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On 19 June 2024, the United Nations General Assembly convened to evaluate the progress made in the response to the AIDS epidemic. The yearly session provided a platform for Member States to reflect on achievements, confront persistent barriers, and chart a course forward towards ending AIDS by 2030. The UN Secretary-General’s progress report formed the basis of the debate. 

Member States celebrated the significant achievements towards ending AIDS, while highlighting ongoing challenges that must be overcome to reach the promise of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.   

The commitment to the 95-95-95 targets and the progress made in eliminating vertical transmission of HIV, especially through the use of decentralized community-based services, were highlighted as pivotal to the success of the HIV response.  

Many member states stressed the crucial role that promoting a human rights-centered approach has had in the fight against HIV. They highlighted the significance of comprehensive multi-sectoral responses, including education on sexuality and robust support for sexual and reproductive health and rights. They pointed to the harm of actions that undermine gender equality and LGBTQI+ rights. They emphasized the shared duty of every country to protect everyone’s human rights.  

The need for continued global solidarity and enhanced multilateral cooperation was emphasized as key to tackling the remaining challenges. Calls for increased domestic and international funding were echoed, noting that sustained investment is crucial to maintaining progress and for expanding access to innovative prevention and treatment options.  

The UN General Assembly annual review served as a poignant reminder of the collective responsibility to uphold the rights and dignity of all people affected by HIV. 

Inspired by the lessons learnt from the AIDS response, the upcoming Summit of the Future scheduled for September 2024 will explore how common challenges can be overcome. 

Against a backdrop of geopolitical shifts and economic uncertainties, the HIV response serves as a beacon of how multilateral solidarity saves and transforms lives. 

GENEVA, 6 March 2024— Ahead of International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March, UNAIDS is calling for the protection of women’s rights to protect their health.

The world is way off track to meet the gender, equality and HIV targets that are part of the Sustainable Development Goals. At the current rate of progress, it will take an estimated 300 years to end child marriage, 140 years for women to be represented equally in positions of power and leadership in the workplace, and 47 years to achieve equal representation in national parliaments.

In addition, around the world at least five women or girls are killed every hour by someone in their own family. One in three women worldwide experience sexual or gender-based violence.

Women who experience violence are more at risk of acquiring HIV. This risk is heightened for the 600 million women and girls who live in the world’s conflict-affected countries, facing an increased danger of sexual violence. And in the majority of the world’s poorest countries, the debt crisis is squeezing out investment in education, health, and social protection, particularly hurting women and girls.

Women are further threatened by the organized pushback against women’s rights. “Today, women’s hard-won rights are under a globally coordinated, ruthless attack. Those facing the most vicious attack are already the most marginalized women,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “The injustices faced by women are not natural disasters to prepare for, like hurricanes or storms. They are man-made, and, as such, we can unmake them.”

The good news is that across the world, women and girls are leading struggles for equality and rights. Women are standing up against oppression in their homes, workplaces, and communities. Women’s movements are providing direct support to women and girls who face violence, and marching and striking for equality. To protect women’s rights, it is vital to support and resource these community organizations, civil society groups and women’s organizations—the frontline defenders of those rights.

Like justice, health is never given, it is won.

UNAIDS’ call this International Women’s Day, is to protect women and girls’ health, protect women and girls’ rights. In doing so, the world will end AIDS, and will overcome the inequalities driving it.

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.

HARARE/GENEVA, 8 December 2023—The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima has been recognized as the ‘Most Outspoken Ally of the Year’ by Global Black Gay Men Connect for her extensive work advocating for the rights and well-being of marginalized communities. The announcement was made at the African Men Health and Rights award ceremony which took place today during the 22^nd International Conference on AIDS and STIs.

“I am deeply honoured, and I accept this award on behalf of all the human rights and social justice warriors tackling inequalities around the world today,” said Ms Byanyima. “I will continue to be your outspoken ally, promoting inclusivity, fighting stigma and discrimination, and championing equal access to healthcare and human rights for all.”

“Your tireless advocacy for the rights and well-being of marginalized communities, including the LGBTQ+ community, has not gone unnoticed, said Michael Ighodaro, Co-founder, Global Black Gay Men Connect. “Your dedication is truly commendable. Your voice has been an unwavering source of support and inspiration for countless individuals and organizations across the globe.

Gay men and other men who have sex with men continue to be stigmatized and marginalized, keeping them away from health and social services and rendering them more at risk of becoming infected with HIV and less likely to seek treatment. In 2022, HIV prevalence amongst gay men and other men who have sex with men was almost 13% in Eastern and Southern Africa and 8% in West and Central Africa.

Today 67 countries still criminalize same sex relations. Evidence shows that criminalizing LGBTQI people for who they are and who they love prevents them from accessing HIV services. Even when they can access those services, they cannot do so with dignity due to the stigma and discrimination they face, which further exacerbates their vulnerability.

Countries that do not criminalize LGBTQI people are more likely to reach marginalized communities most affected by HIV. In recent years many African countries have moved away from the archaic laws that criminalize same sex sexual relations. Since 2016, Angola, Botswana, Gabon, Mauritius, and Seychelles have repealed laws criminalizing LGBTQI people. Progress has been uneven however, and alarming backsliding on punitive laws has been seen in a number of countries.

“Movements like Global Black Gay Men Connect is on the frontlines of the HIV response around the world. We must safeguard their leadership role to end AIDS and create a more just and equitable world.” said Ms Byanyima.

GLOBAL BLACK GAY MEN CONNECT

Global Black Gay Men Connect is an international, social justice platform that brings together black gay men from around the world to foster resilience against oppression and to advocate for the human rights and wellbeing of marginalized communities, including human rights centered HIV prevention and treatment services.

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.

1 December 2023 

World AIDS Day arrives at a defining moment.

AIDS-related deaths have fallen by almost 70 per cent since their peak in 2004, and new HIV infections are at the lowest point since the 1980s.

But AIDS still takes a life every minute.

We can — and must — end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. 

Reaching this goal means heeding this year’s theme: Let Communities Lead.

The path to ending AIDS runs through communities.

From connecting people to the treatment, services and support they need — to the grassroots activism pushing for action so all people can realize their right to health.

Supporting those on the frontlines of the battle against AIDS is how we win.

That means placing community leadership at the centre of HIV plans, programmes, budgets and monitoring efforts. 

We must also remove barriers to community leadership, and ensure space for local civil society groups to take forward their vital work.

Above all, we need funding.

The AIDS response in low and middle-income countries needs over 8 billion dollars more per year to be fully funded.

This must include scaled-up funding for local programmes led by people living with HIV, and prevention initiatives led by communities.

AIDS is beatable.

Let’s finish the job by supporting communities to end this scourge in their neighbourhoods, their countries and around the world.

UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, joined women’s coalitions, government officials, development partners and community groups from across East and Southern Africa to launch the HIV Prevention Choice Manifesto. Led by the African Women Prevention Community Accountability Board and supported by the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW) East Africa and Advocacy for Prevention of HIV and AIDS (APHA), the Choice Manifesto advocates for choice in the HIV prevention options available for women and a commitment to expanding access to long-acting HIV health technologies. Further, these options should be people centred, women-centred and women-led.

In her keynote remarks Ms Byanyima focused on three key areas to making women-centred, people-centred prevention approaches work:

• tackling inequalities for girls and women;
• addressing unequal access to health technologies;
• and putting communities & women in the lead.

Ms Byanyima signed the Choice Manifesto on behalf of UNAIDS and committed to supporting and amplifying the voices of African women and confirmed that UNAIDS will continue to convene partners and government to find solutions.

GENEVA, 13 June 2023—The Executive Director of UNAIDS Winnie Byanyima has been presented with the prestigious Amsterdam Dinner Award 2023 for her activism and work to end stigma and discrimination around HIV. The annual Amsterdam Dinner, initiated in 1992, is the Netherlands largest fundraising event for HIV and has raised millions of euros to support HIV projects around the world.

Delivering remarks on behalf of Liesje Schreinemacher, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Loiza Lamers said, “The situation in Uganda makes clear once again that the struggle for equal rights is far from over and proof that the world needs more people like her and more than ever. I am proud that the Netherlands is her ally in this fight. Being who you are and loving who you love should never be a crime.”

“We are grateful that the Netherlands stands strong on LGBTIQ rights and the rights of women and girls and that you are our steadfast ally in this fight,” said Ms Byanyima. 

This year’s event shone a spotlight on work for women by women and highlighted the disproportionate impact HIV is having on women and girls. Around the world a young woman aged between 15 and 24 becomes infected with HIV every two minutes and in sub-Saharan Africa young women and girls are 3 times more likely to become infected with HIV than their male peers. 

Ms Byanyima is a fierce advocate for the rights of women and girls as well as for the rights of key populations most affected by HIV.  “I share this honour with thousands of passionate, fearless activists around the world who daily fight stigma and discrimination and defend the right to health of every human being. I share it with my UNAIDS colleagues,” said Ms Byanyima.

The event held on 10 June in Amsterdam raised 1.3 million euros for projects for women living with HIV in Mozambique and the Netherlands.

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.

To mark the 20th Anniversary year of PEPFAR, UNAIDS Executive Director has written a letter to the American people. 

You can read the text of her letter below. Click here to be able to view the actual letter.

Dear American friends,

When AIDS hit Africa it tore my continent. It was said in many communities that every extended family lost someone—it hit my family, too. The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, launched by President George W. Bush, and carried forward by every subsequent President and Congress, has changed that. It has saved millions of lives, pushed back a pandemic, and helped advance economic development and stability. It has shown, too, what it looks like when a country leads by demonstrating the power of compassion and partnership. PEPFAR is the greatest contribution made by any country to ending AIDS. Now, with the end of AIDS achievable this decade, the world needs PEPFAR to finish the job.

I was recently in Washington D.C., where I met with passionate activists from across America. They were there to advocate for the inspirational work of PEPFAR in meetings with members of Congress. Americans are rightly proud of PEPFAR’s contribution to the health and development of tens of millions of people around the world.

In the last 20 years, the U.S. Government has invested more than US$110 billion to support the response to HIV and AIDS in 55 low and middle-income countries with the highest burden of HIV. The results that PEPFAR has helped make possible are remarkable—the rate of new HIV infections has fallen by almost half, AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by two thirds, and three-quarters of people living with HIV are on life-saving medicine. Millions of deaths have been prevented, and millions of babies have been born HIV-free.

Through the global HIV response, PEPFAR’s work has strengthened health and community systems, delivering broader outcomes for health, economic and human development and equity, accelerating progress towards achievement across the Sustainable Development Goals. Annually, PEPFAR has provided support and services through more than 70 000 facility and community health clinics; 3000 laboratories and nearly 30 national reference laboratories, as well as more than 340 000 health care and community workers. PEPFAR’s investment in health systems contributes significantly to national surveillance and health information capacities, which were critical to national COVID-19 responses and remain crucial for managing future pandemics and other public health threats.

PEPFAR has demonstrated the invaluable role of community engagement and civil society for advancing health and sustainable development, from helping faith-based organizations providing essential HIV care and support services across Africa, to ensuring support for Ukrainian civil society as the front-line of the national HIV response throughout the war.

As an important part of U.S. diplomacy, PEPFAR’s unflinching commitment to stand up against discrimination and inequities in HIV services sends a powerful signal that the world needs to ensure that nobody is left behind if we are to end AIDS.

PEPFAR works through partnerships. I look forward to my upcoming joint mission in Africa with PEPFAR and the Global Fund. At UNAIDS, which works on the ground in over 90 countries, including all 55 PEPFAR partner countries, we see the difference PEPFAR makes every day.

Twenty years ago, President Bush launched the creation of PEPFAR by announcing that “seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many”. In 2003, U.S. Congress moved swiftly to authorize PEPFAR within weeks. PEPFAR legislation was reauthorized in 2008, 2013 and 2018, with the bipartisan leadership and support of the U.S. Congress. With the lives of tens of millions of people hanging in the balance, countries, communities and UNAIDS are confident that we can rely on the American people, and that the U.S. Government and the U.S. Congress will continue to demonstrate unparalleled leadership through support for PEPFAR.

What was once a dream, but which PEPFAR’s partnership makes possible—the end of AIDS by 2030—is a reflection of the values of the American people. So today I wanted to write to you to say Thank You.

Yours,

Winnie Byanyima

UNAIDS Executive Director

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations

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.

Today, on World TB Day, we must recognize the urgent need to end the TB epidemic around the world, especially among people living with HIV.

TB remains a leading cause of severe illness and death among people with HIV. According to the World Health Organization Global TB Report 2022, people with HIV are 14-18 times more likely to fall ill from TB compared to people without HIV. About one in three AIDS related deaths were in 2021 were due to TB.  We cannot allow this to continue. We must ensure that all people living with HIV and those vulnerable to TB have access to TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services.

We continue to miss opportunities to deploy the tools we have against HIV / TB co-infection.  Almost half of people living with HIV who developed TB in 2021 were not diagnosed or reported to have TB and coverage of TB preventive therapy among eligible HIV positive persons remains at only 42%.

Like in the responses to HIV and COVID 19, inequalities are the root cause making some people at higher risk of TB, due to social economic, geographic, gender factors and humanitarian and crisis situations. Legal and policy environments also affect access to health services for those who need them the most. We shall not forget that for any health programs to work, we need to put people at the center and engage beneficiaries, particularly the less served communities, to be part and parcel of the planning, implementation and monitoring the response.   

Today on World TB Day, I would like to call on all our partners to redouble efforts to ensure early identification, treatment, and prevention of TB in people living with HIV by scaling up the recommended screening and diagnostic tools, providing integrated quality treatment and care, rolling out short-course TB preventive treatments, and removing barriers that affect the smooth implementation of programs.

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.