While major advances have been made in responding to HIV and ensuring access to lifesaving treatment, progress for adolescents urgently needs to be scaled up. Young people, especially young women and young key populations, continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV—In 2014, there were 3.9 million young people aged between 15 and 24 years living with HIV and 620 000 young people became newly infected with the virus. AIDS is now the leading cause of death among young people in Africa and the second leading cause of death among young people world-wide.  

Young people are continuing to face immense challenges in accessing timely and appropriate health education—including comprehensive sexuality education, social services—including access to youth friendly services, and decent housing and job opportunities. However, the opportunities for youth to engage in decision-making processes to ensure access to these essential services remain limited.

To celebrate International Youth Day and young people’s empowerment, UNAIDS and The PACT, a global coalition of youth-led and youth-serving organizations, met in Bangkok to discuss ways of ensuring the active participation of youth in efforts to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.

The three-day meeting, held from 10-12 August, focused on shaping The PACT’s strategy to mobilize the global youth movement and build the capacity of youth organizations to engage in the AIDS response. They addressed issues such as policy and legal barriers for young people’s access to HIV services, scale-up of evidence-based HIV prevention and treatment programmes and increasing resources for youth organizations.

The PACT committed to continue to shape a strategy to ensure that young people are meaningfully engaged in All In—an initiative led by UNAIDS, Unicef and partners to end HIV among young people. Participants also agreed on a strategy to mobilize youth organizations to hold governments’ accountable for ensuring access to comprehensive sexuality education and youth friendly services.

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Liu Jiulong is the first person in China to complete an AIDS RIDE. This fundraiser and HIV awareness raising bicycling event has been popular in other countries like the USA for many years. However, in China, fear of stigma and discrimination has kept many people living with HIV from taking part in public events.

“Cycling promotes a healthy lifestyle and the AIDS RIDE is a good way to promote correct knowledge about HIV prevention to the general public,” said Liu Jiulong.

His mission was to use the challenge to eliminate ignorance, misunderstanding, fear and discrimination against people living with HIV. His odyssey began on 4 May in Nanchang city, his home town. He rode his bike for 3 000 km, cycling through 27 cities. He completed his journey in Beijing 43 days later. Liu Jiulong hosted  30 outreach  events during his trip, reaching 16 million people online.

Speaking about his accomplishment after crossing the finish line, he said, “There were so many people involved and I enjoyed the mutual support we gave each other.”

Life was anything but great in 2007 when Liu Jiulong was diagnosed with HIV. He was working at an advertising company in Beijing. “I thought I wasn’t going to live to be 35 years old. I felt worthless and also very guilty and bad towards my family,” said Liu Jiulong. He also experienced stigma and discrimination when people stoppedspeaking to him after learningabout his status.

He felt so desperate that he even tried to commit suicide. Eventually, with the support of caring doctors, nurses and volunteer supporters at the Beijing Youan Hospital he made it through those dark days and decided to move back to his home town. He founded an organization called “Love Service Station” to support people living with HIV in Nanchang City.

Liu Jiulong started taking antiretroviral treatment for HIV in 2009 and said it has changed his life, “With life-saving treatment, I’m in a good situation. I can complete the 3 000 km AIDS RIDE.”

Liu Jiulong wants other people living with HIV to know that with effective self-management of HIV and by taking antiretroviral treatment, they can improve the quality of their life. He is proud of his recent achievement, “It’s a great feeling.”

The man known as Geng Le, who launched Blued, the world’s largest gay dating smartphone application, was a respected police officer in China almost 20 years before he left the force in 2009 after fellow officers objected to working with him because of his sexual orientation.

Now Geng Le is the Chief Executive Officer of the Danlan gay men’s network, the non-profit organization behind Blued. During a meeting 6 May with UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé in Beijing, China, Geng Le pledged to expand Danlan’s HIV prevention programme.

Blued has almost 15 million users, mostly in China, but its popularity is growing outside the country. As a service to its users, it provides information on the risks of unsafe sex and the rights of men who have sex with men. Users are asked questions aimed at increasing their knowledge of HIV treatment, prevention tools and care options. In addition, they are pointed to locations where they can access HIV testing and counselling.

Geng Le said, “We are doing our best to use science and technology to improve the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, including their health. Our vision is that all young people can live in dignity, be free of stigma and discrimination and share love no matter where they come from, what they are doing, what their sexual orientation is and what their HIV status is.”

Mr Sidibé’s visit included a demonstration of the application and an online exchange with users.

Danlan runs a free HIV rapid testing outlet, which provides services to men who have sex with men in partnership with public health agencies. “Danlan is an example of an organization for the future. It protects the rights of people not reached by services, everywhere," said Mr Sidibé.

Danlan has organized campaigns against discrimination and gives technical support on web-based HIV prevention and treatment initiatives. It is expanding into other countries and is currently establishing offices in the United States of America and Thailand. 

The clean energy company Hanergy Holding Group and UNAIDS have agreed to cooperate on philanthropic and corporate responsibility initiatives to achieve zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths in Africa.

The Chair of Hanergy, Li Hejun, and the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing, China. Under the deal, UNAIDS and Hanergy will work together on a number of social development programmes and will partner to bring clean power solutions to the continent. They will work directly with communities, focusing on the health and education sectors.  

Li Hejun said, “We are committed to building on our work on AIDS and expanding our initiatives to African countries. It is not only a responsibility, it’s the right thing to do.”

Mr Sidibé said, “The provision of clean energy to households, schools and health facilities within Africa is central to ensuring that the total well-being of people is at the centre of a healthy society.”

The agreement was signed during a joint mission to China by Mr Sidibé and Mark Dybul, the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). One of the objectives of the visit was to encourage new strategic partnerships between China and Africa, including investments in infrastructure and the economy and innovation in health and human development.

Africa imports 80% of its antiretroviral medicines. Many of the active ingredients come from China. Mr Sidibé and Mr Dybul met with Chi Jianxin, Chief Executive Officer of the China–Africa Development Fund, to promote joint ventures between China and African countries on the local production of medicines and health commodities. They also offered technical support from both organizations on enabling strategic partnerships.

Mr Dybul said, “There is huge potential for cooperation between China and Africa on innovation and the transfer of technology in many sectors and we look forward to taking this further.”

The China–Africa Business Council will promote communication and understanding between young people in China and Africa with the Towards Zero AIDS youth social benefit campaign. Mr Sidibé attended the launch of the campaign at Beijing’s University of Science and Technology and encouraged young Chinese people to show leadership in the AIDS response. The campaign is organized and run by young people from 60 universities in China.

Wenxia Li, a student from Beijing Forestry University, said, “We call for action on safe sex, we call for using condoms properly so that we and others can enjoy a healthy life.”

Mr Sidibé also participated in a policy dialogue on better health in China and Africa. Also present were the Ambassador of Djibouti, Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil, Feng Yong, Director for Africa at the Department of International Cooperation, China National Health Family Planning Commission, and Christoph Benn, Director of External Relations at the Global Fund.

Ambassador Abdullah Abdillahi Miguil said, “For the African continent to go beyond where it is now for its people, we need to build the capacity of our people for innovation.”

The dialogue sought to identify areas of cooperation and innovation and the types of strategic partnership between China and African countries that can be galvanized to support better health. 

The Premier of the State Council of China, Li Keqiang, expressed his support for the AIDS response during a meeting with UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé and the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Mark Dybul, on 4 May in Beijing, China.

The Premier said that the Chinese government is focusing particularly on HIV prevention, while also strengthening HIV treatment programmes and improving the quality of care for people living with HIV. He said the government is working to eliminate discrimination against people living with and affected by HIV.

Both Mr Sidibé and Mr Dybul thanked China for its contribution to the Ebola response. China has provided US$ 120 million and 1000 health workers to the West African countries most affected by the Ebola epidemic over the past year.

The Premier also mentioned the importance of community-based organizations working on HIV prevention and treatment and he committed to providing more funding to support their work.

Mr Sidibé welcomed the Premier’s political commitment to ensuring that AIDS remains high on the global agenda and commended China’s progress in the response to HIV. The government estimates that 810 000 people were living with HIV in 2013 and that almost two thirds had access to HIV treatment by the end of 2014.

Earlier, Mr Sidibé and Mr Dybul met with Minister of Health Li Bin, who said that China will incorporate the global vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths in its strategic planning, as well as the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

UNAIDS has called for global targets to be reached by 2020 in order to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030: that 90% of all people living with HIV know their HIV status; 90% of all diagnosed with HIV have access to antiretroviral therapy; and 90% of all people accessing antiretroviral therapy with viral suppression. Minister Li said that said the 90–90–90 targets are clear and measurable.

UNAIDS appointed Chinese football star Shao Jiayi as a UNAIDS National Goodwill Ambassador on 27 April.

In his new role, Mr Shao will promote the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 in China. He will focus on young people, encouraging them to become leaders in the response to AIDS and to help end stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV.

The announcement was made at a match Mr Shao refereed in Beijing, where he currently plays in the Chinese Super League. Before joining the Beijing Guoan team, Mr Shao had an extensive career in Germany and represented his country at its first trip to the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and in Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup tournaments. 

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Disasters are an increasing threat to the lives and livelihoods of millions of people around the globe and can have a profound impact on social, economic and health outcomes. Participants at the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, taking place in Sendai, Japan, are discussing how to promote a sustainable development agenda addressing risk and supporting greater resilience for countries and communities.

The high-level meeting, which is taking place from 14 to 18 March, is being attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, several heads of state, a number of UN heads of agencies and more than 100 ministers. It also includes some 8000 delegates from government, civil society, the private sector and donor agencies, as well as tens of thousands of members of the public attending the various public forums.

A broad array of issues are being debated over the five days, ranging from how to cope with emergency disasters, such as earthquakes, droughts and tsunamis, to reducing the risks of epidemics, such as Ebola, bird flu and HIV. Emphasis is being placed throughout on providing practical solutions to protect the most vulnerable. There is also a recognition that efforts to achieve key development, economic and health goals cannot succeed when disasters continue to erode progress and cost hundreds of billions of dollars a year globally. 

UNAIDS has a significant presence at the conference and is co-organizing, with WHO, UNFPA and UNISDR, a number of official events, including a day-long public forum on protecting people’s health from disaster risks.

A dominant theme across these events involves showcasing how risk reduction in the post-2015 development agenda can draw on the experience, lessons learned and successes of the AIDS response. The importance of mobilizing vulnerable communities, putting them at the centre of disaster prevention, preparedness, recovery and rehabilitation efforts, is being highlighted, along with the need to foster effective shared accountability. Mainstreaming health interventions across risk management programmes is also a prominent message. 

A post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction, which will govern this area for the next 15 years, will emerge from the conference. Health is fully embedded in the current framework, with particular mention of pandemics and epidemics. A Sendai Declaration will also be adopted reaffirming political commitment to strengthen efforts and cooperation for disaster risk reduction worldwide. 

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The World Economic Forum has selected James Chau, UNAIDS National Goodwill Ambassador for China and television personality, to join its Forum of Young Global Leaders.

The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a community of young leaders from around the world who contribute fresh thinking, multi stakeholder engagement and dynamic new ways of collaborating to develop solutions to complex global issues. The 900 Young Global Leaders are already successful and accomplished in their own fields. They join a broad community of other young leaders who commit both their time and talent to have a positive impact on global challenges. 

As the main anchor for 10 years for China Central Television’s (CCTV’s) English Channel, Mr Chau has reported on key global events and development issues. He is currently Special Contributor to CCTV News and a columnist with the Huffington Post. He is also active across social media, with a following of 1.7 million on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo.

Since his appointment in 2009, Mr Chau has used television and digital media platforms to help support people living with and affected by HIV. 

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During a business trip to Asia, UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador, Victoria Beckham, took the opportunity to raise awareness about the region’s AIDS epidemic. In meetings with business leaders, she urged them to increase private sector involvement in the response to HIV to help end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

Victoria Beckham met with people living with HIV during a visit to the UNAIDS country office in Beijing. She heard from the group that despite progress many people still face stigma and discrimination because of their HIV status. She re-affirmed her support for UNAIDS’ campaign to reach zero discrimination against people living with HIV.

During her trip, Victoria was also a guest of honour at a Hong Kong event organized by the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), which was also attended by long-standing UNAIDS supporters, Serge Dumont and actress, Michelle Yeoh.

Since her appointment as UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador in 2014, Victoria has used her business and media platforms to raise awareness and funds for the AIDS response.

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