The 2008 high-level meeting on AIDS will take place at the United Nations headquarters in New York on 10 - 11 June. It will review progress made in implementing the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS.

Ahead of this high-level meeting, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will submit a comprehensive and analytical report for consideration by Member States. The SG’s Report will be based on national reports that Member States were requested to submit to UNAIDS by 31 January 2008.  

The organizational arrangements for the high-level meeting are outlined in a resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 19 December 2007. Detailed information about the plenary meetings, the thematic panel discussions, and the informal interactive civil society hearing will be provided in due course.

The high-level meeting will provide an important forum for various stakeholders, including government representatives and accredited civil society participants. Discussions are expected to focus on the progress made, challenges remaining and sustainable ways to overcome them.

UNAIDS has been working closely with the Office of the President of the General Assembly (OPGA), the Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) and the Civil Society Support Mechanism (CSSM) to support civil society engagement in the high-level meeting and in the country level reporting processes on AIDS. The CSSM is a coalition led by the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO) and the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC).

On-line civil society application form

The on-line application form was officially launched on Wednesday, 23 January 2008. It includes background information on the high-level meeting and Civil Society Hearing, as well as two different forms: a registration form for those organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC; and an accreditation form for non-ECOSOC accredited organizations wishing to attend the high-level meeting.

Civil Society Task Force

A Civil Society Task Force is currently being set up, in cooperation with the Civil Society Support Mechanism, to support UNAIDS and the OPGA in key decisions relating to the attendance and participation of civil society organizations and the private sector in the high-level meeting.

UNAIDS Director of Partnerships and
External Relations, Elhadj As Sy (L) and
Alvaro Bermejo, Executive Director of the
International HIV/AIDS Alliance (R) during
the signing of the collaboration
agreement. Geneva, 11 January 2008.

Working towards the global efforts to reach universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services for all those in need, UNAIDS has renewed its collaboration with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
The first agreement, which ran from 2004 to 2007, enabled strong civil society mobilisation for HIV prevention intensification, focusing particularly on empowering women to lead the AIDS response and underlining the key role of civil society in national AIDS responses.

“This is a strategic collaboration which is critical to securing greater impact, paving the way towards universal access,” said UNAIDS Director of Partnerships and External Relations, Elhadj As Sy at the signing of the renewed agreement.

The renewed partnership will focus on strengthening civil society responses to AIDS and aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. Promoting direct involvement and leadership of civil society responses to HIV.– including people living with HIV and key populations.
2. Promoting human rights-based responses to HIV

1. Mobilising country-level public, private and civil society partnerships.
2. Promoting evidence informed policy and good practice and the use of strategic information.
3. Building capacity to track, monitor and evaluate country responses within a single, agreed national framework.
4. Facilitating increased access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.
5. Facilitating access to technical and financial resources at country level.
6. Facilitating and supporting the involvement of civil society and people living with HIV in planning, implementation and evaluation of national HIV strategies.

The renewed partnership will focus on
strengthening civil society responses to
AIDS.

The Alliance is a global partnership of nationally-based organisations working to support community action on HIV. These national partners help local community groups and other NGOs to take action on AIDS, and are supported by technical expertise, policy work and fundraising facilitated by the UK-based international secretariat and across the Alliance, in regional programmes and representative offices in the USA and Brussels. The Alliance also works on a range of international activities such as support for South–South cooperation, operations research, knowledge sharing, training and good practice development, as well policy analysis and advocacy.

“We are delighted with this renewed partnership that will scale up our community empowerment objectives and our joint impact on the HIV epidemic. The Alliance is committed to bring all its leverage in this partnership as part of its contribution towards universal access” said Alvaro Bermejo, the Executive Director of the Alliance.

Over 7,000 people living with HIV came
together in Shilparamam-Hyderabad.
Photo credits: UNAIDS

India hosted its largest ever gathering of people living with HIV in December 2007. Over 7,000 people living with HIV came together in Shilparamam-Hyderabad on 7 December for a special event organized by the Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (APSACS) with the support of UNAIDS and several other partners. As part of the State’s “Be Bold” campaign, a behaviour change communication initiative, the 2007 convention beat the record crowd of 3,800 people living with HIV at the same venue in December 2006.

Union Minister for Labour and Convenor
of the Parliamentary Forum on AIDS,
Oscar Fernandez, restating commitment to
the 2006 'Hyderabad Declaration'.
Photo credits: UNAIDS

The event brought together a variety of stakeholders to reiterate commitment to reducing stigma, increasing access to services for people living with HIV and to creating an enabling environment for preventing the spread of HIV. It was also an opportunity to restate commitment to the “Hyderabad Declaration”, which was originally signed at the 2006 event.

“It was festive time for people living with HIV. Women participated in the Rangoli competition, children participated in the painting competition and games organized specially for them. Adults also listened to lectures on treatment adherence and precautions against opportunistic infections,” said G. Asok Kumar, Project Director at on of the APSACS. “Such a huge gathering of people living with HIV helped considerably reduce stigma,” he added.

Oscar Fernandez meeting with a number of
the convention participants.
Photo credits: UNAIDS

The event was inaugurated by Oscar Fernandez, the Union Minister for Labour and Convener of the Parliamentary Forum on AIDS (PFA), J.D. Seelam, Co-Convener PFA,   Dr Sailajanath, Convener and Shri B. Kamalaker Rao, Co-Convener of Andhra Pradesh Legislators Forum on AIDS among many other Government officials.

The convention reflected on the progress that has been made since the last meeting in 2006. According to State figures, in just a year, the number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy increased from just 2,200 in 2006 to 25,000 in December 2007. The number of people living with HIV accessing health care services has also gone up phenomenally. In the last year more than 600,000 pregnant mothers had an HIV test. The overall number of HIV tests carried out in the state in the last 11 months reached1.5 million, up from 1.3 million tests registered during the whole period from 2000 to 2006.

Experience and evidence show that for an effective response to AIDS, it is essential to involve people living with HIV at all levels. Networks of people living with HIV are uniquely well qualified to help unify the response and maximize efforts to reach out to communities as well as influence national policy.

UNAIDS has produced a new report that describes
the background, structure and operation of the All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV, as an example of best practice within the AIDS response.

In order to promote and help replicate the work of associations of people living with HIV, UNAIDS has produced a new report that describes the background, structure and operation of the All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV, as an example of best practice within the AIDS response.

“The All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV has an innovative structure, has undertaken high profile successful advocacy campaigns at both national and local levels and has a strong track record of delivering an ever-expanding array of services to people living with HIV,” the report says. “From the outset, people living with HIV have been responsible for the Network’s very rapid growth and strategic importance in the country’s HIV response.

”Ukraine has the most severe HIV epidemic in Europe, with an estimated 377 600 people living with the virus at the end of 2005. The Network was formed in the late 1990s by people living with HIV alarmed by the rapidly growing HIV epidemic in the country and the lack of resources and support available to them and others living with the virus. Since then, the Network has grown rapidly and steadily from its registration in 2000 to its designation as a co-Principal Recipient of a Global Fund grant to distribute funds for treatment, care and support. In 2006, it provided services and support to more than 14000 people living with HIV.

At the national level, the
Network’s advocacy efforts have
resulted in a number of high
profile achievements in recent
years.

The Network was established under four key strategy components: increasing access to non-medical care, treatment and support; lobbying and advocating to protect the rights of people living with HIV; increasing acceptance towards people living with HIV throughout society; and enhancing the organizational capacity of the Network.

Through its local branches and affiliated organizations, the Network provides services to thousands of people living with HIV across Ukraine. It also works with ‘indirect clients’, such as injecting drug users, health-care workers, journalists and law enforcement officials, as part of a broader effort to increase social tolerance, raise awareness about HIV transmission prevention and reduce stigma and discrimination.

More than 20 distinct types of services are offered around the country ranging from transportation and nutrition support to treatment literacy training and child-care facilities. Some local groups may even provide a teacher in instances when real or perceived discrimination keeps HIV-positive children out of public schools.

At the national level, the Network’s advocacy efforts have resulted in a number of high profile achievements in recent years, notably a series of meetings with the Ukrainian President in November 2005, where he committed to take personal control of the government’s response to the epidemic. Furthermore, recent advocacy and awareness-raising efforts at national level include continuing efforts to push the government to increase antiretroviral treatment and HIV testing availability through the public sector; working with the media to publicize issues such as poor service delivery; delays within the Ministry of Health; the high price of antiretroviral drugs; and corruption within the procurement and tendering processes.

Local branches of the Network also initiate smaller-scale advocacy efforts that relate to their local needs.

Local branches of the Network also initiate smaller-scale advocacy efforts that relate to their local needs. For example, one group successfully filed and won a court case defending the rights of HIV-positive parents to maintain custody of their children. In August 2006, another group successfully advocated for the provision of antiretroviral treatment in local prisons. Within two months, five inmates were on treatment and two prisons now also have the capacity to provide CD4 testing.

The Network seeks to form partnerships with as many stakeholders as possible. It currently works with government agencies, international organizations, donor agencies and domestic NGOs. “Although often there are strategic and procedural differences with some of the partners, the Network has refused to break ties even as it lobbies, privately and publicly, for policy change,” the report states.

The Network’s collaboration with international organizations, bilateral donors and civil society groups has consisted of financial support, technical assistance, advocacy collaboration and policy development at local, national and international levels. Although initially the Network was mainly the recipient of the assistance, as it has developed, it has played a growing role in identifying ways to share its expertise and experience.

Underlining the Network’s importance as an example of best practice, UNAIDS Partnerships Advisor Kate Thomson said: “This is a role model for positive networks the world over and provides us with a truly inspiring example of positive people coming together to make a difference in the AIDS response.”

As part of the international scout jamboree held in Britain over the summer, UNAIDS ran workshops on HIV prevention, personal responsibility in HIV transmission and respect for the human rights of positive people.

40,000 teenagers from all over the world attended
this year's world scout jamboree.

This summer, residents of Chelmsford, a town in eastern England, woke up to an unusual array of sights and sounds.

The banging of early morning drums and excited screeches of hundreds of teenage boys and girls filled the air – this was the international scout jamboree, and the 40,000 teenagers attending from all over the world wanted to make sure everyone knew it!

For UNAIDS staff attending the jamboree to run special workshops on HIV prevention, personal responsibility in HIV transmission and respect for the human rights of positive people, it was a bit of an eye opener. “We would look at each other and think: ‘Are you as lost as I am?’ ” laughs Bhatupe Mhango, coordinator of UN Plus – the UN system-wide group of staff living with HIV, who took part in the event with Alex McLelland, an intern with UNAIDS, in the Civil Society Partnerships Unit. “But we became hooked on those sessions every morning. I still hear them drumming and humming in my ears,” she says.

This was a particularly significant jamboree, as it marked the centenary of scouting and 40,000 teenagers attended from all over the world. UNAIDS had an area in the Global Development Village, a section dedicated to workshops on human rights and the work of UN agencies.

“The scouts as a movement has so much potential to mobilize towards the HIV response,” says Alex, who is studying for a degree in International Development at York University in Toronto, Canada . “They are eager to get further engaged. With approximately 28 million young people as members you can see the possibilities.”

Bhatupe and Alex planned and ran five workshops on the topic “HIV Sensitisation and Safeguarding Human Rights.” One of the UNAIDS objectives was to initiate a dialogue on the need for a policy to work with HIV positive scouts, and for UN Plus to look for possible partnerships.

“We established that there are some Positive scouts in several countries, particularly Africa, and UN Plus could foster a partnership with them,” says Bhatupe.

Over three days, he and Bhatupe spoke to youngsters from Norway , Germany, Italy, Chile, Brazil, Denmark, Britain, Turkey and Finland.

In spite of the big subject, it was all very informal. “Most of the workshops took place outside because the young scouts wanted to lie on the grass,” says Bhatupe. She and Alex shared their personal stories as people living with HIV. Scouts asked questions about stigma, treatment, nutrition guidelines and human rights issues for people living with HIV.  

Bhatupe Mhango, coordinator of UN Plus, during a
live radio interview with the jamboree radio station,
promoting the workshops and encouraging scouts to
be aware of the means to protect themselves from
HIV transmission.

Bhatupe also did a live radio interview with the jamboree radio station, to promote the workshops and encourage scouts to be aware of the means of protecting themselves from HIV transmission. 

There were the obvious drawbacks of talking about sex to teenage boys: “A memorable moment was watching young, Italian boys laughing hysterically at a UNFPA-led workshop we participated in, demonstrating male condoms using bananas,” says Bhatupe.

But many of the scouts showed real insight and understanding into the issue – Alex and Bhatupe were delighted by a group of 14-16 year old girls from Chile, who were well informed about HIV, AIDS and sex, having studied the subject at school. The girls held a debate on abstinence versus early sex.

“The maturity of the debate convinced me that the message on HIV prevention and empowerment of young girls is getting across,” says Bhatupe.

The girls were evenly divided - indicating that no one method is the obvious solution to managing yourself as a young woman in a relationship. 

The views expressed included:

“If I love my boyfriend and I trust him…and if he has gone for an HIV test and tells me he is HIV negative, why should I not express my feelings for him and have sex with him?  If that is what I want to do, I will just go ahead…if you love someone, you can not put controls on what you can do with that person.”

“For me I say no. I have to wait until I am married before I have sex. It is scary. I am scared of getting HIV or falling pregnant so the best thing to do is to wait.”

For Bhatupe and Alex, the UNAIDS messages were getting across: prevention, personal responsibility in HIV transmission, the need for more support and less stigma for positive people.

Alex was encouraged to see so much focus on AIDS at the jamboree.

“There were other workshops from UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO, as well as the South African and Ugandan Scout associations. The Girl Guides did a big presentation about HIV. The ILO discussed child labour and vulnerability to HIV.

“There’s a quite a lot of awareness among the Scouts. It was gratifying to see so much going on,” he said.

Links:

Visit the world scout jamboree web site
More information on young people and HIV

Photo credits : UNAIDS/C. Giray

In Malawi, the involvement of civil society in the process of setting targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support has resulted in ambitious targets addressing the needs and expectations of those living with or affected by HIV.

“Malawi is well on the way to endorsing targets,” said Desmond Johns, UNAIDS country coordinator in Malawi. “We’ve seen a process with limited civil society involvement grow into a process with meaningful dialogue and participation. All of this is producing a much better end result,” he added.

The process of setting targets for universal access in Malawi began early in 2006 when a small group of partners made up of representatives from the national ministries, donor organizations, the United Nations and non-governmental organizations met to identify the objectives and challenges to scaling up the country’s national response. Only two national and two international civil society umbrella organizations took part to this initial consultation.

Noting the limited role attributed to national civil society at this stage, a group of 20 organizations, led by Action Aid and the National Association of People Living with HIV & AIDS in Malawi (NAPHAM), decided in March 2006 to form a coalition in order to articulate a stronger position on the question of universal access. Starting a parallel process, the coalition undertook to review and if necessary challenge the preliminary targets set by the working groups.

The incentive to combine both processes and establish a truly inclusive mechanism to set targets for scaling up the response to AIDS came after the Global Fund review in June and July which revealed that many of the targets established by the working groups had already been exceeded.

“We were in presence of two parallel processes which did not communicate and could not benefit from each other’s strengths,” said Johns. “This situation underlined how important it is to bring all stakeholders around the same table. As of October, this became UNAIDS priority,” he added.

A three-day consultation was held soon after which brought together 350 participants from a wide range of stakeholders. Sixteen representatives from faith and community based organizations and groups of people living with HIV gave presentations on their experiences and the challenges they faced in responding to the epidemic in their communities. The presentations added a new and fresh perspective to the discussions.

In November consultations were extended to the provincial and district levels to ensure the widest possible participation. An international consultant facilitated the discussions to give everyone an opportunity to contribute. He also arranged to seek and incorporate the views of those who could not attend the meetings and gave them time to review the targets and submit comments before they were consolidated.

“We finally felt that our voices were being heard and taken into account,” said Sembereka from Malawi Network of Religious Leaders living with or Personally affected by HIV and AIDS, and member of the secretariat of the Civil Society coalition on Universal Access. “We represent people living with or affected by HIV and this is an unprecedented opportunity to make a difference in the response to HIV. There remains a lot of room for improving civil society participation. Our contribution should be an integral part of planning and monitoring the scale up of the response to AIDS,” he added.

The final national level stakeholder meeting took place on 29 November to communicate the proposed targets and the revised and costed National Action Framework. The targets are due to be endorsed by a Cabinet of Ministers before the end of the year.

“The inclusive process in November was an opportunity to bring a greater level of ambition to the universal access targets, develop consensus and build ownership of the targets and to prioritize and cost the National AIDS Framework, so that it would constitute the implementation plan for Universal Access. This is a great example of the Global Task Team recommendations and Paris Declaration actually taking life,” concluded UNAIDS Country Coordinator Desmond Johns.

UNAIDS welcomes the African Civil Society Coalition as a significant stakeholder in the process to move towards universal access by 2010.

Thirty representatives from the African Civil Society Coalition on HIV and AIDS attended the International AIDS Conference in Toronto to push forward the agenda on universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support for all Africans.

The African Civil Society Coalition was recently established to work on key advocacy challenges in Africa, review AIDS strategies and provide a platform for energising HIV and AIDS campaigns by African civil society groups. The Coalition joins together a range of civil society groups including, women’s groups, youth networks, associations of people living with HIV, the media and faith based organisations.

The Toronto conference was an opportunity not only for the Coalition to promote the need to scale-up the response in Africa at an international level, but was also a chance to meet with other key actors to discuss ways forward and the active involvement and participation of African civil society in the decision making processes.

“It is extremely important that such a Coalition exists,” said UNAIDS’ Director of Country and Regional Support, Michel Sidibe. “It empowers small scale organizations and gives them more visibility at regional and international level”.

Midway through the conference, the Coalition met with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to discuss practical steps for ensuring that the Coalition is fully involved in the process of setting national targets to scale up towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010.

UNAIDS is urging countries to set up, through transparent and fully inclusive processes, ambitious national targets to move towards universal access. As agreed in the Political Declaration adopted in June at the 2006 United Nations High Level Review. “We believe that at this period in history, when the world seems to be united in the drive towards achieving universal access, African civil society groups must come together strongly to play critical roles in the national and regional responses,” said Omololu Falobi from the Nigerian non governmental organization, Journalists Against AIDS. “Civil society must play an active role with national governments, regional institutions such as the African Union and stakeholders such as UNAIDS in the movement to scale up the AIDS response,” he added.

Members of the Coalition are meeting in Mombassa, Kenya mid-September, to develop strategic directions for enhanced civil society participation in target-setting process and in monitoring accountability by African governments towards universal access benchmarks for 2008 and 2010.

UNAIDS encourages similar civil society networking initiatives around the world. “The movement to scale up towards universal access is a momentum that we have to seize together. Because mutual accountability will produce better results, we will seek every opportunity to build bridges between state and non state actors,” said Michel Sidibe.

The XVI International AIDS Conference, a biennial event, this year brought together some 24,000 participants from around the world to present the latest findings and share the latest evidence, ideas and lessons learned in AIDS research, policies and programmes.

Related links
UNAIDS at XVI International AIDS Conference

The partners of the African Civil Society Coalition on HIV and AIDS include:

AIDS Rights Alliance of Southern Africa
ActionAid International - Africa
African Council of AIDS Service Organisations (AfriCASO)
African Microbicides Advocacy Group (AMAG)
Central African Network of AIDS Service Organisations (CANASO)
Civil Society Network on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (CISHAN)
CREDO for Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights
Eastern African National Network of AIDS Service Organisations (EANNASO)
Global Youth Coalition on AIDS (GYCA)
Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) Nigeria
Network of African People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAP+)
Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA)
Oxfam International
Panos Institute Global AIDS Programme
Southern African AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS)
Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA)
World AIDS Campaign

UNAIDS leverages the power of football ahead of FIFA 2014 World Cup

GENEVA, 16 April 2014—In the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup in Brazil starting in June, UNAIDS has teamed up with Brazilian football champion and vice-captain of the national Brazilian football team David Luiz, appointing him as UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador. 

David Luiz, who is playing in the Premier League, will support UNAIDS by promoting the organization’s key advocacy and outreach initiatives. He will help mobilize football fans around the world, particularly young people, with important messages calling for an end to discrimination, advocating for HIV prevention and access to HIV treatment for people living with HIV.

“I am convinced that David with his heart and compassion will make a big difference reaching out to millions of young people,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé. “In football, players come together to produce results. In the same way we must unite and as a team get to zero new HIV infections. During the World Cup, everyone’s eyes will be on Brazil and David will be an inspiration both on and off the pitch.”

“It is a massive honour to be a global ambassador for UNAIDS and I want to use this position to spread the word about how to overcome AIDS around the world,” said David Luiz. ”People will be looking to my country Brazil to see great football at the World Cup and this is a great opportunity for UNAIDS and I to speak out—and I want to help make UNAIDS the winning team.”

David Luiz is featured in Protect the Goal which is a UNAIDS campaign using the popularity and convening power of sport to raise awareness of HIV and drive young people to commit to HIV prevention. In addition, David Luiz is promoting UNAIDS’  #zerodiscrimination campaign, which calls on people to celebrate everyone’s right to live a full life with dignity – no matter what they look like, where they come from or whom they love.

Of the total estimated 35.3 million people living with HIV around the world, an estimated 5.4 million are young people aged 10-24. Many are unaware of their status. There are some       900 000 adolescents (10-14) living with HIV. In addition, an estimated 780 000 of the total 2.3 million new HIV infections worldwide are among adolescents and young people aged 15–24 with 97% of the new infections occurring in low and middle-income countries. 

Luiz Loures, Director of Political and Public Affairs, UNAIDS, and Sir Elton John at an AIDS 2012 session exploring the role of innovative partnerships in creating a more equitable HIV response, Washington, DC, 23 July. Credit: UNAIDS/C. Kleponis

While the AIDS response has been one of the most successful global health campaigns in history and a fearless proponent of social transformation, access to progress has not been equal.

The reality is that to end AIDS we will need to meet the demands of equity and social justice. Speakers at a special session at the XIX International AIDS conference shared experiences of how innovation in partnerships can deliver stronger, more effective responses.

Kick-starting the discussion, Luiz Loures, Director of Political and Public Affairs Branch of UNAIDS said, “The future we want will take inspiration.” Urging the crowd to create new partnerships Dr Loures added, “We now have the conditions for a revolution to take us to the end—a global revolution to end AIDS.”

Elton John brought to the discussion a deeply personal voice that resonated throughout the session. Drawing from his decades of experience as a powerful AIDS activist, Sir Elton spoke about the critical role of partnerships within and beyond the AIDS response.

Urging pragmatism in working with powerful institutions that can create real change (though may not always be sympathetic to the AIDS response), commitment to aligning investments and programmes to the evidence and holism in addressing the interconnected needs of people, he called for creative, innovative and compassionate partnerships to end AIDS. He called for “love”. “Everyone deserves compassion, everyone deserves dignity, everyone deserves respect. And everyone, everyone requires love. The gift of love from the community you live in is the best gift you can have.”

Striking a personal note Sir Elton said, “I should not be here today. I should have been dead like Freddie Mercury or Rock Hudson.” He described how the “love” of his community and of compassionate health workers transformed his life

 “The disease is caused by HIV, but the AIDS epidemic is caused by stigma, misinformation and indifference, not the virus,” said Sir Elton. “Science can help stop the disease, but science alone cannot stop the disease We must celebrate people who show compassion and people who are on treatment.”

Fareed Abdullah, the new Chief Executive Officer of the South African National AIDS Council talked about new and emerging opportunities for African responses to access investments, expertise and technical support. “We bring all sectors in the National AIDS Council together, not to control but because we have to work together,” Dr Abdullah said. “In our council, the member of LGBT community has the same status as the Deputy President of the country. This is because we have to hear the community voices if we have to reach services to them.”

Speaking on the importance of funding civil society Fareed Abdullah called for governments to put money in social movement or they will miss the bus in the journey to end AIDS.

Luiz Loures, Director of Political and Public Affairs, UNAIDS, moderates an AIDS 2012 session on innovative partnerships in the HIV response, Washington, DC, 23 July. Credit: UNAIDS/C. Kleponis

Calling for the continued involvement of the Donors, the former Vice-President of Spain Elena Salgado emphasized three pillars of a new international cooperation framework. First she called for “smart money”—investments that allocated effectively and as traditional resources revenue base shrink, find innovate ways such as the financial transactional tax, taxing mobile phone use etc to bridge the investment gap. Second, she called for mutual accountability. “Not the classic accountability of stopping corruption and demanding effectiveness, but social accountability,” Ms Salgado said. “Accountability in which resources are available so that no one is left behind—especially the marginalized.”  And lastly she called for efficient law enforcement.

Speaking on the role of the private sector, John Megrue of the Business Leadership Council said that the private sector is committed to ending AIDS. “We will begin with ending new HIV infections among children. The private sector understands this easily, but this just an entry point for our engagement in global health,” said Mr Megrue.

A popular news personality,with more than a million on-line followers in China, James Chau, about how social media was changing the global landscape, especially for young people. The China Central Television (CCTV) presenter warned that millions were still unconnected. “Social media gives us a voice, and gives us new ideas. But it must work together with ground action,” said Mr Chau. “Social change for AIDS is about combining different effective tool for social media to simple campaigns. We need to focus on reliable tools that are around you and build your programme around it.”

In the closing, Dr Loures asked “How do we go forward?” Sir Elton’s reply: “To succeed you have to have a vision and a plan. There is more love in the world than hate.”

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé and US Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius participated in the YouthScore 2012 event in Washington, on 21 July, 2012. Credit: UNAIDS/Y.Gripas

On the eve of the first International AIDS Conference in the United States in two decades, Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), joined US Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and others to launch Youth Score—a series of events to mobilize young people to lead the way to an AIDS-free generation.

The events will use sports, music and art to connect young people to the information they need to protect themselves and others from HIV. According to a UNAIDS report released on 18 July, youth remain particularly vulnerable to HIV infection. Nearly 5 million people aged 15-24 were living with AIDS in 2011 and, that same year, almost 900,000 young people became newly infected with HIV. The report shows that young people overall lack key information on HIV prevention and transmission. It calls for broad social mobilization of young people to reach the vision of “three zeros.”

“Young people are among the most vulnerable to new HIV infections, but their calls for support are too often not heard," said Michel Sidibé. “This must change as this is the generation that will help bring us to our vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.”

The Youth Score launch event brought together young people from Washington DC and across the world to share their experiences in stopping AIDS. It attracted more than 200 young people who came out to participate in workshops and clinics with Lorrie Fair of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, Steve Zakuani of the Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders and former National Basketball Association player Michael Adams. Entertainment was provided by graffiti artists and musicians, including DJ Money and Niqé.

Much of the focus of the event was on equality and human rights, and the broader initiative will push these themes in an effort to reverse AIDS-related stigma. According to the new UNAIDS report, minority youth and gay men are particularly at risk of infection:

• There are nearly 5 million young people living with HIV in the  world. About 2400 young people become infected with HIV each day.
• Awareness about HIV is low among young people—only 24% of young women and 36% of young men have adequeate basic information about HIV.
• Young women 15-24 old are most vulnerable to HIV infection, with infection rates twice as high as among men of the same age.

“The International AIDS Conference is a big deal because HIV in DC is a big deal,” said Leonard, 16 years, a participant in the event from Northwest DC. “Hopefully since people from all over the world will be involved, people will recognize how bad it is in DC and the rest of the world and pay attention to our epidemic.”

NBA legend Magic Johnson, who has lived with the disease since the early 1990s, echoed the sentiment. “In the fight against AIDS in America, young people from minority communities need to be on the front lines, “he said. “YouthScore and other programs that are raising awareness in economically challenged areas are vital.”

In addition to highlighting equality, Youth Score focuses on expanding access to HIV education, male and female condoms and resources for youth organizations that focus on the disease. As evidenced by the participation of Secretary Sebelius, the initiative will also seek out partnerships and collaboration with diverse sectors to ensure that young people’s voices are heard in discussions over policy and programs.

“The Obama Administration’s goal of an AIDS-free generation will only be reached if young people play a central role,” said Kathleen Sebelius. “That’s why UNAIDS’ efforts to give them a voice and the tools they need to be effective leaders in their communities is so important.”

Youth Score will eventually visit a range of countries around the world before culminating in Salvador de Bahia at the opening of World Cup 2014 in Brazil.

"No sport is more popular with global youth than soccer," said world-famous Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho. "Whether in Washington, Rio, or Johannesburg, soccer has the ability to act as an attractive platform to bring together young people and educate them about AIDS.”

Partners in the Washington DC event included the DC Department of Health, The Grassroot Project, Metro TeenAIDS, Soccer for Good, The Magic Johnson Foundation, Advocates for Youth, The World Bank, Ragball International, Youth Force, Monumental Sports and Youth Core.