. Transgender people face...
UNAIDS welcomes the decision of the High Court of Dominica to protect the rights of LGBTQ people in Dominica.
Debt restructuring and reforms to the global tax system are urgently required to finance health systems and other essential services
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...
Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director of UNAIDS—the organization leading the global fight against AIDS—met with HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and HSH Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and government officials to strengthen Monaco’s collaboration with UNAIDS.
The Constitutional Court of Uganda has today struck down certain sections of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023.
UNAIDS is urging donors for a modest increase in funding to ensure that 35 countries can end their AIDS pandemics by 2025, five years ahead of the 2030 target. Current funding for UNAIDS is at US$ 160 million, less than 50% than the resources available in 2015. For maximum impact...
Despite progress across most of sub-Saharan Africa, UNAIDS warns that gaps in HIV prevention are driving new HIV infections in the Indian Ocean Countries (IOC) and several other countries in Africa. The critical gaps in HIV prevention were the focus of a workshop organized by UNAIDS and UNFPA which was...
On 22 March, governments attending the 68 th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) adopted, by consensus, a resolution focused on advancing the rights and empowerment of women and girls as part of efforts to end AIDS.
UNAIDS welcomes the adoption of a key resolution today at the 67th session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), recognizing harm reduction for the first time as an important part of an effective public health response. The resolution encourages member states to develop and implement harm reduction...
At the 67th meeting of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs taking place in Vienna, UNAIDS has called for the urgent scaling up of services to prevent new HIV and viral hepatitis infections among people who use drugs. Addressing delegates in her video message, UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima...
A new report, HIV Prevention: From Crisis to Opportunity shows that HIV infections continue to decline in countries that are part of the Global HIV Prevention Coalition (GPC) faster than in the rest of the world.
UNAIDS is gearing up for the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (#CSW68) which begins today and will run until 22 March 2024. #CSW68, the United Nations largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment, is being held this year under the priority theme, Accelerating...
Ahead of International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March, UNAIDS is calling for the protection of women’s rights to protect their health.
Responding to the passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill in Ghana’s parliament, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said:
The French public international cooperation agency ‘Expertise France’ and UNAIDS have signed a new partnership agreement to fight stigma and discrimination in six western and central African countries.
On this Zero Discrimination Day (1 March), and across the whole month of March, events and activities will remind the world of this vital lesson and call to action: by protecting everyone’s health, we can protect everyone’s rights.
As Member States enter the next stage of drafting and negotiating a new Pandemics Prevention, Preparedness and Response Accord, and the targeted revision of the International Health Regulations (IHR), UNAIDS underscores the importance of protecting the gains made in the AIDS response and encourages Member states to use that experience...
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.
At a conference hosted in Oslo by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, has made an impassioned call to all international partners to support women and girls from marginalized communities at the frontlines of the defence of human rights. Only by ensuring that the...
UNAIDS welcomes Jamaica’s expansion of protections against gender-based violence as the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Act comes into effect on 22 January 2024.
