Sitting in his Mini Cooper, sporting traditional Bavarian lederhosen and a smart black waistcoat, Maik is a picture of health. It is hard to believe that nine years ago he was fighting for his life.

Maik is a 43-year-old engineer and test driver for a large German car manufacturer. He speaks slowly and softly, “Back then I didn’t think I’d ever drive a car again.”

Nine years ago Maik had left his doctors baffled. He had lost 30 kilos, and had become very ill. At the back of his mind, Maik knew he might have HIV—as a gay man he knew he was at higher risk of infection, but he was careful, and his last HIV test, 10 years ago, was negative. But he was worried. “I had the old pictures of AIDS in my head,” he said. “I was very scared.”

Despite the unmistakable symptoms, his doctor didn’t offer him an HIV test, but sent him home with throat lozenges for his mouth infection. “For me,” said Maik “This was proof enough that I didn’t have HIV.”

It was only when he was referred to a specialist that the possibility of HIV was raised and Maik was offered an HIV test. The results came back positive. Maik had HIV and his immune system was weakening. “I thought, I’m going to die because I didn’t have the courage to take an HIV test.”

At home he gave his partner the choice. “Either leave now or stay and watch me die.”

His partner stayed and Maik was given antiretroviral therapy.

Incredibly, just six weeks later, he was back at work. “I have been improbably lucky,” said Maik. He now works a full 40-hour week and makes time for sport.

Maik has shared his story to inspire and encourage others to test for HIV as part of the campaign by the German nongovernmental organization Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe to end AIDS in Germany by 2020. The campaign, Kein AIDS für Alle, aims to stop new HIV infections and ensure that by 2020 no one in Germany will develop AIDS.

“Ending the AIDS epidemic is within reach for Germany and ensuring that people know their status and can access treatment is critical to reaching that goal,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

HIV treatment has been available in Germany for more than 20 years, preventing the onset of AIDS and allowing people living with HIV to live longer, healthier lives. However, it is estimated that every year more than 1000 people in Germany develop AIDS because of late diagnosis or because they are not accessing treatment.

“There are many reasons why people don’t take an HIV test. Some think they’re not at risk, even doctors don’t always recognize the need to test for HIV,” said Silke Klumb of Deutsche AIDS Hilfe. “There’s also still a huge fear of stigma and discrimination in Germany. And, unfortunately, not everyone has access to HIV services; undocumented migrants, for example, are one group that is being left behind.”

The Kein AIDS für Alle campaign will inform people about the risks of HIV infection and show that a positive test for HIV is not a death sentence, but the first step to living a long and healthy life.

“Don’t wait until it's too late,” affirms Maik. “Get tested regularly. A positive HIV diagnosis is a dramatic experience. But you can live well with HIV, providing you get treatment.”

HIV is the virus that causes HIV infection. AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection.

The campaign will aim to eliminate stigma and discrimination around HIV and encourage members of key populations to access HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care services through innovative initiatives. There will also be support for doctors as part of efforts to improve timely diagnosis of HIV.

Deutsche AIDS Hilfe is an independent, non-profit association with 120 autonomous member organizations, including AIDS and drug treatment service organizations, HIV prevention projects, gay and lesbian centres and housing and home care projects. Together, they are committed to HIV prevention, treatment care and support and advocacy around HIV in Germany.

As part of efforts to achieve the commitments in the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS, UNAIDS is working to support community-led service delivery and build the capacity of civil society organizations to deliver HIV prevention, treatment and care services based on a non-discriminatory approach that respects, promotes and protects human rights. 

On 15 February, on the margins of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, UNAIDS launched the ProTest HIV campaign.

The event was held to raise HIV awareness among young people in Berlin and to engage them in the response to HIV through #ProTESTHIV and #GenEndit. It attracted young people from across Germany to engage with representatives of the German Government and the German AIDS organization AIDS Hilfe and with Kweku Mandela, AIDS activist and grandson of Nelson Mandela. The participants listened to the moving testimony of Bjorn Beck, the community representative of people living with HIV on the board of AIDS Hilfe, who not only inspired the audience but also reminded everyone why it is essential to keep younger generations engaged in the AIDS response.

The world has committed to ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Almost 37 million people around the world were living with HIV in 2014—half of whom did not know that they are HIV-positive.

HIV testing is key to preventing and treating HIV. UNAIDS is working with young people to ensure they have the right information and access to HIV testing, prevention and treatment services. By raising awareness through the ProTest HIV campaign, UNAIDS is empowering young people take action and make informed decisions.

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The German Healthcare Partnership (GHP) celebrated its five-year anniversary on 24 November in Berlin, Germany. GHP was founded in 2010 by the German Federation of Industries and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to strengthen health systems in developing countries.

Speaking at the event, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Luiz Loures pointed out that the AIDS response has been unique in terms of the partnerships it has created, bringing together political commitment, social mobilization and science. He also highlighted the added value of private sector engagement in public health and especially in the context of HIV, where it has made significant contributions in terms of innovation, technical knowledge and resources.

The event was also attended by Parliamentary State Secretary and Vice Minister of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Brigitte Zypries and Parliamentary State Secretary and Vice Minister of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development,  Thomas Silberhorn, who stressed that funding for development and cooperation is important, but that the private sector also needs to invest in improving health infrastructure, education and capacity-building, which are all key elements of health systems strengthening.

Mr Loures met with Tobias Bergner, Coordinator for the Foreign Policy Dimension of Global Health Issues for the German Foreign Office, and representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health. He praised Germany’s leadership on global health and its engagement with regard to global health architecture reform and encouraged Germany’s continued commitment to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

While in Berlin, Mr Loures also presented the 2015 UNAIDS World AIDS Day report, together with Elisabeth Pott, Chief Executive Officer of the German AIDS Foundation.

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L to R: German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Dirk Niebel, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, German Federal Minister of Health (BMG), Daniel Bahr.
Photo credit: UNAIDS/ C. Koall

“Health.Right.Now” was the theme of a one-day high-level conference held in Berlin on 21 November focusing on HIV prevention and human rights. Co-hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Ministry of Health (BMG), the conference was attended by more than 150 participants including representatives from German and international civil society organizations, networks of people living with HIV, ministries and the United Nations.

The aim of the conference was to discuss ways to overcome the barriers many key populations at higher risk of HIV infection encounter when accessing HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé delivered the keynote address at the conference. In his speech, Mr Sidibé outlined the progress made during the past year in HIV science, in particular the treatment for prevention approach as well as the leadership shown by countries, especially when adopting the 2011 Political Declaration on AIDS. He equally spoke on the challenges facing the response, from funding cutbacks to misalignment of HIV prevention programmes in many countries.

Mr Sidibe commended Germany for its effective and pragmatic approach to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, as well as its long history in overcoming stigma and discrimination.

“Germany has been at the forefront of the AIDS response by putting people at the centre of its approach to HIV prevention and treatment and addressing stigma and discrimination,” said Mr. Sidibé, in the presence of the Minister of Health, Daniel Bahr, and the Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation, Dirk Niebel. “Your participation here today shows your commitment to helping shape the destiny of the epidemic.”

In their remarks, the Federal Ministers expressed their concerns over the growing epidemic in Eastern Europe and called for a unified response.  

In a separate meeting with Federal Ministers Bahr and Niebel, the UNAIDS Executive Director thanked Germany for its support of the global AIDS response and its contributions to UNAIDS. Mr Sidibé presented an overview of the UNAIDS Investment Framework— intended to support better management of national and international AIDS responses— and plans to work with countries to ensure efficiency gains from the resources available.

The conference is part of the BMZ’s 50th anniversary celebrations, a year-long campaign assessing Germany’s engagement in international development and its future development policy.

On the sidelines of the conference, UNAIDS launched its 2011 World AIDS Day Report. Federal Ministers Niebel and Bahr and Silke Klumb, the CEO of Germany’s national AIDS organization, Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe, joined Mr Sidibé at a press conference to release the report.

More than 1 200 leading figures from the worlds of science, politics, economics and civil society are at the World Health Summit taking place from 23 – 26 October in Berlin to discuss some of the major challenges in global health today.

Under theme Today’s Science - Tomorrow’s Agenda five main issues are being addressed at the conference: the impact of climate change on health; the rapid increase in chronic diseases in developing and industrialized countries; the worldwide burden caused by mental diseases; vaccine strategies; and international health policy.

HIV featured high on the agenda as one of the greatest health crises of modern times. The urgent need to integrate HIV with other health services was stressed along with the importance of comprehensive and sustained access to health for the billions of people in need.

UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme, Paul De Lay gave the key note speech on the third day of the conference and outlined the need to successfully integrate non-communicable diseases with HIV.

“It is critical to scale up the response to infectious diseases to save millions of people,” said Dr De Lay. “This is where the AIDS response can help. Thirty years of innovation, expertise and highly developed service platforms can successfully inform and be integrated with responses for non-communicable diseases.”

Dr De Lay also chaired a working session on the role of new technologies in HIV prevention which looked at how the scientific breakthroughs of the past year have added to the set of tools available to stop HIV transmission. The session focused on how, by using the most effective set of actions within an enabling environment, numbers of new HIV infections could be significantly reduced.

“We are at a very unique time in the HIV epidemic,” said Dr De Lay. “The recent scientific advances are initiating some essential changes in HIV prevention and treatment. The main question now is one of implementation and scale up.” 

At the close of the summit a set of recommendations will be put forward to decision-makers from the relevant fields. Such recommendations will aim to address some of the urgent challenges in medical research, global health and health care delivery discussed at the conference.

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé met with a number of German ministers and parliamentarians on 8 February, including Dr Philipp Rösler, Germany’s Minister of Health.

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé held discussions with the German government on Tuesday on the future of the global AIDS response and asked for its continued support to keep HIV on the international development agenda.

In meetings with Guido Westerwelle, Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice Chancellor, and Dr Philipp Rösler, the Minister of Health, Mr Sidibé called on Germany to maintain its investments in AIDS. He also urged the country to play an active role in the June 2011 UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS, ensuring participation at the highest possible level from a range of ministries. Dr Rösler and Mr Westerwelle, in turn, expressed their interest in attending the meeting.

Mr Sidibé shared with the German Ministers his concern over the growing HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe and encouraged Germany to expand its support to this region. Between 2000 and 2009, the number of people living with HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia nearly tripled—from an estimated 530 000 to 1.4 million. The Russian Federation and Ukraine together account for nearly 90% of newly reported HIV infections.

While in Berlin, Mr Sidibé also met with a number of members of German parliament, including Gudrun Kopp, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Annette Widmann-Mauz, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry of Health. He briefed the parliamentarians on the status of the global HIV epidemic, the High-Level Meeting in June and UNAIDS’ strategy for the period 2011-2015.

In his discussions with German officials on Tuesday, Mr Sidibé raised a number of other topics, including access to HIV prevention for populations at higher risk of HIV exposure—such as men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgender people, and people who inject drugs. He stressed the importance of ensuring that trade agreements do not pose an obstacle to sustained access to AIDS treatment. Mr Sidibé also highlighted that AIDS funding is a shared responsibility, requiring increased and predictable investments from both donor governments and developing countries.

In 2009, Germany invested nearly US $398 million in the global AIDS response—the third largest contribution from a donor government after the United States and the United Kingdom. 

Michael Ballack, the captain of the German national football team and UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, has been awarded the famous German prize “sportler mit Herz,” or ”athlete with heart”, for his committed and outstanding work with UNAIDS.

The award was presented on 6 November 2010 before an audience of almost 3000 which included personalities from the world of sport, art and entertainment as well as national politicians.

At the reception, Mr Ballack said he was honored by the award, and accepted it on behalf of his UNAIDS colleagues.

“UNAIDS has a vision of Zero new infections, Zero discrimination and Zero AIDS-related deaths. This is a vision that I share and I am proud to be doing my part to help,” Mr Ballack noted.

A UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador since 2006, Mr Ballack along with fellow international soccer player Emmanuel Adebayor, focuses on raising awareness about HIV prevention among young people. As a role model for young men around the world, he has participated in a number of campaigns to raise awareness on how to prevent HIV.