Resources and funding

GENEVA, 15 October 2024—The Spanish government has today announced a further € 1 million contribution to UNAIDS to support its work to end AIDS by 2030 as part of Sustainable Development Goals. The announcement was made following a meeting between Spain’s Minister of Health Mónica García Gómez and the Executive Director of UNAIDS Winnie Byanyima in the country’s capital Madrid.

“We warmly welcome Spain’s commitment to ending AIDS,” said Ms Byanyima. “We are at a critical moment in the response to HIV, and the path global leaders take this year will determine whether the pandemic continues indefinitely or we end AIDS by 2030. Spain’s solidarity with UNAIDS and the global AIDS response, and its commitment to tackling stigma and discrimination, is testament to their determination to get the world on track to end AIDS and save millions of lives. Spain has set an example for the rest of the world.”

Spain is a long-standing champion of the right to health. During the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2023, Spain made the fight against stigma and discrimination associated with HIV a political priority. Spain also joined the Global Partnership for Action to Eliminate all forms of HIV-related Sigma and Discrimination and is moving forward with its implementation plan to eliminate stigma in health, workplace and education settings.

UNAIDS looks forward to continuing to strengthen its partnership with Spain to advance progress towards global targets, and to build a robust and rights-based response to end AIDS by 2030 and sustain the gains into the future.

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.

BEIJING, 15 July 2024 – The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and China signed two new Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) to advance joint strategic efforts to end AIDS in China and globally.

The first agreement was signed on 10 July by Wang Hesheng, Vice Minister of the National Health Commission and Administrator of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration (NDCPA) and Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, in Beijing. UNAIDS and China have agreed to deepen their collaboration to reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, within the context of China’s Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The agreement acknowledges China’s commitment to take a leadership role in the global HIV response including mobilizing partners and supporting efforts to end AIDS in middle- and lower-income countries. 

Mr Wang thanked UNAIDS’ for technical support and guidance around China’s HIV response, particularly in formulating HIV response plans and strategies, monitoring and assessment, as well as UNAIDS’ data collection and analysis.

“We expect to continue and further our cooperation with UNAIDS with this MOU,” he said. “The first steps will be to boost communication and coordination, and actively participate in global health governance.”

According to the agreement, NDCPA will make an annual contribution of USD$1 million to UNAIDS from 2025 to 2029, totaling USD$5 million, which includes increased core funding.

The other agreement signed in Beijing on 13 July with the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) addresses critical global development issues to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which includes promoting health and ending AIDS globally, especially in other developing countries in Africa and Asia Pacific.

Luo Zhaohui, Chairman of the CIDCA recognizes UNAIDS’ leadership in the global HIV response and encouraged UNAIDS to apply for more Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund (GDF) to address the HIV epidemic.

“Let’s work together to improve people’s health especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.” he said. "HIV is a new area for CIDCA but UNAIDS has a lot of experience so there is huge prospect to have more cooperation.”

As part of this agreement, UNAIDS and CIDCA will fund projects in developing partner countries through policy coordination, community engagement, capacity building and technical insight.

Since its founding in 2019, the CIDCA has provided steady financial support to UN agencies and developing member states. As highlighted at the annual Steering Committee of UNSDCF, 13 UN agencies mobilized more than US$ 100 million in South-South funding, predominantly from CIDCA, which assisted 85 partner countries in the areas of COVID response and resilience, social inclusion, agriculture, climate and energy efforts. Earlier this year, UNAIDS received the first GDF to support Iran’s upscaling of rapid HIV testing. UNAIDS is the second UN entity to sign a MOU with the CIDCA.

UNAIDS looks forward to deepening cooperation with China especially in South-South Cooperation and China-Africa cooperation in the areas of local drug production as well as supporting partner countries.

Ms Byanyima said, “Global South solidarity is the bedrock of the HIV response. It is only by standing together that we can end AIDS by 2030 and I welcome steps towards a deeper partnership building China and African countries.”

UNAIDS will also closely work with the African Union, the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Medicine Agency.   

Ms Byanyima’s week-long mission to China is her first to the country since she became Executive Director of UNAIDS.

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.

GENEVA, 24 June 2024— UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, and Executive Director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund), Peter Sands, signed a new strategic framework for cooperation and collaboration to end AIDS (2024 –2028). The agreement renews the organizations’ longstanding partnership and aligns ongoing collaboration with the most recent United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030.

“The longstanding partnership between UNAIDS and the Global Fund has been instrumental in supporting many millions of people living with or vulnerable to HIV to enjoy better health and well-being through improved access to essential services,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. “We at UNAIDS are excited to continue building our collaboration with the Global Fund as we head toward our common goal of ending AIDS.”

The new strategic framework puts people and communities at the centre and aims to unite countries, communities and partners across and beyond the HIV response to take prioritized actions to accelerate progress towards the vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

“Our strong collaboration, especially at country level, makes a huge difference in the fight against AIDS,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Our counterparts at UNAIDS play a crucial role on the ground: they help put communities living with and affected by HIV at the center of the response and ensure that rights-based approaches are widely adopted.”

The Global Fund Strategy (2023–2028) Fighting Pandemics and Building a Healthier and More Equitable World is fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and UNAIDS’ Global AIDS Strategy (2021–2026) End Inequalities, End AIDS, which guides the global AIDS response. It calls on all actors to scale up and sustain global and domestic investments to achieve the strategy’s ambitious targets and commitments for 2025 as well as put the world on course to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

Collaboration under the new agreement will focus on reducing the inequalities that drive the AIDS epidemic and closing the HIV prevention and treatment gaps that are preventing progress towards ending AIDS. It will also prioritize people who are not yet accessing life-saving HIV services.

The common approach supports a renewed focus on primary prevention, addressing structural drivers of HIV infection and AIDS-related deaths, and challenging inequities and human rights and gender-related barriers to services including stigma, discrimination and criminalization. It leverages new HIV prevention and treatment modalities, precision public health approaches, as well as support synergies between HIV services and related areas of health. In addition, the framework continues longstanding support to strengthen countries’ capacity to measure their epidemics and monitor their responses, and act on the data to drive results. There will also be a push for countries to map out the longer-term sustainability of the HIV response through stronger health systems, better-integrated services for HIV, and more streamlined donor contributions.

The Global Fund

The Global Fund is a worldwide partnership to defeat HIV, TB and malaria and ensure a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all. They raise and invest more than US$5 billion a year to fight the deadliest infectious diseases, challenge the injustice that fuels them, and strengthen health systems and pandemic preparedness in more than 100 of the hardest hit countries. They unite world leaders, communities, civil society, health workers and the private sector to find solutions that have the most impact, and they take them to scale worldwide. Since 2002, the Global Fund partnership has saved 59 million lives. Learn more at The Global Fund.

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.

Debt restructuring and reforms to the global tax system are urgently required to finance health systems and other essential services

WASHINGTON/GENEVA, 16 April 2024—As financial leaders meet in Washington for the annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, UNAIDS is calling for increased and sustainable investments in the global response to HIV and other health threats.

“At a time of multiple geo-political and economic crises, the need to tackle the financial constraints threatening the global fight against HIV and other health threats has never been greater,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, “At their Spring Meetings in Washington, global financial leaders must find the courage to reject calls for more fiscal restraint and embrace measures that can release the necessary investments to save millions of people and transform the lives of the most vulnerable all over the world, including women and girls.”

As the world struggles to achieve many of the health goals set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda, investments in the HIV response have returned extraordinary gains for humanity. Since 2010, AIDS-related deaths have declined by 51% worldwide and new HIV infections have fallen by 38%.

But more than 9 million people are still waiting to receive HIV medication that will stop them dying from AIDS and there were still 1.3 million new HIV infections in 2022. Increased investments in the HIV response today are crucial to reach everyone who needs treatment and to prevent new infections that will only increase future treatment costs.      

However, there is a huge shortfall in the global investments required to end AIDS as a global health threat by 2030. A total of US$ 20.8 billion (constant 2019 US$) was available for HIV programmes in low- and middle-income countries in 2022––2.6% less than in 2021 and well short of the US$ 29.3 billion needed by 2025.

In many countries with the most serious HIV pandemics, debt service is consuming increasingly large shares of government revenue and constraining public spending.

In Angola, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia, debt service obligations exceed 50% of government revenues. Last year, in GDP terms, Sierra Leone spent 15 times more on public debt servicing than on health, 7 times more on public debt servicing than on education and 37 times more on debt servicing than on social protection. For Angola, debt servicing was 7 times more than investments on health, 6 times more than on education and 14 times more than on social protection.

UNAIDS maintains that reform to the global financial system including the cancellation of debt, the introduction of fairer and affordable financing mechanisms and global taxation reform is key to releasing transformative funding for health, education and social protection also required to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

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.

WASHINGTON/GENEVA, 15 April 2024—A new report released today by UNAIDS and Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria shows how countries are leveraging their HIV responses to both ensure impact on the HIV response and also to improve broader national health and well-being. The report finds that investing now to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 will not only follow through on the commitment to end the pandemic but also magnify the broader health benefits of HIV specific investments.

The report, Expanding the HIV response to drive broad-based health gains, profiles country examples from Colombia, Côte D’Ivoire, Jamaica, South Africa, Thailand and Uganda. Experiences in these six countries indicate that strengthened HIV responses have contributed to broader health benefits. Far from being in isolation, HIV treatment, prevention and care programmes are also helping to build more robust health systems that enhance access to people-centred care and bolster pandemic preparedness.

For example, the integration of HIV and non-HIV specific services is increasing access to holistic, comprehensive health services needed for people living with and affected by HIV. In Côte d’Ivoire, Jamaica, South Africa and other countries, service platforms originally developed to respond to HIV are leveraged to provide a broad range of health services, including prevention, screening and treatment of noncommunicable diseases.

HIV care is inspiring models of care in other areas. In Colombia, a model of care specifically developed for HIV is now being used for the provision of comprehensive, coordinated care for other chronic diseases, including diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Health system components strengthened through HIV investments are also improving a wide array of health outcomes in addition to those related to HIV and AIDS. In Côte D’Ivoire, laboratory systems strengthened through HIV investments are contributing to diagnostic services for multiple health issues, including maternal and child health, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis and COVID-19.

As progress lags in achieving many of the health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, efforts to end AIDS stand out as a beacon of hope. Since 2010, annual new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have declined globally by 38% and 51%, respectively.

Angeli Achrekar, Deputy Executive Director of Programmes at UNAIDS, said “This report highlights the need for more purposeful efforts by countries to identify and capitalize on ‘win-win’ opportunities that efficiently and effectively increase the reach of health services to accelerate progress towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 and to reach other health-related Sustainable Development Goals.”

The report concludes with a series of recommendations to further leverage the wider health benefits through increased and sustained HIV investments. It says that particular attention is required to maintain and further strengthen investments in robust, sustainable community networks of people living with HIV and key populations, including networks led by women and young people.

Chris Collins, President and CEO of Friends of the Global Fight, said: “The HIV response is a force for multistakeholder engagement, human rights-based programming, community leadership and constant innovation. These are strengths we need to bring to health services more broadly, including pandemic preparedness and Universal Health Coverage. But this catalytic role for the HIV response is only possible if governments, donors and communities invest adequately and commit to accelerated progress against HIV.”

To join the April 16 (09:00 ET/15:00 CET) webinar highlighting the report findings, please register here.

Thank you to the Elton John AIDS Foundation for its support of this project.

Friends of the Global Fight

Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria advocates for U.S. support of the Global Fund, and the goal to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. For more information about Friends of the Global Fight, visit www.theglobalfight.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.

UNAIDS needs to increase funding to just 1% of the US$ 20 billion HIV resources to effectively support countries in their goal of ending AIDS by 2030

GENEVA, 28 March 2024—UNAIDS is urging donors for a modest increase in funding to ensure that 35 countries can end their AIDS pandemics by 2025, five years ahead of the 2030 target. Current funding for UNAIDS is at US$ 160 million, less than 50% than the resources available in 2015. For maximum impact UNAIDS estimates it will need US$ 210 million annually which represents less than 0.02% of total health spending in low- and middle-income countries.

“UNAIDS has remained a steadfast and dependable partner, advocating and leveraging the strengths of the UN system to catalyze action, secure commitments, mobilize stakeholders, generate authoritative data, empower communities, address vulnerabilities, and tackle barriers,” said Ruth Laibon-Masha, Chief Executive Officer, National Disease Control Council of Kenya. “Let us seize this historic moment, where we are united in our consensus that we need UNAIDS to be fully functional as we have no doubt of the contribution of UNAIDS to global health and its centrality to ending AIDS as a public health threat. Kenya reaffirms our commitment to UNAIDS by honoring our pledge to contribute funds in 2024 and invite other implementing and donor countries not to be left behind by also increasing their contributions.”

UNAIDS projects that fully funding the Joint Programme would enable 35 countries to achieve the viral load suppression targets by 2025. That achievement would save 1.8 million lives, prevent 5.7 million new HIV infections by 2030 and establish a solid foundation for the world to end AIDS by 2030.  

“If UNAIDS was not there, we would all be asking for UNAIDS to be established. While we celebrate the progress we have made, we still need a very strong and well-resourced UNAIDS to continue to drive that progress.” said Ambassador John Nkengasong, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy. “A generational threat requires sustained leadership - sustained leadership that comes with the sustained commitment to provide financing for UNAIDS. So it is always our commitment from the United States that we make UNAIDS stronger and will continue to make UNAIDS that body that provides that Northern Star for all of us.”

“We rely on UNAIDS to support the voice of communities most affected by HIV in national HIV policies and decision-making processes as well as in efforts to improve access to services and address stigma and discrimination and gender inequity” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Ensuring that UNAIDS is adequately resourced is critical to achieving continued progress in controlling HIV.”

As Mary Mahy, Director of Data for Impact, UNAIDS explains, “Diseases go through a period of increasing new infections, and over time, after interventions are implemented, new infections start to decline and countries reach a point of disease control then elimination, and eventually eradication. But with HIV we have not achieved disease control globally and some countries are still in the increasing infections stage. So there is still a considerable amount of work to be done in the HIV response to achieve HIV disease control, elimination and eradication.”

In 2022, every minute someone died of AIDS, 4000 young women and girls aged between 15 and 24 became infected with HIV every week, and of the 39 million people living with HIV more than 9 million do not have access to HIV treatment.

“Pandemics tend to go through cycles of panic and neglect. But health security can only be delivered when we break these cycles and deliver and sustain the gains that we have made together,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “With a modest increase in funding, over the next two years, UNAIDS can support 35 countries in reaching the 95-95-95 targets – and help sustain the gains. This will be an outstanding global achievement.”  

UNAIDS has developed a value proposition which highlights three key messages for the 2024–2025 period: 

• We know how to end AIDS as a public health threat. Taking this path is a political and financial choice. 

• A modest investment in UNAIDS will deliver maximum impact at the national and global levels.
• UNAIDS is uniquely placed as the lead of the global HIV response. Investment in UNAIDS is vital to invest to end AIDS, fight inequalities and save lives.  

UNAIDS is leading on the HIV response sustainability agenda, supporting countries to ensure well resourced, people centred and human rights-based HIV programmes that are increasingly funded through domestic resources. The sustainability agenda encompasses political, programmatic and financial sustainability, developed in close collaboration with PEPFAR, the Global Fund and other donors, countries and communities.

The agenda will consider the implications of the growing financial and debt crises faced by many low- and middle-income countries which are also highly affected by HIV. Approximately 60% of the resources for HIV responses in low- and middle-income countries came from domestic sources in 2022, compared to 50% in 2010. UNAIDS has a critical role in ensuring that political, programmatic and financial commitments for the HIV response are sustained.

“We all want the Joint Programme to continue to lead the AIDS response towards 2030,” said Kenya's Ambassador to the United Nations office in Geneva and Chair of UNAIDS Programme Coordinating board Cleopa K. Mailu. “It is the priority we make to the vulnerable people who need our support to lead meaningful and full lives. We must be able to find a collective solution to close the funding gap. Any moment we spend speaking of unsustainable funding for UNAIDS is a moment lost to save a life, prevent a new infection or a death.”

By fully funding UNAIDS and drawing on the technical expertise and geographical reach of its 11 United Nations Cosponsors, UNAIDS can continue to strategically lead and steer the response to HIV, based on data, agreed targets and principles laid out in the Global AIDS Strategy 2021-2026. UNAIDS can maximize the return on investments made by governments, PEPFAR and the Global Fund, and work hand in hand with countries to end their AIDS pandemics by 2030 and ensure sustainability into the future.

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.

GENEVA, 28 February 2024—The French public international cooperation agency ‘Expertise France’ and UNAIDS have signed a new partnership agreement to fight stigma and discrimination in six western and central African countries.

The aim of the €1.92 million partnership called, "Community response to stigma and discrimination and legislative reform," is to promote access to inclusive HIV services that respect human rights for key populations, including men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers, transgender people and young women and adolescent girls in Benin, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Central African Republic, Senegal and Togo.

"Stigma and discrimination obstruct HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care, and hold back progress towards ending AIDS by 2030,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. “It is only by protecting everyone’s rights that we can protect everyone’s health, so by joining forces with Expertise France we can uphold rights for those in need in the region.”

In the six countries, key populations are disproportionately affected by HIV. In Benin, for example, HIV prevalence in 2022 was 7.2% among sex workers, 8.3% among men who have sex with men and 21.9% among transgender people—while the rate is 0.8% among the general population. In Cameroon, HIV prevalence was 24.3% among sex workers, 20.6% among men who have sex with men and 4% among prisoners—while the rate is 2.6% among the general population.

Anne-Claire Amprou, Global Health Ambassador for France, Ms Byanyima, Jérôme Bonnafont, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations and Jérémie Pellet, Director General of Expertise France, attended the signing ceremony at the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

"This agreement aims to reduce inequalities in access to care and treatment for populations most vulnerable to HIV in western and central Africa. France is thus making a commitment to global health alongside UNAIDS, in an approach based on equity, solidarity and development," said Mr Bonnafont.

Ms Amprou added, "Through this partnership, France is pleased to be able to reaffirm its commitment to strengthening healthcare systems, as well as combatting stigmatization, discrimination and gender inequalities in access to healthcare for the most vulnerable populations, by supporting for community-led efforts.”

As part of the Global AIDS strategy both France and UNAIDS are striving to improve legal and social responses to HIV with a particular focus on reducing gender inequalities and gender-based violence. This new initiative will also aim to reduce systemic barriers by promoting a more favorable legal framework that respects human rights and facilitates better access to legal services.

Jérémie Pellet, Director General of Expertise France said, "This partnership with UNAIDS embodies our commitment to supporting the most vulnerable communities and promoting a more just and inclusive society."

Expertise France via ‘L'Initiative’, an organization which helps national partners prepare and implement projects using funds from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, is funding the project. The funds complement efforts under the Global Fund's 7th round of funding, underlining the importance of coordinated action to remove human rights barriers to accessing health services.

Led by the UNAIDS western and central Africa regional office, based in Dakar, the project will be implemented with the support of the Civil Society Institute for HIV and Health, Alliance Côte d'Ivoire and Coalition PLUS.

Expertise France

Expertise France is the French public international cooperation agency. It designs and implements projects which aim to contribute to the balanced development of partner countries, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda and long-term development.

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.

L’Initiative

France created L’Initiative in 2011 in response to the difficulties that certain countries, particularly French-speaking ones, were having in accessing Global Fund grants. The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Expertise France, the government agency for international technical cooperation, oversee L’Initiative.

OSLO/GENEVA, 1 February 2024—At a conference hosted in Oslo by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, has made an impassioned call to all international partners to support women and girls from marginalized communities at the frontlines of the defence of human rights. Only by ensuring that the rights of everyone are protected can the world ensure that the health of everyone is protected, and that the Sustainable Development Goals are achieved.

In her keynote speech at the Rights and Resistance conference Ms Byanyima said, “We cannot separate sustainable development from human rights. We must put human rights at the centre of our development efforts. The AIDS movement, of which I am proud to be part, has been resolute in this. We have demonstrated how patriarchal, racist, and homophobic laws, policies, practices and norms undermine health and hurt everyone.”

She said that progress was in peril from a backlash on human rights but that hard-won gains could be protected and expanded by doing three things:

• Deepening our understanding of the pushback on human rights and democracy
• Bringing our efforts together and connecting the dots to link the struggles, thinking long term and being bold
• Backing and resourcing the people most impacted by the attacks on rights—foremost by supporting women and girls from the poorest and most marginalized communities

In her speech, Ms Byanyima underlined some of the gains made by human rights defenders in recent years through the leadership of women and girls and LGBTQ communities.

• 50 million more girls are in school than were in 2015
• Whereas a few decades ago, two-thirds of countries criminalised same-sex relationships, today two-thirds of countries do not criminalise them.

Opening the conference, Norway’s International Development Minister, Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, said, “We have an obligation to back those who risk their lives fighting for values that we take for granted. Norway will continue aiding those actors on the ground who stress the universality of human rights. We will support free and independent media, including at the local level. Finally, all Norwegian development aid shall be rights-based."

Human rights violations continue to drive the HIV epidemic among women and girls. Every week, 4000 adolescent girls and young women aged 15—24 became infected with HIV globally in 2022. 3100 of these infections occurred in sub-Saharah Africa.

Upholding the rights of marginalized communities is vital for enabling success in the HIV response. When marginalized communities are criminalized or stigmatized, their vulnerability to HIV infection increases, and their access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services is obstructed. UNAIDS research shows that the decriminalization of same-sex relationships is a crucial step in ending the AIDS pandemic.

UNAIDS is highlighting that the recent, well-coordinated and well-funded global pushback against women’s rights, against the human rights of LGBTQ people, against sexual and reproductive health and rights, against democracy and against civic space is not only a threat to everyone’s freedom, it is a threat to everyone’s health. In response to this threat, the AIDS movement and its allies are pushing back against the pushback, reminding world leaders of their commitments to uphold all human rights for all people.

UNAIDS is supporting frontline human rights defenders in both crisis response and in the longer-term work and is helping to expand support for human rights by demonstrating that laws, policies and practices which uphold human rights help countries to ensure public health and to get on track to end AIDS.

The UNAIDS Executive Director expressed confidence that the advancement of rights can be won. “Progress is not automatic. But if we are courageous and united, progress is possible,” said Ms Byanyima.

The full version of Ms. Byanyima’s speech (delivered at 12:50 CET February 1) can be viewed here.

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.