Star studded effort to support the expansion of Treatment 2015 with US$ 2 million grant to UNAIDS to deliver HIV treatment and care for adolescents and young people worldwide

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 30 January 2014—The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) announced today the expansion of its Treatment 2015 initiative with a US$ 2 million grant provided by the heart and soul of M∙A∙C Cosmetics, the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund. The Fund is fully supported from the sale of VIVA GLAM Lipstick and Lipglass with global superstar Rihanna lending her celebrity to spur purchase and awareness. Leveraging this new funding, UNAIDS will build on Treatment 2015 by advancing global, regional and country level policies and programs to expand HIV testing and treatment to young people worldwide.

"M∙A∙C Cosmetics has a long history of engaging the right star power to motivate our customers and make an impact on this important cause. With UNAIDS' resources and strategic thinking and Rihanna's passionate support, we’re helping save lives one lipstick at a time,” said John Demsey, Group President of The Estée Lauder Companies.

Globally, an estimated 5.4 million[1] adolescents and young people are living with HIV, and 1.8 million[1] are eligible for HIV treatment. Millions of young people living with HIV do not know they are infected, and every day, approximately 2,100 adolescents and young people[1] are newly infected, which accounts for 39% of all new adult HIV infections globally. While antiretroviral therapy has resulted in a decline in AIDS-related deaths, modelling suggests that adolescents from 10 to 19-years-old are the only age group in which AIDS-related deaths rose between 2001 and 2012. The trend in AIDS-related deaths can be attributed to poor prioritization of adolescents in strategic plans for scale-up of HIV treatment and the lack of testing and counselling.

“Young people will lead us to an AIDS-free generation. By ensuring adolescents and young people have access to HIV services, we are not only saving lives but also investing in a healthier future for generations to come,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “We are truly honored to be working with the M∙A∙CAIDS Fund to help young people around the world access earlier HIV testing and treatment.”

The UNAIDS Treatment 2015 initiative aims to reach 15 million adults and young people with HIV treatment by 2015. The US$ 2 million grant from the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund will support expanded efforts to ensure adolescents and young people have access to HIV treatment and care internationally. New youth outreach efforts will include the evaluation of young people testing and treatment programmes and adaptation of adolescent and young people treatment guidelines.

“Ending the AIDS epidemic is within our power, but we cannot achieve it without expanding treatment access to ensure some of the most underserved, vulnerable communities, particularly young people, are not left behind,” said Nancy Mahon, Global Executive Director of the M∙A∙CAIDS Fund. “For this reason, the M∙A∙CAIDS Fund will continue to invest in strategic, impactful initiatives like UNAIDS’ Treatment 2015 that are working toward ending AIDS once and for all.”

The grant to UNAIDS was made possible exclusively through the sale of M∙A∙C’s VIVA GLAM Lipstick and Lipglass, which M∙A∙Cdonates 100% of the sale price to fight HIV. Rihanna, M∙A∙C’s new VIVA GLAM spokesperson, recently launched her new VIVA GLAM collection, which will benefit organizations like UNAIDS to support men, women and children affected by HIV globally.

"I'm honored to join forces with the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund and UNAIDS in the fight against AIDS," said Rihanna. "I want to help reach as many young people around the world as I can. While we need to begin with education, we also need to deliver HIV testing and treatment to the millions of young people who need our help, which is exactly what we plan to do."

UNAIDS Treatment 2015 has started to roll out globally. To learn more about UNAIDS’s plans to reach 15 million people by 2015, download the UNAIDS Treatment 2015 report.

[1] UNAIDS 2012 Estimates

A major concern in the global response to HIV is how to ensure that young people take their rightful place as active participants with access to high quality HIV services and the right skills and knowledge to adopt strategies to stay safe, delivered in a supportive environment. Recognizing the critical need to urgently scale up effective HIV responses to adolescents and youth, the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board, meeting in Geneva this week, devoted a full-day thematic segment to HIV, adolescents and youth.

The situation is extremely serious. Although there has been a 32% reduction in the estimated number of new HIV infections among people aged 15-24, this key group is facing an emerging crisis. While the number of AIDS-related deaths overall fell by an estimated 30% between 2005 and 2012, estimates suggest that the number of deaths among young people increased by 50%. In addition, 15-24 year olds still accounted for 39% of all new adult infections in 2012.

“This is the time to re-imagine the HIV response among adolescents and youth. Young people are ‘the now and the future’, born in an era of HIV and antiretroviral treatment,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Without addressing their needs, there will be no AIDS-free generation and the gains made towards eliminating new HIV infections among children will be lost—their HIV risk merely deferred to the second decade of life.”

Lively and frank discussions

Under the theme of Walk in my shoes, the 19 December gathering brought together a host of young people from around the world who themselves led the main sessions on HIV prevention, testing and treatment. Young people explored ideas, experiences and solutions with the Board about the shape and scope of meaningful HIV programmes encompassing youths and adolescents at a time in their lives of great psychological, physical and social change. The discussions were lively, frank and open.

There was much emphasis on how to foster greater inclusion and ensure that young people are not simply passive recipients of programmes but play an integral role in their design, implementation and evaluation. It was found that currently their use of HIV prevention, treatment and care services is often lower than their older counterparts and that there remained a critical need for a scale-up of youth-friendly services and programmes which are fully resourced and tailored to their specific needs. Opportunities to link HIV with other sexual and reproductive health services as well as education, gender equality and social protection were also explored.

In a session on what successful HIV prevention looks like for young people, their unique prevention needs were highlighted, including those for key populations such as men who have sex with men, injecting drug users and sex workers. Young leaders shared good practices at country level. Renata Bayazitova from the Public Foundation "Ganesha" in Kyrgyzstan said that the critical elements of success for harm reduction services for young women who inject drugs, is to greater access to safe spaces, free of judgment, where young people can come at any time without the fear of being misunderstood, where they can get information and support on a range of issues.

Across all programmes a common element of success was the involvement of young people in the design of the services. The participants highlighted that only by working with young people will services be developed which are right for them, delivered in the right way, by the right providers and in the right places. Jerson See from the community organization Cebu Plus in the Philippines said, “You need to work with us, be case we know the market…we are the market.”

Creating an enabling social and legal environment in which young people feel motivated to go for HIV testing was also examined through a session which asked the question—‘Do all tests have to be hard? It was noted that current levels of HIV testing among adolescents and youth are still very low and that with treatment available it was now imperative to ensure young people living with HIV are diagnosed and linked to care and treatment.

One of the critical barriers raised repeatedly by participations was laws pertaining to the age of consent in accessing HIV testing services. “In Mexico, you are allowed to take an HIV testing when you are under 18, but according to the law a parent or guardian has to come with you to receive the test result,” said Corina Martinez Fundación Mexicana para la Planeación Familiar, A.C. “Fortunately in Mexico that rule is already under review, but it is important to take this example and monitor to ensure that in all our countries, these measures should be strengthened to ensure universal access to HIV testing.”

Participants also heard Zambia’s innovative mobile technology project, U-report, which has been able to scale up demand for HIV testing among young people, as well as Dr Nono Simelela, Special Adviser to The Deputy President, Chair of the South African National AIDS Commission, outlining the process in South Africa which led to the lowering of the age of consent in access to HIV testing to 12.

There was also an animated dialogue on challenges and solutions in relation to access to treatment and how this access can be integrated into youth-friendly services which also offer sexual and reproductive health interventions and support with adherence to drug regimens and disclosure.

After a full day of discussion and debate, youth delegates and Board members were galvanized into redoubling their efforts to ensure that young people have the tools and the space to put themselves front and centre of the AIDS response and play an active role in achieving in getting to the end of the AIDS epidemic.  

“As a youth movement, we’ve never been more organized than now,” said Pablo Aguilera, Director of the HIV Young Leaders Fund. “We’re ready to work to ensure HIV remains a priory in the post-2015 development framework”.

UNAIDS and the hotel InterContinental Genève are entering into a new partnership. The collaboration comes as the landmark Geneva hotel will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at a ceremony on the 21 November at UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva. During the ceremony, UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé discussed the importance of the active involvement of the private sector in the response to HIV with the General Manager of the hotel InterContinental Genève, Jürgen Baumhoff.

The public-private partnership will focus on a number of issues including ensuring children are born free from HIV and that their mothers can continue with antiretroviral therapy. Another important aspect is ensuring children living with HIV have timely access to life-saving treatment.

One of the first initiatives of the joint partnership will be the launch of a campaign to raise awareness and funds for an AIDS-free generation. The campaign will be launched on 16 December 2013.

Quotes

On 14 August, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé presented awards to the CEOs of six of China’s largest companies in recognition of their contributions to China’s AIDS response. Mr Sidibé was meeting with some of China’s leading CEOs at the Beijing secretariat of the China Red Ribbon Foundation, located within the headquarters of China’s Hanergy Holdings Group, to highlight the leadership and contribution of the private sector in China’s national and global HIV response.

Speaking at the event, Mr Sidibé praised the growing commitment of Chinese business leaders, particularly in the area of HIV. The private sector is playing an increasingly important role in China’s efforts to expand HIV prevention, treatment and care services and address discrimination. Much of this work is channelled through the China Red Ribbon Foundation, founded in 2005 by 20 of China’s leading private sector firms.

Huang Mengfu, Honorary Chair of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce thanked Mr Sidibé for his remarks and said that, “For the last 30 years, China has led on economic growth. In the coming years, China’s private sector will help China to lead on social responsibility, global health, and human development.”

Several Chinese CEOs reflected on their positive experiences in supporting the prevention and control of HIV in China and expressed their support for the UNAIDS vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

Mr Sidibé also stressed the huge potential for China’s growing private sector to help bring an end to the AIDS epidemic globally. Particularly in Africa, where many Chinese companies now have extensive operations, Chinese businesses are in a unique position to encourage breakthrough progress in the HIV response and throughout the health sector. Reiterating UNAIDS’ commitment to working closely with private business, Mr Sidibé emphasized that a successful response to HIV requires strong and meaningful participation from all sectors of society.

Quotes

Participants at the meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria, 4-5 July 2013.

Representatives of more than 100 civil society organizations (CSO) from 42 countries urged African leaders to intensify efforts to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. The call was made during a technical meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria from 4-5 July as part of the events leading up to the Abuja +12 Special Summit of the Africa Union on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria that will take place in the Nigerian capital from 15-16 July 2013.

The meeting aimed to assess progress made in the implementation of the 2001 Abuja Declaration. It also provided an opportunity to discuss key issues in the post-2015 debate.

CSO representatives requested governments to make HIV prevention the cornerstone of AIDS responses in order to meet the targets set during the 2011 United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS. CSO representatives, in a call action, also asked governments to “pay special attention to the impact of HIV issues affecting children, adolescents and women and girls.” Additional recommendations included accelerating integration of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria services; achieving full funding of health budgets; and adding per capita health expenditure tracking to the 15% Abuja financial commitments.

The recommendations from the civil society meeting were reviewed at an experts meeting held from 8-9 July, and will be put forward for consideration by the Heads of States during the Special Summit.

Gennadiy Onishchenko, Head of the Federal Service on Customers' Rights Protection and Human Well-being Surveillance (Rospoterbnadzor) speaking to the press during the G20 Civil Summit. Credit: Aleksey Neshin

The Russian Federation and UNAIDS have launched a new Regional Cooperation Programme for Technical Assistance for HIV and other Infectious Diseases in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The US$ 16 million Programme, funded by the Russian Government, was launched during the G20 Civil Summit which was held in Moscow from 11-13 June.

The Programme, which will run from 2013-2015, will be implemented by the Federal Service on Customers' Rights Protection and Human Well-being Surveillance (Rospotrebnadzor), UNAIDS, regional civil society organizations and counterparts in four partner countries—Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Gennadiy Onishchenko, Head of Rospoterbnadzor emphasised that the programme “will strengthen health systems, ensure better epidemiological surveillance of HIV, and promote the scale up HIV prevention programmes for key populations at higher risk of HIV, especially migrants”.

In recent years the international donor community has scaled back its commitments in CIS countries, leaving many struggling to maintain their responses to HIV. This new Programme will support partner countries to explore new sources of funding to sustain and scale up their responses. Moving towards a sustainable funding model will be a key to future success in meeting the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Since 2006, the Russian Government has allocated more than US$ 500 million to support international programmes to reduce the spread of infectious diseases, including HIV. A significant portion of Russia’s support is focused on technical assistance to CIS countries in the form of laboratory equipment and supplies, test systems and training. Russian expertise is also used to strengthen national capacities to control infectious diseases through knowledge transfer and knowledge exchange.

Infectious diseases, including HIV, will be on the agenda of the G8 as a priority of the Russian Government as it assumes its role of G8 President in 2014.

UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, Chief of Presidential Experts Directorate, Ksenia Yudaeva, and Chairman of the Presidential Council of the Russian Federation for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights, Mikhail Fedotov.
Credit: Alexander Blotnitsky

As part of its role as President of the G20—the group of the 20 major economies—Russia has this week hosted the G20 Civil Summit. The two-day event featured a bold dialogue among global civil society and decision-makers and culminated in the development of a ‘Civil Communique’––recommendations which will be presented to the G20 to be put onto the agenda of the G20 Leaders' Summit which is being held in St. Petersburg in September 2013.

“This unprecedented Summit was preceded by intensive preparatory work, engaging experts representing NGOs and research institutes from different G20 countries,” said Ksenia Yudaeva, Russian G20 Sherpa, and Chief of Presidential Experts Directorate who officially opened the Summit.

Ksenia Yudaeva also read the address of Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, to participants where he stressed that “civil society organizations' practical experience will help leaders of the "Group of Twenty" to find the most optimal balance in the global development strategy and to take a consolidated decision on the complex challenges faced by the world.”

“This is a historic event in the context of the G20. Never before has civil society been officially invited and empowered to prepare recommendations for the G20,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé at the opening. “You have earned this role and this space. If you protect this space for the future, your role and influence as a full partner in the G20 will continue to have a pivotal positive impact on global governance.”

Highlighting the historical role of civil society in the global HIV response, he stressed that it was the civil movement which broke the conspiracy of silence about AIDS and continue to campaign for issues of human rights, trade and access to health, stigma and discrimination.

The Summit attracted more than 350 representatives of civil society, international organizations, private sector and government to Moscow to engage in discussions on issues they would like to see addressed by the leaders of the G20. Russia is the first country to hold the Civil 20 Summit in this important format.