UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé congratulated the President of the Comoros, Ikililou Dhoinine, on the leadership he has shown in the AIDS response and on a new law his country recently adopted that further protects people living with HIV. Their meeting took place in Moroni on 24 July 2014.

President Dhoinine highlighted that the new law confirms that there are no restrictions on entry, stay or residence for people living with HIV and guarantees access to antiretroviral treatment for all, showing his and his country’s commitment to strengthening the protection of people living with HIV.

President Dhoinine and Mr Sidibé also discussed the role that the Comoros can play in the regional HIV response as a State member of the Indian Ocean Commission. Mr Sidibé encouraged President Dhoinine to advocate national ownership, regional solidarity and increased domestic investment to sustain the AIDS response.

During his three-day visit to the country, Mr Sidibé met with the Vice-President, the President of the National Assembly and the First Lady. Mr. Sidibé also visited a prenatal care centre and met with civil society representatives.

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MELBOURNE, 21 July 2014—Ten exceptional community-based organizations have won the 2014 Red Ribbon Award for their inspiring work in reducing the impact of the AIDS epidemic. They were presented with the prestigious prize in a special session at the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) in Melbourne, Australia. The Red Ribbon Award is the world’s leading award for innovative and outstanding community work in the response to the AIDS epidemic.

Community-based organizations have shown the world how to mobilize for change in the AIDS response and the Red Ribbon Award recognizes their transformative achievements.

“In villages and townships across the globe, communities have taken matters into their own hands and come up with innovative solutions to what often appear as insurmountable problems in the AIDS response,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “I congratulate the winners of the Red Ribbon Award 2014 for their courage, determination and dedication. Their leadership and cutting-edge thinking have brought us to where we are today.”

The 2014 winning organizations are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guyana, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kenya, Lebanon, Malawi, Nepal, Ukraine and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of). Almost 1000 nominations from more than 120 countries were received by the Red Ribbon Award secretariat, which is hosted by UNAIDS in partnership with other United Nations organizations, AIDS 2014, the Global Network of People Living with HIV, the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations and Irish Aid. A global panel of civil society representatives selected the finalists from a shortlist determined by regional panels. Each of the winning organizations will receive a US$ 10 000 grant and have been invited to participate in AIDS 2014.

At the Red Ribbon Award special session, the winners were congratulated by Epeli Nailatikau, President of Fiji, Nafsiah Mboi, Minister of Health of Indonesia, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Vice Minister of Health of Brazil, Dame Carol Kidu, former Member of Parliament of Papua New Guinea and Jan Beagle, Deputy Executive Director, Management and Governance, UNAIDS.

President Nailatikau said, “This award honours the incredible innovation taking place at the grass roots. I am proud to give this award to organizations whose actions in the communities they serve truly make a huge difference to people affected by HIV.”

The Red Ribbon Award was first presented in 2006 and since then has been handed out every two years at the International AIDS Conference. This year there were five award categories. The 10 winners are listed below by category.

Category one: Prevention of sexual transmission

Action pour la Lutte contre l’Ignorance du SIDA (ALCIS) is a community-based organization founded in 1999 to prevent sexual transmission of HIV among young people and men who have sex with men in the context of sex work. It is the only organization in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to organize sex workers and men who have sex with men into solidarity committees that represent a collective and cooperative entity.

Marsa Sexual Health Centre provides marginalized sexually active young people, women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI) and people living with HIV full access to sexual and reproductive health services.

Category two: Prevention among/by people who use drugs

Ehyaye Hayyate Sarmad is best known for its Red Ribbon Prison, which has provided treatment for drug users and organized workshops on sexual and reproductive health. Ehyaye Hayyate Sarmad is one of the first organizations in the Islamic Republic of Iran to work in the field of harm reduction and HIV in the prison system.

Dristi provides services and support to women who use drugs in Nepal. The organization is run by women who are former drug users and is dedicated to reducing the harmful impact of drug use through advocacy, treatment and support. 

Category three: Treatment, care and support

Life Concern Organization (LICO) helps to improve the health and development of marginalized and vulnerable populations in Malawi. Since February 2009, LICO has worked to empower and lead an engaged community that can make informed decisions in the Rumphi district of northern Malawi. 

Cherkassy Regional Branch of All-Ukrainian Network of PLWHA started as a self-help group to support the HIV-positive community. Over the past 12 years, the organization has worked to create systematic change at the regional level and to improve the quality of life through treatment, diagnosis and accompaniment for people living with HIV.

Category four: Advocacy and human rights

Society against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is dedicated to the eradication of homophobia in Guyana and throughout the Caribbean. SASOD has worked to repeal discriminatory Guyanese laws, change local attitudes about the LGBTI community and end discrimination in the government, workplace and community.

Perssaudaraan Korban Napza Indonesia (PKNI) is a leading national network representing the common priorities of 25 self-organized drug user groups across 19 provinces in Indonesia. PKNI was established in 2006 to address stigma, violence, discrimination and violations of human rights towards people who use drugs.

Category five: Stopping new HIV infections among children and keeping mothers alive, women’s health

Girl Child Counseling Women’s Group is a grass-roots women’s group that focuses on bringing together all community members to address the high rate of new HIV infections among women of childbearing age in Matunda, Kenya. The group vision is “A HIV free generation in the Matunda location.”

AC Mujeres Unidas por la Salud was created as a nongovernmental organization in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in 2003 and is led by 35 women. Over the past years it has become an organization of reference at the national level for women living with HIV as a result of their efforts. It provides spaces where women can receive counselling, information and support.

For further information about this year’s winners and the Red Ribbon Award, please see the Red Ribbon Award website at www.redribbonaward.org.

The 2014 Red Ribbon Award on Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redribbon2014/timeline

Twitter: https://twitter.com/2014RedRibbon

About the Sponsors

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 to maximize results for the AIDS response. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us onFacebook and Twitter.

UN partners

The UN partners involved in the Red Ribbon Award initiative bring together the efforts and resources of all UNAIDS Cosponsors and the UNAIDS Secretariat.

AIDS 2014

The XX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) is the premier gathering for those working in the field of HIV, as well as policy makers, persons living with HIV and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic. It is a chance for stakeholders to take stock of where the epidemic is, evaluate recent scientific developments and lessons learnt, and collectively chart a course forward. AIDS 2014 will be held in Melbourne, Australia from 20 to 25 July 2014. (www.aids2014.org). The International AIDS Society is the convener and custodian of the conference.

Global Network of People Living with HIV

GNP+ is the global network for and by people living with HIV. GNP+ advocates to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV. Driven by the needs of people living with HIV worldwide, GNP+ supports people living with HIV through their organizations and networks. GNP+ works to ensure equitable access to health and social services, by focusing on social justice, rights and more meaningful involvement of people living with HIV in programme and policy development – the GIPA principle. (www.gnpplus.net)

International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS

ICW Global emerged to look for answers facing the desperate lack of support, information and services available for women living with HIV. The organization promotes the leadership and involvement of women living with HIV in spaces where policies and programmes are developed and implemented and where the decisions that affect the life of thousands of people who live with the virus are made. The vision is for a just world where women living with HIV are leaders in HIV programmes and policy and realize their universal rights. They dream of a world where women, young women, girls, adolescents living with HIV have full access to care and treatment and enjoy all of their rights: sexual, reproductive, legal, economic and health, regardless of culture, age, religion, sexuality, race or socio-economic status. (www.icwglobal.org)

International Council of AIDS Service Organizations

Founded in 1991, the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations’ (ICASO) mission is to mobilize and support diverse community organizations to build an effective global response to end AIDS. This is done within a vision of a world where people living with and affected by HIV can enjoy life free from stigma, discrimination, and persecution, and have access to prevention, treatment and care. The ICASO network operates globally, regionally and locally, and reaches over 100 countries internationally. (www.icaso.org)

Irish Aid

Irish Aid is the Government of Ireland's programme of assistance to developing countries. Its aid philosophy is rooted in Ireland's foreign policy, in particular its objectives of peace and justice. The international development policy "One World, One Future" reflects Ireland's longstanding commitment to human rights and fairness in international relations and is inseparable from Irish foreign policy as a whole. The Irish Aid programme has as its absolute priority the reduction of poverty, inequality and exclusion in developing countries, with a strong geographic focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Improving access to quality essential social services such as health, education, services related to HIV and AIDS, and social protection is seen as key to the realisation of human rights, the reduction of poverty, hunger and inequality and the promotion of inclusive economic growth. (http://www.irishaid.gov.ie)

About the Red Ribbon Award

The red ribbon is a global symbol in the movement to address AIDS. The Red Ribbon Award, presented every two years at the International AIDS Conference, is designed to honor and celebrate community based organizations for their outstanding initiatives that show leadership in reducing the spread and impact of AIDS. The award is a joint effort of the UNAIDS family and as such, this year it will place particular emphasis on the organization's newly approved global priority areas of action.

The Red Ribbon Award was first given in 2006 and has recognized 85 organizations from over 50 different countries since then as leading community-based responses to AIDS. Such organizations lie at the heart of the response to the AIDS epidemic – displaying extraordinary courage, resilience and strength in addressing one of the greatest challenges of our time. Using creative and sustainable ways to promote prevention of sexual transmission, and prevention among people who use drugs, provide treatment, care, and support to people living with HIV and demonstrating innovation in the face of stigma and discrimination through advocacy and human rights, and stopping new HIV infections in children and keeping mothers alive, and taking care of women’s health, these examples of community leadership are showing us in practical terms how to reverse a global epidemic – one community at a time.

Law confirms no restrictions on entry, stay or residence and guarantees access to treatment for all.

GENEVA, 24 July 2014—UNAIDS welcomes new HIV legislation in the Comoros that protects people living with HIV from all forms of discrimination and reinforces an enabling legal environment for prevention, treatment, care and support programmes.

The new law, which came into force in June 2014, explicitly protects the free movement of people living with HIV and prohibits any restriction on entry, stay or residence based on HIV status.

Among other provisions, the law guarantees that HIV treatment is available to nationals and non-nationals living with HIV. It also ensures that people in prisons and other closed settings have access to HIV prevention and treatment services. Mandatory HIV testing as a condition of employment and termination of employment because of a person’s HIV status are prohibited.

“More countries need to follow the bold and inclusive example of the Comoros, ensuring that no one is denied opportunities because of their HIV status,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Comprehensive HIV prevention and treatment programmes, underpinned by an enabling legal environment, will help make it possible to end the epidemic by 2030,” he added.

With the recent clarification received from the Government of the Comoros, UNAIDS counts 38 countries, territories and areas that still have HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay and residence.

HIV treated as other chronic conditions in immigration health assessment.

GENEVA, 10 July 2014—UNAIDS welcomes confirmation from the Government of Australia that people living with HIV do not face an automatic exclusion, or unequal treatment when applying for entry, stay or residence visas. People living with HIV are treated similarly to other people with chronic health conditions and disabilities during the country’s immigration health assessment process. Applications for visas from people living with HIV will be assessed against criteria applying to anyone with a chronic health condition.

The announcement came ahead of the 20th International AIDS Conference, which will take place in Melbourne, Australia, from 20 to 25 July 2014.

“People living with HIV need equal opportunity to contribute to and benefit from today’s globalized world, where migration is increasingly important. Eliminating travel restrictions is not only a human right for individuals, it improves business prospects for communities,” said the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé.

UNAIDS advocates for the right to equal freedom of movement, regardless of HIV status. There is no evidence that restrictions on the entry, stay or residence of people living with HIV protect the public’s health. In 2012, more than 40 chief executives from some of the world’s largest companies signed a pledge opposing HIV restrictions, calling them discriminatory and bad for business.

As part of its ongoing dialogue with countries on this issue, UNAIDS has sent communications to all countries, territories and areas that appear to have HIV-related entry, stay and residence restrictions, and has raised the issue during official high-level visits. Australia has made important reforms to its migration health assessment requirements and procedures since the conclusion of a parliamentary inquiry on migration and disability in 2010, including an annual increase to the “significant cost threshold”, the elimination of the cost assessment related to health services for humanitarian visa applicants and improvements to increase the transparency of the health assessment process. These reforms were assessed against the criteria outlined by the International Task Team on HIV-related Travel Restrictions, co-chaired by the Government of Norway and UNAIDS,  and it was concluded that Australia had met the task team’s standard.

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 to maximize results for the AIDS response. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

The Burundian National Association of Support for People Living with HIV and AIDS Patients (ANSS) marked the twentieth anniversary of its creation on 4 July during a gala event that took place in Bujumbura, Burundi.

Created in 1993, ANSS’ mission is to promote the prevention of HIV transmission and to improve the well-being of people living with and affected by HIV. The ANSS was the first civil society organization in the country to provide HIV services to people living with HIV, including the distribution of antiretroviral therapy. At the end 2013, the ANSS was providing treatment to more than 6000 people in Burundi. From 2007 to 2013, the association provided HIV counselling and testing to more than 56 000 people as part of its HIV prevention efforts.

During the event, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé commended the leadership of the association and its key role in providing services to people living with HIV in the country. The President of the ANSS, Jeanne Gapiya, committed to increasing access to antiretroviral therapy in Burundi as well as to continue working to ensure that the rights of people living with HIV are respected.

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