GENEVA, 15 December 2017—The 41st UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board meeting concluded in Geneva, Switzerland, on 14 December. The Board took note of the report on progress in implementing the UNAIDS Joint Programme Action Plan and the Strategic Resource Mobilization Plan 2018–2021 and called for additional contributions towards fully funding UNAIDS’ core Budget, Results and Accountability Framework.

The Board recognized the significant progress achieved by UNAIDS over the past months as an example of United Nations reform in action. The Board members welcomed the strengthened partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and expressed a shared sense of urgency to Fast-Track resource mobilization to effectively implement programmes.

The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, presented his report to the Board in the opening session, in which he highlighted the significant progress that has been achieved in access to antiretroviral therapy and in stopping new HIV infections among children.

Mr Sidibé also highlighted the need to do more to reach the people being left behind, including young women and adolescent girls, and to address the blind spot in engaging men. He emphasized that stigma, discrimination and criminalization must be confronted head on, as central to achieving UNAIDS’ vision for health and the Sustainable Development Goals. “We will not realize the right to health for all if we do not confront and eliminate stigma and discrimination,” he said. “The Sustainable Development Goals demand that we tackle health and development differently. UNAIDS continues to be a leader on this front.”

The Board noted the reinvigorated commitment to HIV prevention and reaffirmed the need to redouble the commitment to it, including through ensuring a quarter of funding for HIV prevention.

During the final day of the meeting, which was dedicated to a thematic session on discrimination in health-care settings, members of the Board gave their commitment to continue working to end stigma and discrimination. The nongovernmental organization delegation called for a global compact to eliminate all forms of stigma and discrimination.

The members of the Board reflected on the growing HIV and related health and human rights challenges in prisons and other closed settings. They shared examples of action being taken in their respective countries, while acknowledging the need to do more.

Argentina, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana were recognized for their recent financial contributions to UNAIDS, and China, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Sweden were recognized for their increased financial support.

An address made by Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland and current Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, recognized the important role that UNAIDS has played in advocating for evidence-informed, human rights-based responses to HIV, including in the context of drug use.

Representatives of United Nations Member States, international organizations, civil society and nongovernmental organizations attended the three-day meeting, held from 12 to 14 December, which was chaired by the Minister of Health of Ghana, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland serving as Vice-Chair and Japan as Rapporteur.

The UNAIDS Executive Director’s report to the Board and the Board’s decisions can be found at unaids.org.

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.

Board members unanimously approve US$ 484 million budget for 2018–2019

GENEVA, 30 June 2017—UNAIDS’ 40th Programme Coordinating Board meeting has concluded in Geneva, Switzerland. Important decisions were taken on redefining the ways in which the Joint Programme works to deliver results efficiently and effectively and continues to advance global efforts to end the AIDS epidemic as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Board affirmed the UNAIDS Joint Programme Action Plan as a way to progressively move towards a refined operating model. The Action Plan strengthens the coherence and effectiveness of UNAIDS’ support to countries and presents clear results and deliverables on joint working, financing, accountability and governance. The Board members also welcomed the final report of the Global Review Panel on the Future of the UNAIDS Joint Programme Model.

The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, presented his report to the Board, which centred around seizing the opportunities of change in order to deliver results. He talked about the importance of understanding a rapidly changing world, threats to global health security and the need to end AIDS by 2030.

“Ending AIDS is our imperative. We must not let the changes happening around us bend our trajectory or slow us down,” said Mr Sidibé. “We need to connect the dots across issues, mandates and organizations in new ways, confront obstacles with innovation and transformation, reinforce the centrality of community engagement, Fast-Track our efforts to reach everyone in need and leave no one behind.”

Mr Sidibé also talked Board members through the programme of reform he has led over the past 12 months to reposition the UNAIDS Secretariat and realign to support countries in a new political and financial environment while continuing to ensure maximum support for the work of the entire Joint Programme.

During the meeting, Mr Sidibé called on the Board to consider gender equality in the governance of UNAIDS. The Board invited all delegations to continue to encourage and support equal representation of women and men in the Board.

UNAIDS has increased the percentage of women in country director positions from 27% in 2013 to 48% in 2017 through the Gender Action Plan, an initiative championed by the Deputy Executive Director, Jan Beagle, who has been appointed as the new United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Management, a position she will take up in July 2017 after eight years with UNAIDS.

The Board approved UNAIDS’ 2018–2019 core budget of US$ 484 million. Attentive to the critical importance of a well-resourced Joint Programme, Secretariat and Cosponsors, the Board also encouraged donor governments to make multiyear contributions and release their contributions towards the 2016–2021 Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework (UBRAF) as soon as possible. The Board also urged UNAIDS to continue expanding its donor base and encourage new donors to make contributions towards the full funding of the 2016–2021 UBRAF.

During the meeting, important funding announcements to UNAIDS were made by Germany, which pledged to double its contributions to UNAIDS to €5 million in 2017 and 2018, and by Board Chair Ghana who also announced that Ghana would be doubling its contributions to UNAIDS to US$ 200 000, demonstrating Ghana’s commitment to advancing global efforts to end AIDS.

Ghana also announced that, despite facing persistent challenges, including funding and commodity gaps, it will be adopting the 2015 World Health Organization guidelines to test and offer immediate treatment to all people living with HIV in Ghana as part of efforts to achieve the 90–90–90 targets. Ghana is also stepping up its HIV prevention efforts and has trained more than 150 000 teachers in public schools to integrate HIV education into their lessons and has trained 300 000 children as peer educators across the country.

The Board dedicated the final day to a thematic session on the urgent need to scale up HIV prevention. Participants shared best practices from around the world, identified gaps and opportunities in HIV prevention programming and funding and looked at ways of expanding services to people at higher risk of HIV through scaling up primary HIV prevention programmes at the national and local levels.

Representatives of United Nations Member States, international organizations, civil society and nongovernmental organizations attended the three-day meeting, which was chaired by the Minister of Health of Ghana, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland serving as Vice-Chair and Japan as Rapporteur.

At the invitation of the Executive Director, Lorena Castillo de Varela, the First Lady of Panama and UNAIDS Special Ambassador for AIDS in Latin America addressed the board about her work on HIV in Latin America and towards achieving Zero Discrimination globally.  

The Leadership in the AIDS response address was made by the Chair of the Executive Board of UNITAID, Mr Celso Amorim. He emphasized innovation as key to progress on global health.

The UNAIDS Executive Director’s report to the Board and the Board’s decisions can be found at unaids.org

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.

The UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) has called for equal representation of women and men in all PCB delegations, at its latest session, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 27 to 29 June.

Tabled by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and seconded by Ghana, a decision point inviting delegations to continue to encourage and support equal representation of women and men in delegations to the PCB was adopted by consensus. The decision point came in response to a report by the UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, in which he highlighted gender equality and the empowerment of women as one of the core pillars of the Fast-Track approach to ending AIDS and a key priority in the repositioning of the Joint Programme.

The PCB members reflected that governing bodies are central to embedding gender equality in organizations and noted that this is an area in which UNAIDS can again demonstrate its commitment to gender equality.

The UNAIDS Executive Director noted how fostering a culture that empowers women within organizations leads to progress in parity. He shared results from the UNAIDS Secretariat Gender Action Plan, including an increase in women in country director positions (from 27% in 2013 to 48% in 2017) and an increase in the percentage of women in middle management and higher levels, from 44% in 2013 to 48% in 2017.

Gender parity on delegations of governing bodies has been strongly advocated by the International Gender Champions. UNAIDS and the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Co-Chair the International Gender Champions impact group on change management, which aims to identify and overcome institutional barriers that prevent women’s influence and advancement.

Quotes

The 40th meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 27 to 29 June.

During the opening session, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé gave an update on the status of the Joint Programme and the changes made in response to the recommendations of the Global Review Panel on the Future of the UNAIDS Joint Programme Model—an independent review requested by the UNAIDS Board during its last meeting.

Mr Sidibé also spoke about the progress made in the AIDS response and outlined the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in an unpredictable and changing political environment. He stressed the need to address the complex interconnected crises that are fragmenting societies by working across issues, mandates and organizations. He also called for the need to create a movement around the right to HIV prevention, similar to the existing movement for the right to HIV treatment. Mr Sidibé requested the Board to stay vigilant and help to break the conspiracy of complacency, because, as he stressed, AIDS is not yet over.

The Board also heard from the First Lady of Panama, Lorena Castillo de Varela, who was this year’s special guest. As the UNAIDS Special Ambassador for AIDS in Latin America, she emphasized the need to tackle discrimination and exclusion and to put human rights at the centre of the AIDS response in order to leave no one behind.

The thematic segment of the Board meeting will take place on the last day and will focus on HIV prevention. Participants will discuss the current status of primary HIV prevention, share best-practices, identify gaps in programmes and financing and develop strategies to reach people at higher risk.

The 40th meeting of the UNAIDS Board is being chaired by Ghana, with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland acting as Vice-Chair and Japan as Rapporteur.

GENEVA, 27 June 2017—The Government of Germany has announced that it will double its funding to UNAIDS in 2017-2018, to €5 million per year. Germany made the announcement at the 40th Meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board, being held in Geneva, Switzerland.

“With Germany, we have a common goal of ending AIDS and a shared commitment to strengthen health systems and improve the health and well-being of people across the world,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “We warmly welcome Germany’s support and its recognition of the important role that UNAIDS plays in ending AIDS and in broader global health and development efforts.”

“UNAIDS is an important partner for Germany’s health and development agenda, particularly in Africa. Increased investment in UNAIDS and the AIDS response will have a multiplier effect on the wider Sustainable Development Goal agenda,” highlighted Gerd Müller, Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany.

Germany has prioritized health on the global development agenda and under its current Presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) held the first ever G20 health ministers meeting in May 2017.

“Ending AIDS is a historic goal and I firmly believe we can reach it. We have to increase our joint efforts and UNAIDS is central to that work,” said Hermann Gröhe, Federal Minister of Health, Germany.

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.

The Global Review Panel on the Future of the UNAIDS Joint Programme Model has issued its final report, Refining and reinforcing the UNAIDS Joint Programme Model, which offers guidance on ways the Joint Programme can step up efforts to deliver more results for people living with and affected by HIV.

Around 100 participants, representing a wide range of stakeholders, including United Nations Member States, United Nations agencies and civil society, gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, on 28 April to discuss the findings and recommendations of the panel at a global multistakeholder consultation.

The panel validated the vision and model of UNAIDS, recognizing its irreplaceable value in the AIDS ecosystem and underscored its strong foundation of assets—among them, country presence, political legitimacy and UNAIDS’ role as an international standard-bearer for producing data and evidence that is used to drive decision-making.

In its report, the panel recommends that UNAIDS should continue to transfer human and financial resources to the countries most affected by the AIDS epidemic. Other recommendations include reconfiguring United Nations country AIDS teams to be more responsive to the specific nature of the HIV epidemic and to improve accountability, including by engaging a range of stakeholders at all levels in monitoring progress on the AIDS response.

By refining its ways of working, UNAIDS will be better positioned to fulfil its unique mandate of exercising political leadership, providing strategic information and supporting the engagement of countries with other partners, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The report details how UNAIDS could further enhance its support to countries in reaching the ambitious Fast-Track Targets by 2020—reducing new HIV infections to fewer than 500 000, reducing AIDS-related deaths to fewer than 500 000 and eliminating HIV-related stigma and discrimination—which were adopted by United Nations Member States at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS in June 2016. The report also recognizes UNAIDS as a model and pathfinder for progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and as an innovative joined-up approach at the cutting-edge of United Nations reform.

The Global Review Panel, requested by the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board, was set up to make recommendations for a sustainable and fit-for-purpose UNAIDS. It focused on three fundamental pillars of the Joint Programme: financing and accountability, joint working and governance. It was co-convened by Helen Clark, Chair of the United Nations Development Group, and Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director. The Panel Co-Chairs were Awa Coll-Seck, Health Minister of Senegal, and Lennarth Hjelmåker, Sweden’s Ambassador for Global Health. It undertook an extensive process of consultations with a wide range of stakeholders, including at the global and country levels. A revised operating model of UNAIDS will be presented at the Programme Coordinating Board meeting in June for consideration and approval, which will take into account the recommendations of the Global Review Panel.

Quotes

GENEVA, 20 April 2017—UNAIDS warmly welcomes the appointment of Achim Steiner as the new Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The UN General Assembly confirmed the appointment of Mr Steiner for a four-year term of office at UNDP beginning on 20 April 2017.

“AIDS continues to impact global development efforts and we look forward to working closely with Mr Steiner to build on the many lessons learned in responding to HIV to advance progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

UNDP is one of UNAIDS’ 11 Cosponsors and its work includes removing punitive laws, policies and practices that exacerbate gender inequality, stigma and discrimination and hinder effective responses to HIV. It also works to strengthen governance and coordination of national HIV responses to ensure maximum impact and efficiency in efforts to end the AIDS epidemic.

UNAIDS will work closely with Mr Steiner in his new role as Administrator of UNDP in addressing the wide-ranging social and economic impacts of HIV, ensuring respect for the human rights of people living with and affected by HIV and strengthening the synergies between health and sustainable development.

Mr Steiner was the Director of Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford in 2016, prior to which he held a number of international positions, including Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (2006-2016), Director-General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi (2009-2011) and Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (2001-2006).

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.

Ghana is the Chair of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) for 2017. The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, will chair the two PCB meetings in the year, with the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, addressing the meeting in June.

“As Ghana takes the position as Chair of the Programme Coordinating Board, we will certainly work hard to justify the confidence reposed in us. We are committed to working closely with UNAIDS to achieve our collective goal of making our world AIDS-free by 2030,” said Mr Agyeman-Manu.

UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Jan Beagle has visited Ghana to discuss the countries’ PCB chairmanship, as well as advances and challenges in the HIV response, with the government and other key stakeholders. Welcoming Ghana’s leadership on the PCB, Ms Beagle said, “As Chair, Ghana brings experience and energy to the Programme Coordinating Board. We are looking forward to Ghana’s leadership to drive forward the implementation of the UNAIDS 2016–2021 Strategy and to help us make the end of AIDS a reality.”

Ms Beagle’s visit to Ghana included discussions with the Vice-President of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia, the First Lady of Ghana, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway.

Ms Beagle also met with members of civil society, including people living with HIV, networks of widows, members of the United Nations country team and key development partners in the Ghanaian AIDS response.

Ghana has some 270 000 [230 000–330 000] people living with HIV and has made significant strides in its AIDS response through integrated multisectoral approaches. Results include a reduction of new HIV infections by 57% between 2000 and 2015 and of AIDS-related deaths by 33% in the same period, as well as the almost doubling of HIV testing among women since 2008.

Despite gains, overall HIV testing remains relatively low, in part owing to stigma and discrimination, but as more than 90% of pregnant women attend antenatal care, there are opportunities to increase levels of testing and treating all HIV-positive pregnant women. This could eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV (in 2015, some 2200 [1600–2900] babies were born with HIV in Ghana) and contribute to improving treatment coverage, which is currently at 34% [29–41%].

The Global Review Panel on the Future of the UNAIDS Joint Programme Model has launched a virtual consultation that will run until 15 February. The panel is seeking input on how the Joint Programme can be refined and reinforced to better support countries to end AIDS.

The online consultation is open to everyone to share their views.

The Global Review Panel is tasked with making recommendations for a sustainable and fit-for-purpose UNAIDS. The virtual consultation aims to give voice to a wide range of stakeholders and to encourage meaningful engagement on a number of questions on how the Joint Programme works. It will serve as a primary input for the panel’s report and recommendations.

The discussion forums of the virtual consultation are organized around the three fundamental pillars of the Joint Programme: joint working, governance, and financing and accountability. There is also one forum for general discussion about the added value of UNAIDS.

Quotes