The UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, has addressed the 43rd Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie on the centrality of the Francophonie in making progress towards the end of AIDS.

The assembly, which brings Francophone parliamentarians together annually to exchange views, learn about good practices and take a position on cross-cutting issues affecting the French-speaking world, met on 10 July in Luxembourg.

Nearly 600 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie and more than 20 presidents of parliamentary assemblies gathered for the event, which was held under the theme of “Linguistic diversity, cultural diversity, identities”.

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The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, has spoken out about the need for continued leadership in global health from the United States of America to end the AIDS epidemic. During a speech at the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) Capitol Hill Conference, Mr Sidibé said, “What scares me is the move to a conspiracy of complacency. People think that AIDS is done, that we can move on. Now is not the time to lose our momentum.”

Senior United States officials, researchers, implementers, policy-makers and advocates were present at the event, which was held to review the substantial progress in the response and what is required to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

The conference, Making AIDS History: a Roadmap for Ending the Epidemic, was chaired by Susan Blumenthal, amfAR’s Senior Policy and Medical Advisor and former United States Assistant Surgeon General. Speakers acknowledged the strong bipartisan commitment and leadership of successive United States Administrations and the Congress, which have saved millions of lives and made it possible to begin envisaging a world without AIDS. It was noted that cuts to international assistance, multilateral organizations and United States global AIDS programmes would have irreversible and devastating consequences.

Deborah Birx, United States Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, presented data illustrating dramatic results, including progress towards reaching the 90–90–90 targets among adults in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe and corresponding declines in new HIV infections.

“It is remarkable what we have achieved, bringing together governments and communities, with the support of UNAIDS and collaboration with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria,” said Ms Birx. “These essential partnerships make hard-earned United States taxpayer dollars go so much further and amplify our results.”

Mr Sidibé emphasized that partnership and global solidarity are paying off—in both economic terms and in the number of lives that have been saved. “The generosity and compassion of the American people has helped us move from despair to hope,” he said.

Kenneth Cole, Chief Executive Officer of Kenneth Cole Productions, Chairman of amfAR and International Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS, referred to commitments made by governments to Fast-Track the response to the epidemic and said that strong, continued United States leadership is essential to seizing the moment and dramatically scaling-up access to HIV treatment and prevention services. “We are at a tipping point and tipping points can go one of two ways—we have to end up on the right side. We have come too far to see 35 years of hard won progress grind to a halt,” said Mr Cole.

UNAIDS is leading global efforts to end the AIDS epidemic and is working with countries, donors, civil society and partners to increase action and Fast-Track the response to HIV over the next four years to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. 

Since its establishment in 2003, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has saved millions of lives. In 2016, around 11.5 million people living with HIV had access to antiretroviral treatment through PEPFAR-funded programmes, including 1.1 million children. Nearly 2 million babies born to women living with HIV were born HIV-free, and 6.2 million orphans and other vulnerable children received care and support.

In addition, PEPFAR funding supported more than 11.7 million voluntary medical male circumcision procedures to help prevent HIV acquisition and one million adolescent girls and young women were reached through the DREAMS initiative in 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

And PEPFAR is on track to continue to deliver yet more results. Through a series of consultations over the past three months, PEPFAR has completed planning for its 2017 funding cycle to support more than 30 countries through Country Operational Plans.

The final regional review meeting in the process—which involved around 250 partners, including senior government officials in implementing countries, civil society representatives and multilateral organizations—concluded on 29 April in Johannesburg, South Africa. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé addressed the opening plenary meeting, underscoring the vital role of PEPFAR in accelerating country efforts to control their epidemics and advance towards the goal of ending AIDS by 2030.

PEPFAR’s investments in countries supports UNAIDS’ efforts to Fast-Track the response to HIV. The Fast-Track approach focuses on accelerating scale-up of HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for the populations and locations most affected by the epidemic. The development and review of PEPFAR’s Country Operational Plans is a model for transparency, inclusion and country ownership, with senior government officials and people living with and affected by HIV involved in the process.

UNAIDS is a key partner, working closely with countries to leverage PEPFAR investments and accelerate progress towards prevention and treatment targets. Bringing together the diverse technical resources of the United Nations system, UNAIDS helps countries to strengthen data systems, focus national strategic plans, overcome bottlenecks to scale-up, and put in place an enabling policy and social environment for access to services, including by eliminating stigma and discrimination.  

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Victoria is a nurse who provides opioid substitution therapy (OST) to 50 people a day. The OST programme in Belarus started in 2007 as a pilot project with a grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Today, the programme has grown to 19 sites across the country providing OST to nearly 900 people; however, that is less than 5% of people who use opiates in the country.

Thirty-seven per cent of all people accessing OST in Belarus are living with HIV. Victoria says that OST helps people living with HIV who used to inject drugs to keep taking their antiretroviral therapy. People who are HIV-negative also rely on the programme to avoid HIV infection through injecting drug use.

The OST programme in Belarus is available to adults dependent on opioids. It includes the provision of methadone, regular medical check-ups, psychological support and the services of social workers. Eugene Halubitski has been the head of the OST programme at a clinic in Minsk since 2010. He provides medical and psychological support to many clients, including Sergey.

Sergey first enrolled in the OST programme in 2009. Since then he has found a job, got married and became a father. A 2014 study found that every US$ 1 invested into OST saves around US$ 6 from the consequences of drug dependence, such as crime, unemployment, the provision of antiretroviral therapy and AIDS-related deaths.

People who adhere to OST programmes come every day to a clinic to take a dose of methadone, which helps to alleviate their dependence on opioids.

The World Health Organization recommends increasing OST coverage to 40% of people who inject drugs in order to lower the number of new HIV infections.

The financing of harm reduction in Belarus is steadily transitioning from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to domestic resources. OST is almost completely funded by the state.

Thirteen years ago, Alexander took part in a rehabilitation programme. Today, he is a psychologist and helps others to recover from drug dependence through peer counselling, meditation and psychotherapy. His experience shows that a life free from drugs is possible.

During a visit to Belarus, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé‏ met with the staff and clients of an OST centre in Minsk, where he congratulated the work of the centre’s staff.

He said, “I can say with confidence that this is one of the best opioid substitution therapy programmes I have visited. It provides comprehensive and holistic serves which are people centred.”

Clients shared personal testimonies with Mr Sidibé. “They believe in their future now. The opioid substitution therapy programme respects people’s dignity and restores social capital,” he said.

He added that, “We see that the harm reduction programme in Belarus works and needs to be scaled up.”

The evidence of the effectiveness of harm reduction is the basis for a comprehensive package of interventions for preventing the spread of HIV and reducing other harms associated with drug use.

Photo credits: UNAIDS/Alexandr Konotop

The hotel InterContinental Geneva and UNAIDS have agreed to continue their partnership to highlight the urgent need to increase efforts to keep children free from HIV. At a signing ceremony held at UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, attended by the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, and the General Manager of the InterContinental Geneva, Jurgen Baumhoff, UNAIDS and the InterContinental Geneva committed to continue their Where History is Made alliance.

Where History is Made is a public–private partnership that focuses on ensuring that all children are born free from HIV, that their mothers have access to life-saving medicines and that all children living with HIV lead healthy lives. The collaboration has helped to raise visibility and new funds for UNAIDS’ work since 2013.

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Investments by the United States of America in the global AIDS response are delivering results

GENEVA, 1 December 2016—Upon the release of compelling new evidence of national AIDS programme successes in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, UNAIDS congratulates the countries as well as the United States of America for its consistently outstanding support to the global AIDS response.

New survey data released by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) show that Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe have all made important progress against the epidemic. The initial results from the three Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA) surveys are largely consistent with national data and UNAIDS estimates.

PEPFAR announced that the PHIA surveys, led by Columbia University’s ICAP programme, provide additional evidence that the epidemic is becoming controlled among older adults and babies in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The surveys also found that the three African countries have achieved viral load suppression among an average of 65% of all adults living with HIV. Estimates of antiretroviral treatment coverage derived from PHIA survey data are also largely consistent with UNAIDS-reported estimates of treatment coverage derived from health facility data and submitted to UNAIDS by national HIV programmes.

“These encouraging results are the fruits of a shared effort—the countries hardest hit by AIDS, working in close collaboration with the international community,” said the UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé. “The consistent bipartisan leadership of the United States of America is a major contributor to progress in the global AIDS response. The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is a critical ally in the drive to achieve the end of AIDS by 2030.”

Additional information on the PEPFAR report and UNAIDS estimates

Health services are being scaled up in many low- and middle-income countries. This has resulted in a substantial increase in the amount of personal health information collected in order to develop and maintain comprehensive health records of a person’s use of the services and to monitor and evaluate the use, cost, outcomes and impacts of programmes or services. Detailed personal health information is also needed to evaluate success towards achieving, for example, the 90–90–90 targets, universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.

However, if personal health information is not held confidentially and securely, people may be reluctant to use health services, owing to fear of being stigmatized or discriminated against. The confidentiality and security of personally identifiable information therefore has to be protected at all levels of the health system. In many countries, this will require the development and implementation of privacy laws and a confidentiality and security framework for protecting personal health information.

Based on the principles of privacy, confidentiality and security, UNAIDS and PEPFAR have developed an assessment tool and an user manual to support countries to assess the degree that the confidentiality and security of personal health information is protected at facility and data warehouse levels and whether national guidelines that include privacy laws exist.

Many countries are in the process of developing and implementing national health identifiers (NHIDs) to ensure that each patient has a unique identity within the health system. This facilitates the development of comprehensive medical records and allows users of services to be tracked across health-care sectors. The development and use of NHIDs in a country’s health-care system promotes the effectiveness and efficiency of data gathering, but their use further underlines the need to protect the confidentiality and security of personal health information.

While policy-makers and other stakeholders in several countries recognize the need to develop and implement policies for protecting the privacy, confidentiality and security of personal health information, to date few countries have developed, let alone implemented, such policies. A workbook has also been developed that can be used to perform the actual assessments in country to assess to what extent policies have been developed and implemented at facility, data warehouse and national levels. 

At a high-level event held on the margins of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States of America, the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) met with partners from the private sector, civil society and multilateral organizations to discuss how to improve access to sexual and reproductive health services and rights for young women and adolescent girls.

First ladies from some 20 African countries took part in the session, during which participants reiterated their support for the 2016 Political Declaration on Ending AIDS, which includes commitments to gender equality and reducing the disproportionate impact of the HIV epidemic among young women and adolescent girls. 

The first ladies heard from 14-year-old Hawaya from Chad, who at the age of 10 was married and faced violence from her husband on a daily basis. She escaped and found support just as Chad declared a ban on child marriages.

During the event the President of Namibia, Hage Geingob, joined the proceedings in support of his wife and the agenda for young women and adolescent girls. The First Lady of Japan and Yoo Soon-taek, the wife of the United Nations Secretary-General, were also present.

The Vice-Chairman of the China–Africa Business Council, Zhang Huarong, announced a donation of US$ 100 000 for OAFLA and voiced ongoing support for the first ladies’ mission.    

In his remarks, the UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, underlined the significant role played by the first ladies both at the national level and internationally, reiterating their transformative powers and UNAIDS’ commitment to continue supporting their work.  

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UNAIDS and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation hosted a high-level Congressional briefing in the United States Senate to increase momentum around an ambitious Super-Fast-Track framework—Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free. The initiative, which was launched by UNAIDS, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and partners in June 2016, outlines a set of time-bound targets to reach in order to stop new HIV infections among children, prevent new HIV infections among adolescents and young women and ensure access to antiretroviral treatment.

The Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free initiative builds on the progress made under the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive (Global Plan). The Global Plan made a major contribution to a 60% reduction in new HIV infections among children since 2009 in the 21 countries in sub-Saharan Africa most affected by the epidemic. Speakers highlighted the need to keep up the momentum, warning that complacency could reverse the important gains that have been made.

Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, brought attention to the need to increase access to treatment for children. He said that despite the treatment scale-up for children, which has grown twofold in the past five years and resulted in a 44% reduction in AIDS-related deaths among children, one in two children living with HIV still does not have access. Without immediate access to treatment, about 50% of children infected at birth will die by age 2.

Senators Edward Markey and Benjamin Cardin, honorary co-hosts of the briefing, and Congressman James Himes referred to the commitment of the American people through PEPFAR, and the important results that have been achieved through the strong partnerships with the countries most affected by the epidemic. Monica Geingos, First Lady of Namibia, expressed appreciation for the support of PEPFAR and UNAIDS in Namibia, and emphasized the need for continued engagement to address challenges related to HIV prevention, inequality and harmful gender norms. Namibia is a leader in the response to HIV and one of six countries—together with Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Uganda—that have reached 90% or more of pregnant women living with HIV with life-saving antiretroviral medicines.

Deborah Birx, United States Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, presented data illustrating dramatic recent achievements in stopping new HIV infections among children, and described evolving epidemic dynamics that demand new approaches so that the next phase of the response is successful in addressing the needs of the largest generation of young people the world has ever seen.

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, shared an overview of the science behind each pillar of Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free, showing that the world has the tools required to achieve the targets. Further innovations in treatment and prevention science hold the promise of accelerating the response by making commodities and services easier to access and use, and overall more effective.

Speaking in his capacity as a board member of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, former Senator Christopher Dodd reflected on the bipartisan political commitment behind PEPFAR and the courage demonstrated by a number of elected officials at a time when AIDS was considered to be a difficult and controversial issue. He emphasized that this commitment must be constantly reinforced until the vision of an AIDS-free generation is achieved.

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GENEVA, 20 September 2016—UNAIDS applauds all donors and partners for their demonstration of a strong commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). At its Fifth Replenishment Conference in Montreal, Canada, donors pledged US$ 12.9 billion of the US$ 13 billion called for by the Global Fund for the three-year period 2017–2019.

For the three diseases, the Global Fund estimates that the amount raised will save 8 million lives, avert 300 million infections and help build sustainable systems for health.

“The Global Fund is an essential partner to address the continuing epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Through an effective response to these diseases we can improve the lives of millions of people and simultaneously address poverty, inequality and discrimination. This replenishment is an enormous contribution to our collective ambition of ending AIDS.”

The new financial commitments represent a significant increase compared to the US$ 12 billion in pledges made at the previous replenishment conference. Private donors and innovative financing mechanisms more than doubled their pledges to the Global Fund compared to the last conference. Several new countries made pledges and others increased commitments, including Canada, Germany and Japan. In addition to pledging to the Global Fund, Côte d’Ivoire announced a pledge of US$ 1 million to support the work of UNAIDS.

In 2015, an estimated US$ 19 billion was available from all sources for the global response to HIV in low- and middle-income countries. Around 57% of resources were from domestic public and private resources and 43% were from international sources, including 23% from United States of America Government bilateral contributions, 9% from the Global Fund, 3% from philanthropies and the rest from other bilateral and multilateral sources.

To meet global targets to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, UNAIDS estimates that US$ 26.2 billion will be needed in 2020, around US$ 7 billion more than was available in 2015. 

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.