UNAIDS is saddened by the death from AIDS-related causes of Patrick O’Connell. Mr O’Connell, who lived with HIV for nearly four decades, was the founding director of Visual AIDS.

Visual AIDS was founded in 1988 by arts professionals as a response to the effects of AIDS on the arts community and as a way of organizing artists, arts institutions and arts audiences towards direct action on HIV. The organization also assists artists living with HIV. Perhaps its most high-profile achievement, however, was designing the red ribbon worn by millions of people around the world every World AIDS Day, 1 December.

In 1991, Visual AIDS artists came together to design a visual symbol to demonstrate compassion for people living with HIV and their caregivers. Inspired by the yellow ribbons honouring American soldiers serving in the Gulf War, the artists chose to create a red ribbon to symbolize support and solidarity for people living with HIV and to remember those who had died from AIDS-related illnesses. The colour red was chosen for its, “connection to blood and the idea of passion—not only anger, but love, like a valentine,” the project founders said. The project became known as the Red Ribbon Project.

Mr O’Connell was instrumental in helping to organize the cutting, folding and distribution of thousands of ribbons around his home city, New York. He was part of the campaign to send letters and red ribbons to all the attendees of the 1991 Tony Awards in the United States of America, where actor Jeremy Irons stepped out on national television with a red ribbon pinned prominently on his lapel.

UNAIDS remembers Mr O’Connell for his vital advocacy work. The red ribbon, which today is a symbol of solidarity and support for people living with HIV not only in the United States but internationally, would not have existed without him.

100% Life, formerly known as the All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV, the largest organization for people living with HIV in eastern Europe and central Asia, is marking its 20th anniversary on 5 May. Those 20 years have seen it work on the most challenging issues of the HIV response in Ukraine, on health-care reform and overcoming stigma and discrimination and barriers to accessing health services.

The organization works to provide 100% access to treatment to 100% of Ukrainian people living with HIV. It strives to improve the quality of life for people living with HIV and promotes the rights and freedoms of people living with HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis C, including the right to self-determination and the right to make decisions that directly influence their lives.

Beginning with seven members in 2001, today it has grown to 474 members and 15 000 associate members. The first office was opened in Kyiv and now the organization unites 24 regional offices across the country.

In 2004, the organization, together with partners, prevented interruptions of antiretroviral therapy for 137 patients. At the end of 2019, 100% Life was purchasing HIV medicine for 113 000 people.

“Over the years of work, we have purchased 7 230 000 packs of antiretroviral therapy,” said Dmitry Sherembey, head of the 100% Life Coordinating Council. Think about these figures! Behind each of them is a saved life. We are grateful to all our partners who believed in us and continue to believe.”

In 2016, the first 100% Life medical centre was opened in Kyiv. Five years later, three more centres have been opened in Ukraine, in Poltava, Rivne and Chernihiv. These centres are the first clinics created by patients for patients, where services are provided free from stigma and discrimination.

“I have great respect for the struggle that the organization has waged against stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and other vulnerable people. It is thanks to 100% Life that the first opioid substitution therapy programmes for people who use drugs in Ukraine started, sex workers began to speak openly about their rights and people living with HIV had hope for a normal life, medical care and help from the state,” said Raman Hailevich, the UNAIDS Country Director for Ukraine.

In 2016, the organization received the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) award for the best partnership among the 40 countries in which PEPFAR operates.

The same year, there was a breakthrough in state funding of the HIV response, which was increased by 2.3 times. The success of the 20/50/80 transition plan is partly because of the efforts of 100% Life, which worked with the government and advocated for increases in the HIV budget, access to treatment and the optimization of health-care systems.

The struggle of 100% Life won’t stop. New problems come along that need to be addressed.

“We are now facing a new challenge—the COVID-19 pandemic,” added Mr Sherembey. “Our experience gained over the years of interaction with government agencies, partners and donors allows us to contribute to the common cause of the struggle. With the support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and USAID, almost a million pieces of personal protective equipment have been purchased for Ukrainian doctors and social workers, 200 000 tests for COVID-19 have been bought, equipment for oxygen stations at hospitals has been procured, information campaigns on vaccination against COVID-19 have been conducted, and much more is being done.”

The Gboklè/Nawa/San Pedro region is the second largest economic hub in Côte d’Ivoire and one of the regions most affected by the HIV epidemic. The region attracts many workers because of its important economic and industrial activities, mainly related to the port and agriculture, as well as sex workers and other members of key populations.

A joint United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/UNAIDS mission to the region from 16 to 20 April learned about the realities of the HIV response in the region in the context of COVID-19 and assessed how the response takes into account the needs of the most vulnerable.

The mission first paid a courtesy call on the region’s administrative and health authorities, and then quickly focused on the sites where services are offered to people living with HIV and key populations. In the health-care facilities visited, whether at the Regional Hospital of San Pedro, above, or at the health centre of APROSAM (Association pour la Promotion de la Santé de la Femme, de la Mère et de l’Enfant) nongovernmental organization, the mission team saw the commitment and determination of the health-care teams and the administrations of the facilities. “We have set up a quality assurance team within the hospital to guarantee services centred on the needs of each patient,” said Alexandre Kissiedou, the Director of the Regional Hospital of San Pedro.

The visit to APROSAM was one of the most captivating moments of the mission. During the visit, the mission team had in-depth discussions with representatives of a dozen associations, who had come to APROSAM’s headquarters to meet the mission delegation. Useful discussions took place with representatives of associations of people living with HIV and associations representing key populations, as well as with representatives of nongovernmental organizations working with young people.

“It is the first time that civil society is honoured with the visit of the country representatives of two United Nations agencies,” said Odette Koffi, the Executive Director of APROSAM, an association involved in the response to HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in the region. She also noted that civil society is truly committed to the HIV response but lacks the means to meet the needs of all.

“Income-generating activities are no longer working as they used to. Today we can’t even feed ourselves properly and we can’t take antiretroviral medicines on an empty stomach,” said Maya Rose Nean, the head of the local CERBAS association for women living with HIV, when describing how COVID-19 had impacted women living with HIV in the country.

Brigitte Quenum, the UNAIDS Country Director for Côte d’Ivoire, speaking on behalf of the delegation, underlined the vital work of nongovernmental organizations in the HIV response and praised the commitment of civil society organizations, people living with HIV and key populations. She said that a dialogue between UNDP and UNAIDS will address some of the pressing needs discussed with civil society. A donation of 400 food and hygiene kits was made by UNDP and UNAIDS to vulnerable people living with HIV and key populations.

The last day of the mission focused on human rights, with a visit to the Elan d’Amour reception centre, above, which offers temporary accommodation to people living with HIV and people who are victims of stigma, discrimination and gender-based violence, including people who come from remote areas for care and/or to collect their antiretroviral therapy. The delegation then visited a legal clinic supported by UNDP. These visits allowed the delegation to get a good understanding of the realities of human rights in the region, but also to understand their implications for specific HIV-related vulnerabilities. As a result of these two visits, the two agencies agreed to consider a joint project to better address HIV and human rights issues in the region.

For both teams, this mission was a success. The various needs identified will be the subject of concerted action either between UNDP and UNAIDS or by working with other Cosponsors that can provide relevant solutions.

Brigitte Quenum, the UNAIDS Country Director for Côte d’Ivoire, above left, met with the Prefect of the San Pedro department. 

Forty years since the first AIDS cases were reported and just weeks before the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS, the United Nations Secretary-General has released a new report with recommendations and targets to get the world back on track to end AIDS

NEW YORK, 30 April 2021—The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has warned that despite intensive action and progress made against HIV in some places and population groups, HIV epidemics continue to expand in others and issued a set of 10 key recommendations.* If followed by all countries, this will end the AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. In a new report, Addressing inequalities and getting back on track to end AIDS by 2030, the United Nations Secretary-General urges the world to address the inequalities that are slowing progress. 

“It is imperative to break out of an increasingly costly and unsustainable cycle of achieving some progress against HIV but ultimately not enough to bring about an end to the pandemic,” said Mr Guterres in the report. “Inequalities are the key reason why the 2020 global targets were missed. By ending inequalities, transformative outcomes can be achieved for people living with HIV, communities and countries.”

The global targets set out in the General Assembly’s 2016 Political Declaration on Ending AIDS were missed by a long way, allowing the AIDS pandemic to grow in many regions and countries. The staggering 1.7 million new HIV infections that occurred in 2019 are more than three times higher than the 2020 target of less than 500 000 new infections. In addition, the 690 000 AIDS-related deaths in 2019 far exceed the 2020 target of reducing deaths to fewer than 500 000 a year.

“Ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is still within reach—many countries are showing that rapid progress against HIV is possible when evidence-informed strategies and human rights-based approaches are adopted,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima. “But it requires bold political leadership to challenge and address the social injustices and inequalities that continue to make certain groups of people and entire communities highly vulnerable to HIV infection.”

The report notes that COVID-19 has caused additional setbacks. The United Nations Secretary-General warned that COVID-19 is not an excuse for missing AIDS targets, but rather a stark warning to the countries that they can no longer afford to underinvest in pandemic preparedness and responses.

At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the many spill-over benefits of HIV investments in health and development. Community-led service delivery pioneered by the HIV response is helping to overcome the extraordinary impediments created by COVID-19.

The set of 10 recommendations to get the world back on track include: addressing inequalities and reaching all people living with or at risk of HIV infection to reduce the annual new HIV infections to under 370 000 and annual AIDS-related deaths to under 250 000 by 2025; prioritizing HIV prevention to ensure that 95% of people at risk of HIV infection have access to effective HIV prevention options by 2025; and eliminating new HIV infections among children.

The report underscores that addressing social and structural factors that perpetuate inequalities is key. It highlights, for example, how gender inequality, underpinned by harmful gender norms, restricts women’s use of HIV and sexual and reproductive health services by perpetuating gender-based violence and limiting decision-making power, including the ability of women and girls to refuse unwanted sex, negotiate safer sex and mitigate HIV risk.

It also shows how vulnerable, marginalized and criminalized communities, such as gay men and other men who have sex with men, people who use drugs, sex workers, transgender people, prisoners and migrants, also remain at higher risk of HIV infection than the general population because they are not receiving essential information and HIV treatment, prevention and care services.

The United Nations Secretary-General describes how communities of people living with, at risk of and affected by HIV are the backbone of the HIV response. Initiatives led by people living with HIV, women, key populations, young people and other affected communities have identified and addressed key inequalities and service gaps, advocated for the rights of their constituents and expanded the reach, scale and quality of health services.

In the report, Mr Guterres applauds UNAIDS’ recently adopted Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026: End Inequalities, End AIDS. “The lessons from the countries, cities and communities that successfully fast-tracked their HIV responses over the last five years are at the heart of the UNAIDS Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026,” said Mr Guterres. “The global AIDS community and UNAIDS have used an inequalities lens to develop the strategy, with new targets that are ambitious, granular and tailored to reach the furthest behind first.”

The report comes 25 years after the creation of UNAIDS and describes how COVID-19 has exposed social inequalities and health system weaknesses. The United Nations Secretary-General says that the world should leverage the experience from responding to the AIDS pandemic to strengthen health systems across the world and improve pandemic preparedness. He also calls for enhanced global solidarity to close the HIV resource gap and increase annual HIV investments in low- and middle-income countries to US$ 29 billion by 2025. 

*The 10 recommendations in the United Nations Secretary-General’s report:

1.      Reduce and end the acute and intersecting inequalities that are obstructing progress to end AIDS.
2.      Prioritize HIV prevention and ensure that 95% of people at risk of HIV infection have access to and use appropriate, prioritized, person-centred and effective combination prevention options by 2025.
3.      Close gaps in HIV testing, treatment and viral suppression that are limiting the impact of HIV responses and achieve by 2025 the 95–95–95 testing and treatment targets within all subpopulations, age groups and geographic settings, including children living with HIV.
4.      Eliminate vertical HIV transmission and end paediatric AIDS.
5.      Put gender equality and the human rights of women and girls in all their diversity at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the risk and impact of HIV.
6.      Implement the GIPA (Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS) principle and empower communities of people living with HIV, women, adolescents and young people and key populations to play their critical HIV response roles.
7.      Respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of people living with, at risk of and affected by HIV and ensure by 2025 that less than 10% of people living with HIV and key populations experience stigma and discrimination.
8.      Enhance global solidarity to close the HIV response resource gap and increase annual HIV investments in low- and middle-income countries to US$29 billion by 2025.
9.      Accelerate progress towards universal health coverage and strong primary health care systems, build forward better and fairer from COVID-19 and humanitarian crises, and strengthen global health security and future pandemic preparedness.
10.  Leverage the 25 years of experience, expertise and mandate of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in building multisectoral, multi-stakeholder and rights-based collaborative action to end AIDS and deliver health for all as global public good.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Representatives of all stakeholders in the AIDS response came together virtually on 23 April for the interactive multistakeholder hearing ahead of June’s United Nations High-Level Meeting on AIDS.

Those taking part included people living with, at risk of and affected by HIV, representatives of Member States, parliamentarians, and representatives of local governments, civil society organizations, philanthropic foundations, academia, medical associations, the private sector, and broader communities. The objective of the meeting was to support Member States with the preparations for the high-level meeting through an interactive dialogue with communities, civil society and other key stakeholders.

In his opening remarks, the President of the General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, applauded activists for their work in reducing the impact of the HIV epidemic.

“Your participation here today is not taken for granted. I understand that many of you began advocating and organizing after experiencing loss, suffering, discrimination, and marginalization. I commend you for sharing your lived experience in order to create a better world for all. Your resilience is unmatched.”

In her address to the meeting, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima, said that it was the loud and persistent voice of people living with HIV and the communities most affected by the epidemic that had accelerated progress against the virus. Ms. Byanyima also underlined that the HIV response was closely linked to social justice issues.

“The struggle to end AIDS is inextricably linked with the struggle to end human rights violations, including discrimination and violence against women and girls and the marginalization and criminalization of people living with HIV and of key populations—sex workers, people who use drugs, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, and transgender people.”

Faith Ebere Onuh is a young woman who was born with HIV and a member of the Association of Positive Youth Living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (APYIN). When she was 14 years old Ms Ebere Onuh started educating other young people living with HIV about the importance of adhering to their HIV medication. She has become a mentor and a voice for the voiceless, speaking up for young people in Nigeria.

“As a young person, I have learned in my time living with HIV and working with my community that to reach the target of ending AIDS by 2030, we must work together, as a global community. While as various individual member states we may be making progress, globally we are still off track, and some regions like mine, West and Central Africa, continue to lag behind.”

Neville Gertze, Permanent Representative of Namibia to the United Nations and co-facilitator for the preparations for the 2021 High-Level Meeting on AIDS, said lessons learned in responding to HIV and COVID-19 could be leveraged to improve health systems.

“By taking on board lessons learned through HIV, fighting COVID-19 can aid in reimagining systems of health to accelerate the health-related commitments of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At the same time the HIV experience helps to inform COVID-19 responses, the unfolding response to the COVID-19 pandemic will undoubtedly yield lessons that can benefit both the HIV response as well as broader efforts to strengthen health systems.” 

There were four panels during the day to consider the following areas of the HIV response.

1. Equitable and equal access to HIV prevention, treatment and services.

2. Structural and social barriers to achieving HIV outcomes (zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths).

3. How to fully resource and sustain efficient HIV responses and integrate them into systems for health, development, social protection, humanitarian settings and pandemic responses.

4. Bringing it together: building synergies and addressing critical gaps.

A summary report of the interactive multistakeholder hearing will be available on the  President of the General Assembly website prior to the United Nations High-Level Meeting on AIDS, which takes place from 8 to 10 June 2021.

More than 150 civil society representatives from 17 countries in Asia and the Pacific joined the first virtual regional consultation on the upcoming United Nations High-Level Meeting on AIDS.

“Your views are important. We need them, and they really matter for the success of the political declaration,” said Mitch Fifield, Australia’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and one of the two co-facilitators for the high-level meeting process, in his opening remarks. He also spoke about the valuable contributions of the participants to the high-level meeting and the critical role of communities in the HIV response.

The consultation was an opportunity for civil society organization leaders to take stock of the progress made and the challenges facing the HIV response in the region. It fostered cross-sharing of different expectations of the high-level meeting, allowing civil society organization representatives to share what they see as important for inclusion in the political declaration and to collect inputs to be shared with the multistakeholder task force in preparation for the multistakeholder hearing.

Asia and the Pacific has the second largest regional epidemic after Africa, with 300 000 new HIV infections in 2019. Key populations and their partners accounted for an estimated 98% of new HIV infections, and more than one quarter of new HIV infections were among young people (aged 15 to 24 years). At present, in Asia and the Pacific 160 000 people die from AIDS-related illnesses every year because they do not receive life-saving treatment in time, or the quality of care is insufficient. Nearly 2.3 million people living with HIV, or 40%, are not on treatment, signifying a need to increase treatment coverage.

The participants at the consultation stressed that the new political declaration should give prominence to the scale-up of HIV prevention and treatment efforts, including pre-exposure prophylaxis, self-testing, harm reduction services, same-day antiretroviral therapy, multimonth dispensing and comprehensive sexuality education. Strengthening health systems and the integration of HIV services with other health services, such as services for mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and tuberculosis, is seen as a priority for the next five years to ensure that no one is left behind. “To end AIDS, we must ensure universal, free and sustainable access to prevention and treatment services. The political declaration should be built on the last milestones, especially the Declaration on Universal Health Coverage,” said a civil society organization leader.

Community members recognized that policy and legal barriers, including the criminalization of sex work, consensual same-sex sexual relations and drug use, are deterring people living with HIV and key populations from accessing health services and undermining efforts to end AIDS. “Sex work and drug use are not crimes but a part of life for many. This should be strongly stated in the political declaration,” said one participant. Key population leaders made a strong statement about removing harmful laws, policies and practices towards key populations. They highlighted the need to strengthen the legal and policy environment to protect key populations and vulnerable groups from stigma, discrimination and violence. 

Current investments in the HIV response in the region reflect inadequate HIV financing, particularly for key population programming. Civil society organization leaders agreed that to ensure the sustainability of HIV programmes, increased political commitment for domestic funding and financing for communities and key populations programmes are critical. “Investments in HIV must be anchored on the principles of equity, social justice and accountability. These should include investments to support people-centred approaches to health service delivery where services are differentiated but integrated,” said another community representative.

The participants also considered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities in the region. The diversion of resources and health workers to respond to the more immediate COVID-19 pandemic presents a real risk, threatening the hard-fought-for gains of the HIV response. “We should ensure that the focus on HIV remains strong while dealing with COVID-19, and regular HIV services and uninterrupted supply of antiretroviral therapy should be guaranteed,” said a community leader. Communities also stressed the importance of a new political declaration that considers how COVID-19 has impacted community-led responses to HIV. “There should be financial commitments, a crisis fund or financial safety networks for key populations because they suffered immensely during the COVID-19 pandemic,” one participant said.

Throughout the consultation, the first and foremost demand has been for inclusiveness of key populations in decision-making. “If key populations and people living with HIV are not included in the highest level of decision-making, we will never end inequalities,” said another participant.  “Empowerment of communities is integral to strong and resilient health systems. It is important to enable the meaningful engagement of civil society organizations at all levels of programming, including policy development, service delivery, monitoring and evidence-generation,” said another participant.

The main points from the consultation will be synthesized into a regional civil society statement that captures the main priorities and demands of communities for the 2021 political declaration. Likewise, recently, UNAIDS Asia–Pacific launched a social media campaign to encourage key actors, governments, donors, stakeholders, civil society, academics and influencers to make their voices heard in the lead-up to the high-level meeting on the needs and priorities of the HIV response in Asia and the Pacific.

The UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Asia and the Pacific convened the consultation in collaboration with Sonal Mehta, the Regional Director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation South East Asia, and Jules Kim, of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board nongovernmental organization delegation and Scarlet Alliance, representatives of the multistakeholder task force for the high-level meeting from Asia and the Pacific.

The HIV epidemic in the Middle East and North Africa is still growing—an estimated 20 000 new HIV infections in 2019 marked a 25% increase over the 16 000 new infections in 2010. The region is far from controlling its HIV epidemic and HIV treatment coverage is low, with only 38% of people living with HIV accessing HIV treatment in 2019, resulting in 8000 people dying from AIDS-related illnesses in the region.

Community-based organizations can play important roles in the region’s HIV response, but they are constrained in many countries by limited civic space and resources. In response, community leaders living with HIV have come together to launch the first regional network of people living with HIV, MENA Plus, to strengthen the community HIV response in the region.

“It is time people living with HIV have a network where they make their own decisions and get our rights without stigma and discrimination,” said Amina Ibrahim (not her real name), a member of MENA Plus from Egypt.

With a vision of a society where people living with HIV live with respect and dignity, enjoy their full rights and have equal opportunities, MENA Plus aims to enhance the leadership, representation and effective engagement of people living with HIV across the Middle East and North Africa.

“We need to discuss the suffering of people living with HIV, and especially of children living with HIV, and how to educate them about living their lives,” said Soumayya Abdelwafi (not her real name), a member of MENA Plus from Morocco.

The network will advocate for HIV treatment and prevention services in the region, the sustainability of HIV funding and ending vertical (from mother to child) transmission of HIV and new HIV infections among children.

MENA Plus will put a strong emphasis on human rights, campaigning on sexual and reproductive rights, sensitization on gender diversity and sexual orientation and the rights of minorities and key populations—vital for a region whose HIV epidemic is highly concentrated among key populations and their sexual partners.

“With diversity, we enrich networking and advocacy to help achieve rights,” said Souhaila Abdalla (not her real name), a member of MENA Plus from Tunisia.

Through enhancing the leadership, representation and effective participation of people living with HIV, especially in decision-making around health and social and financial programmes, MENA Plus aims to empower people living with HIV in the region.

“MENA plus is a welcome addition to our UNAIDS team of partners across the Middle East and North Africa. Our friends, family and colleagues living with HIV have shown remarkable resilience, determination and innovation in responding to the interconnected challenges posed by HIV and COVID-19 in recent years. Through MENA Plus, their work has the potential for even greater impact, as the new global AIDS strategy puts community-led responses at the heart of UNAIDS’ work,” said Shereen El Feki, Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for the Middle East and North Africa.

Following a public call for nominations, UNAIDS and the Programme Coordinating Board nongovernmental organization delegation has selected 16 representatives of civil society and the private sector from all regions to join the multistakeholder task force for the high-level meeting on HIV.

More than 560 nominations were received and the task force has been established with a broad and diverse expertise. There are at least two members per region. More than 50% of the members are women and 25% are under the age of 30 years. Six are openly living with HIV and all key populations are represented.

The United Nations General Assembly will hold its first high-level meeting on HIV since 2016 on 8–10 June 2021. In the run-up to the meeting, before the end of April 2021, an interactive multistakeholder hearing will be held with the participation of communities and other stakeholders, who will also participate in other activities before and during the high-level meeting itself. The task force will advise UNAIDS on the format, theme and programme of the multistakeholder hearing and will help to identify speakers for the hearing and high-level meeting plenary and panel discussions.

Multistakeholder task force members

Andrew Spieldenner, US PLHIV Caucus and MPact Global Action, United States of America

Souhaila Bensaid, MENA-ROSA, Tunisia 

Aaron Sunday, African Network of Adolescents and Young Persons Development and Association of Positive Youth Living with HIV in Nigeria, Nigeria 

Adilet Alimkulov, Kyrgyz Indigo, Kyrgyzstan

Jacqueline Rocha Cortes, MNCP National Movement of WLWA, Brazil

Phelister Abdalla, Key Affected Populations Health and Legal Rights Alliance, Kenya

Aleksey Lakhov, Humanitarian Action and Coalition Outreach, Russian Federation  

Judy Chang, International Network of People who Use Drugs, Italy

Sonal Mehta, International Planned Parenthood Federation, India

Yasmina Chan Lopez, Red Juvenil de AMUGEN, Guatemala

Alia Amimi, International Treatment Preparedness Coalition–MENA, Morocco 

Jacques Lloyd, Afrique Rehabilitation and Research Consultants NPC, South Africa 

Severin Sindizera, Indigenous Peoples Global Forum for Sustainable Development, Burundi

Angela Lee Loy, Aegis Business Solutions, Trinidad and Tobago

Jules Kim, Programme Coordinating Board nongovernmental organization delegation and Scarlet Alliance, Australia

Gideon B. Byamugisha, International Network of Religious Leaders Living with and/or Personally Affected by HIV, Uganda

The Government of Equatorial Guinea has launched a new community-based campaign against COVID-19 with the support of UNAIDS.

The UNAIDS Country Office for Equatorial Guinea has been supporting the government of the country since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has supported testing and sensitization campaigns for people living with HIV and has now joined the new community-based campaign by providing the Ministry of Health with financial support to support volunteers and facilitate their travel. 

The first 10 days of the campaign will focus on Bioko Island and the campaign will continue on the mainland from the end of March. Since February, there has been an upsurge of new COVID-19 infections in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea. The new campaign will allow the health authorities to trace people with COVID-19 and quickly isolate high-risk patients in order to limit the risk of transmission. 

The Director-General for Hospital Coordination, Juan José Owono Okiri Nkogo, said, “After only two days of the campaign, we have already detected nearly 50 positive cases, which have been quickly managed and directed to the reference centres.”

Justino Obama, the President of the National Committee for the Fight against COVID-19, praised UNAIDS’ efforts. “Equatorial Guinea thanks the UNAIDS office for this support,” he said.

“As with HIV, our most effective weapons against COVID-19 are solidarity and responsibility. Thanks to them, we will win the battle against COVID-19,” said Jeanne Seck Ndeng, the UNAIDS Country Director for Equatorial Guinea.