The Federal Councillor for Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Didier Burkhalter announced the government’s intention to increase its annual contributions to UNAIDS for 2013, 2014 and 2015 during the official visit of UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé to the Swiss capital of Bern. Such contribution reaffirms Switzerland’s position among UNAIDS' top 10 donors.
Since the beginning of the epidemic, Switzerland has been committed to the AIDS response and has shown strong leadership both domestically and at the global level. The country has been actively engaged in developing harm reduction policies, the protection of vulnerable groups and the promotion of treatment as prevention.
Mr Sidibé commended Switzerland’s contribution to the global AIDS response and celebrated the country’s critical role as a member of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) in shaping the future of AIDS within the post-2015 development agenda.
During his visit, Mr Sidibé also met with Pascal Strupler, Director of the Federal Office for Public Health, Maya Tissafi, Deputy Director of the Directorate for Development Cooperation of Switzerland, and other key partners from civil society and the private sector.
Given that the issues of maternal and child health are among Switzerland's key priorities, UNAIDS' vision of zero new babies born with HIV by 2015 is an important and tangible objective. Switzerland would like to support this objective through its increased contribution to UNAIDS.
Federal Councillor for Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Didier Burkhalter
Switzerland’s commitment to supporting UNAIDS’s work and its political leadership and action in critical areas such as human rights and social protection is extremely important for a comprehensive response to HIV. I look forward to continuing to work with the Swiss government so that other countries can replicate the successes they have achieved with their progressive domestic HIV policies.
UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé
