Credit: StV-AT

On the 16 of September 2010, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations in Geneva, H.E Ambassador Reinhard Schweppe and UNAIDS Executive Director Mr Michel Sidibé signed an agreement for Germany to continue supporting the work of UNAIDS. Germany will provide a total of € 4 million over the next two years.

The continuation of cooperation marks an appreciation of the Federal Government for the work of UNAIDS,” said Ambassador Schweppe.

Credit: StV-AT

While Germany is one of the top ten total contributors to UNAIDS Mr Sidibé stressed that that the cooperation with Germany is not only based on funding. “This is a true partnership,” Mr Sidibé said.

GTZ, The German Technical Cooperation, is a key implementing partner on the ground in many countries with high HIV prevalence working directly with communities most affected by the epidemic.

The federal Government of Germany contributes more than € 500 million per year towards AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as well as work towards strengthening health systems, and is a strong supporter of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

UNAIDS Executive Director Mr Michel Sidibé addressed the audience of the 23rd edition of the TEDDY Award in Berlin on 13 February.
Credit: UNAIDS

UNAIDS Executive Director Mr Michel Sidibé addressed the audience of the 23rd edition of the TEDDY Award in Berlin on 13 February with a strong message: universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support must be accessible to all people who are in need—including men who have sex with men and other populations most-at-risk of HIV infection.

UNAIDS partnered with the organizers of the TEDDY Award to focus this year’s Teddy Topic on homophobia, human rights and AIDS.

The TEDDY Award is one of the longest running (since 1987) and most-respected international film awards for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The award is part of the annual Berlin International Film Festival commonly know as the Berlinale, which ended on 15 February.

At the start of the evening ceremony, Mr Sidibé engaged in a lively conversation with Dirk Ludigs, a well-known German journalist and author, outlining the work of UNAIDS and its partners in addressing the global AIDS epidemic.

Mr Sidibé stressed that countries can and should actively promote tolerance and inclusion, as well as confront homophobia and gender violence.

On the issue of human rights violations against sexual minorities, Mr Sidibé stressed that laws criminalizing sex between men drive the HIV epidemic underground, increasing the isolation of gays, bisexuals and transgender people and making them more reluctant to come forward to access HIV services.

Currently, 84 countries in the world have legislation that prohibits same sex behaviour. In the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, governments committed to removing these legal barriers and passing laws to protect vulnerable populations. Countries that have non-discrimination laws against men who have sex with men, injecting drug users and sex workers have achieved higher rates of coverage of HIV prevention efforts.

Mr Sidibé’s messages were fitting as many of the LGBT-themed films at this year’s Berlinale concentrated on stigma and discrimination, the impact of AIDS as well as other challenges LGBT face in society.

Mr Sidibé said UNAIDS will continue to place human rights at the centre of its agenda and protect and support the rights of the LGBT community.

Other special guests at this year’s TEDDY Award included the mayor of Berlin, Mr Klaus Wowereit, the Ambassador of Mali in Germany, Ms Fatoumata Sire Diakite, British actress Tilda Swinton, American actor Joe Dallesandro, Dr Gottfried Langenstein, the president of ARTE (the French-German public broadcaster), and several German politicians. The host of the ceremony was Annette Gerlach, head of culture at ARTE.

In addition to the Teddy Award ceremony, Mr Sidibé met with the German Minister for Health, Ms Ulla Schmidt, the Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Ms Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, several delegates from the German Federal Parliament, and representatives of the Berliner AIDS-Hilfe and the Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe, two NGOs engaged in HIV advocacy and policy in Berlin and Germany, respectively.

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UNAIDS and KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW) have entered into a new agreement to expand the reach of its cooperation

Four years after signing the first cooperation agreement to support the AIDS response in Central America and the Caribbean, UNAIDS and KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW) have entered into a new agreement to expand the reach of its cooperation to include parts of Africa.

The first agreement between UNAIDS and KfW – which finances development programmes on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) – was signed in July 2004 and focused on strengthening HIV prevention efforts in several Central American and Caribbean countries, such as Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Guyana. Initiatives included the distribution of affordable condoms and social marketing campaigns to promote behaviour change.

Through the cooperation, in 2006 alone, more than 20 million subsidized condoms were distributed and sold in the region. In addition, condom social marketing programmes have reached an estimated 750,000 people, mainly groups most at risk of HIV infection.

The renewal, which runs from 2008 to 2011, will broaden efforts to address HIV prevention and reproductive health in West and Central Africa.

“Our first cooperation agreement enabled UNAIDS and KfW to provide access to quality, affordable condoms and to promote HIV awareness through various campaigns – prevention efforts that made a difference in the countries where we worked,” said UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Michel Sidibe.

In the spirit of the previous framework, UNAIDS will continue to provide technical guidance for the initiatives and facilitate coordination among various stakeholders. KfW will further strengthen regional initiatives and enforce the regular information transfer between all parties. Jointly with UNAIDS, KfW will foster monitoring of the initiatives to improve transparency and detect opportunities and challenges.

“Enhancing the cooperation between UNAIDS and KfW Entwicklungsbank makes sense, as Africa is the continent that is by far the most affected by the epidemic,” said KfW’s Bruno Wenn, Senior Vice President Sub-Saharan Africa. “The activities by UNAIDS and KfW will increase the effectiveness of the AIDS response in Africa and elsewhere”.

About KfW
The German Development Bank finances development programmes in partner countries and regions on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Between 2001 and 2007, a total of EUR 443 million has been committed to activities focused on sexual and reproductive health and HIV prevention.

About UNAIDS
UNAIDS is an innovative joint venture of the United Nations, bringing together the efforts and resources of the UNAIDS Secretariat and ten UN system organizations in the AIDS response. The Secretariat headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland—with staff on the ground in more than 80 countries. Coherent action on AIDS by the UN system is coordinated in countries through UN theme groups, and joint programmes on AIDS.

UNAIDS’ Cosponsors include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank. Visit the UNAIDS Web site at www.unaids.org  

UNAIDS Special Representative Michael
Ballack participated in the “Goal4Africa”
all-star benefit football match Munich on
12 July to raise funds for education in Africa
Credit: Goal4Africa

UNAIDS Special Representative Michael Ballack participated in the Goal4Africa all-star benefit football match held at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on 12 July in honour of Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday. The event was lead by Goal4Africa Ambassador and international football star Clarence Seedorf and broadcast live in many countries worldwide.

Speaking at a press conference before the match, Ballack highlighted how educating young people about HIV prevention is crucial in the AIDS response.

Spectators, fans and television viewers
made donations for each goal scored by
their favourite player via SMS text message
and online on the Goal4Africa web site.
Credit: Goal4Africa

Ballack was team captain of the winning side in an all-star international game which included some of the world’s best football players including Zé Roberto, Gennaro Gattuso and Andriy Shevchenko and Formula1 legend Michael Schumacher.

Spectators, fans and television viewers made donations for each goal scored by their favourite player via SMS text message and online on the Goal4Africa web site. Funds raised will go to education projects in Africa

Michael Ballack, as UNAIDS Special Representative, reaches out to young people by educating on HIV and urging young people to make smart prevention choices.

As world Leaders joined in Berlin, Germany on Thursday 27 September to announce their financial pledges to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria for the next three years, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot underlined the United Nations commitment to “make the money work – to help make Global Fund grants as effective and beneficial as possible on the ground.”

“UNAIDS is an important partner to the Global Fund, providing essential support for its work,” he said.

In his statement to the participants of the Global Fund’s replenishment conference, taking place in Berlin, Dr Piot emphasized the urgent need for an adequately funded large-scale AIDS response now, in order to avoid even higher costs in the future.

“There are so many challenges facing the developing world that some may ask why fighting HIV is a priority,” he said.  “The answer is threefold – the cost in lives lost has been tremendous, the cost of saving lives will only increase as time goes on without an adequate response, and, finally, responding to AIDS is essential in order to address every other development issue worldwide.”

“The United Nations’ technical expertise, its experience coordinating with countries, and its understanding of working with civil society are key contributors to the work of the Global Fund,” he added.

Dr Piot’s intervention came during the pledging session, where the head of each delegation addressed donors prior to their pledge announcements.

Merkel: ‘Prioritize health, increase coordination’

Opening the day’s events, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke in front of an audience of heads of country delegations from around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Russian Federation, Australia and the European Commission. Also present were delegates from multilateral organizations, including UNAIDS and the World Health Organization, as well as donors such as (PRODUCT) RED.

In her remarks, Chancellor Merkel urged countries around the world to prioritize tackling the global HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria pandemics. She placed particular emphasis on the need for to increase coordination between bilateral and multilateral programmes, and expressed satisfaction about efforts such as the International Health Partnership, in which UNAIDS is a partner, launched on September 5 in London.

Merkel also called on business leaders in Germany and other countries to establish a new tradition of philanthropy in order to contribute to the Global Fund and other international health efforts. To that end, representatives from leading German businesses met on Wednesday with Global Fund Replenishment Chair Kofi Annan to discuss novel approaches to supporting global health programmes, including the Global Fund.

Other speakers at the opening meeting were Global Fund Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine, Board Chair Rajat Gupta and Vice Chair Elizabeth Makata, and German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul. The event was opened by former United Nations Secretary-General and Replenishment Chair Kofi Annan. In his statement, Annan praised the record of the Global Fund, saying that after five years, “we have a fund that is highly successful in spending money to save lives” and that “money channeled through the Global Fund is money invested effectively.”

Since its founding in 2002, more than 60 governments, private foundations, corporations and individuals have contributed more than US$ 11 billion to support the Global Fund. The Global Fund's total funding need for 2008-2010 is US$ 12-18 billion, necessary to support existing grants and fund critical new programmes to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Delegates are gathering in Berlin from 26-28 September for the second round of the Global Fund’s biennial meetings to raise funds for its programmes to provide essential HIV, tuberculosis and malaria services in developing countries.

Delegates from donor countries and international organizations gathered in Berlin on Wednesday 26 September to begin the second of the Global Fund’s biennial meetings to raise funds for its programmes to provide essential HIV, tuberculosis and malaria services in developing countries. The meeting, which runs through to Thursday 28 is being attended by a delegation from UNAIDS led by Executive Director Dr Peter Piot. The meeting will be chaired by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and co-chaired by Sven Sandström, former Managing Director of the World Bank. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will make remarks at the opening of the official portion of the meeting on Thursday, in which donor countries will pledge to make contributions for the Global Fund’s operations for the next three years.

In the lead-up to the pledges, a number of related events took place on Wednesday 26 including the launch of a new initiative based around debt-relief called "Debt2Health". The initiative uses debt conversion as a mechanism whereby a creditor or a group of creditors agrees to cancel a portion of a country's debt on the condition that the beneficiary invests an agreed-upon amount in a Global Fund-approved programme. The German government made the first offer to forgo repayment of 50 million Euros on the condition that Indonesia invests the equivalent of 25 million Euros in health through approved Global Fund programmess.

In addition, members of civil society came together with meeting participants to discuss their evolving relationship, and representatives from major health and human rights organizations discussed the scale-up of gender sensitive responses in health programmes.

Since its founding in 2002, more than 60 governments, private foundations, corporationsand individuals have contributed more than US$ 11 billion to support the Global Fund toFight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Global Fund's total funding need for 2008-2010 is US$ 12-18 billion. This money will be used to support existing grants and also to fund new ones to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Representatives of 27 European Union and neighbouring countries met in Bremen, Germany to discuss ways of strengthening political leadership in the response to AIDS. Over 600 people attended the conference which was organised by the German Federal Government as part of its 2007 European Union Presidency. UNAIDS Executive Director Dr Peter Piot spoke on the opening day about the epidemic in the region and actions necessary to curb the epidemic. The second day of the Conference included workshops covering many key aspects of the AIDS response in the region including presentations on human rights, migration, stigma, gender and issues concerning sex work, injecting drug use and men who have sex with men.

UNAIDS Executive Director, Dr.Peter Piot talks to Ms. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany at the 2007 European AIDS Conference in Bremen, Germany, 12-13 March 2007.

Ms. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany during her speech at the 2007 European AIDS Conference in Bremen, Germany, 12-13 March 2007.

UNAIDS Executive Director, Dr. Peter Piot during his speech at the 2007 European AIDS Conference in Bremen, Germany, 12-13 March 2007

Ms. Ulla Schmitt, Germany's Federal Minister of Health at the closing press conference of the European AIDS Conference in Bremen, Germany. 12-13 March 2007

UNAIDS Executive Director, Dr. Peter Piot visiting the UNAIDS stand with Her Highness Begum Aga Khan and Germany's Federal Minister of Health, Ms. Ulla Schmitt at the 2007 European AIDS Conference in Bremen, Germany. 12-13 March 2007.

UNAIDS Executive Director, Dr. Peter Piot met with the Ukranian Minister of Health, Mr. Yuyi Poliachenko at the 2007 European AIDS Conference in Bremen, Germany. 12-13 March 2007

Mr. Kevin De Cock, Director of the department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organisation at a workshop on the role of the European Union and the European States in the world-wide fight against AIDS, during the 2007 European AIDS Conference. 12-13 March 2007

Ms. Sophia Kistling, Director of the International Labour Organisation's programme on AIDS at a workshop on the role of the European Union and the European States in the world-wide fight against AIDS, during the 2007 European AIDS Conference. 12-13 March 2007

Ms. Nina Ferencic, UNICEF's Regional Advisor for AIDS in Central and Eastern Europe at a workshop on cross-border cooperation in Europe during the 2007 European AIDS Conference in Bremen, Germany. 12-13 March 2007

Ms. Dorothee Eckertz, World Bank Operations officer, speaking on lessons learned in harm reduction in the wider european neighbourhood at a workshop on human rights during the 2007 European AIDS Conference.

All photo credit: N.Wolff

UNAIDS Executive Director Dr. Peter Piot with Ms. Angela Merkel,
Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany

The northern city of Bremen is the setting chosen by the German Federal Government to host the conference of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union: “Responsibility and Partnership – Together Against HIV/AIDS”.

Germany has convened the conference as part of efforts to fulfil its pledge of making AIDS its top health priority during Germany’s European Union Presidency in 2007. The German Government has recently reaffirmed this commitment by announcing 400 Million Euros in 2007 for its action plan on AIDS.

The conference, taking place from 12-13 March, is expected to attract over 600 people from around Europe including ministers and representatives from 27 European and neighbouring countries. German Federal Chancellor, Dr Angela Merkel will give the keynote address and UNAIDS Executive Director Dr Peter Piot will speak on the opening day about the epidemic in the region and actions necessary to curb the epidemic.

The conference comes as a follow-up to the 2004 meetings in Dublin and Vilnius where groundbreaking declarations to step up political action on AIDS were signed by participating European ministers.

The second day of the Conference will comprise of workshops covering many key aspects of the AIDS response in the region including presentations on human rights, migration, stigma, gender and issues concerning sex work, injecting drug use and men who have sex with men.

UNAIDS Executive Director Dr. Peter Piot with Germany's
Federal Minister of Health, Ms. Ulla Schmitt

At the close of the conference the attending ministers of health are expected to sign a declaration reaffirming the commitments made in Dublin and Vilnius in a bid to increasing political leadership on AIDS on national, regional and international levels.

UNAIDS is currently coordinating a review of the 2004 meetings which the German Ministry of health is supporting financially, having recently announced 400,000 Euros for initiation of the project.

“ Germany is a valued partner of UNAIDS,” said Bertil Lindblad, UNAIDS Regional Director for Europe. “This is an important year for Germany as holders of both the EU and G8 Presidencies and its commitment to making AIDS its top health priority is not only a commendable decision but a truly necessary one.”

 

Ms Ulla Schmidt, Federal Minister of Health of Germany welcomes Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS

The emerging epidemics in Eastern Europe and Germany’s commitment to increasing HIV awareness were one of several topics under discussion with German Health Minister Ms Ulla Schmidt and Dr Peter Piot the Executive Director of UNAIDS. On his recent trip to Germany he also met with the Health Committee of the German Federal Parliament, the State Secretary and Parliamentary State Secretary, the National AIDS Council. Dr Piot also met with the Minister for Cooperation and Development, Ms Wiezcorek-Zeul to talk about the importance of keeping AIDS high on the agenda during Germany’s presidency of the G8 in 2007.

UNAIDS Executive Director was in Germany from 26-28 September to participate in a range of meetings to discuss ways forward and continued commitment to the AIDS response.

The visit kicked off with a meal at the Kaffee Graefe, a café in Berlin run by people living with HIV. The café is part of a project to train people living with HIV, particularly migrants, to give them skill sets which will help them to integrate more easily into the workplace. As well as the café there is a successful catering business where people are trained in cookery and catering, waitering and waitressing, and small business management. Dr Piot was joined for the dinner by representatives from the German AIDS organisations Deutsche AIDS Hilfe, Aktionsbündnis AIDS, Seutsche Siftung Weltbevölkerung, Deutsche AIDS Siftung and Positive Aktion, to exchange views and discuss AIDS related issues and concerns.

(left to right): Mr Gernot Erler, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, Germany; Dr Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director; Dr Christoph Zöpel, President of the German United Nations Association, Deutsche Gesellschaft für die Vereinten Nationen DGVN at an event organized by the German United Nations Association and the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.

Highlighting UNAIDS as a test case for UN reform, Dr Piot presented at an evening event organised by the German United Nations Association and the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.

On the last day, Dr Piot met with the Head of the Office of the Federal President and the Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development. He wrapped up the visit with discussions on ways of building on existing partnerships in countries with the Managing Director of the German development agency GTZ and German development bank KfW.

Related links

View photographs from Executive Director's visit to Germany
Kaffee Graefe