Message from UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé

GENEVA, 17 May 2015—We are living in a time of rapid social change. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people are now reaching new frontiers and celebrating remarkable achievements.

Despite this transformation, acts of discrimination and violence continue against the LGBTI community.

We cannot tolerate picking and choosing rights in a modern society—a society where diversity is celebrated; a society where everyone, no matter where they live or whom they love, is able to live in peace and security; a society where everyone can contribute to the health and well-being of their community.

We can make this society a reality, but we will need global solidarity.

We did this when we fought against apartheid—and we won!

As we observe the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, I call on everyone to join the movement for social justice, equality and equity so that all people can live with respect and dignity.

This is the future I commit to—this is the future I embrace.

The man known as Geng Le, who launched Blued, the world’s largest gay dating smartphone application, was a respected police officer in China almost 20 years before he left the force in 2009 after fellow officers objected to working with him because of his sexual orientation.

Now Geng Le is the Chief Executive Officer of the Danlan gay men’s network, the non-profit organization behind Blued. During a meeting 6 May with UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé in Beijing, China, Geng Le pledged to expand Danlan’s HIV prevention programme.

Blued has almost 15 million users, mostly in China, but its popularity is growing outside the country. As a service to its users, it provides information on the risks of unsafe sex and the rights of men who have sex with men. Users are asked questions aimed at increasing their knowledge of HIV treatment, prevention tools and care options. In addition, they are pointed to locations where they can access HIV testing and counselling.

Geng Le said, “We are doing our best to use science and technology to improve the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, including their health. Our vision is that all young people can live in dignity, be free of stigma and discrimination and share love no matter where they come from, what they are doing, what their sexual orientation is and what their HIV status is.”

Mr Sidibé’s visit included a demonstration of the application and an online exchange with users.

Danlan runs a free HIV rapid testing outlet, which provides services to men who have sex with men in partnership with public health agencies. “Danlan is an example of an organization for the future. It protects the rights of people not reached by services, everywhere," said Mr Sidibé.

Danlan has organized campaigns against discrimination and gives technical support on web-based HIV prevention and treatment initiatives. It is expanding into other countries and is currently establishing offices in the United States of America and Thailand. 

The World Economic Forum has selected James Chau, UNAIDS National Goodwill Ambassador for China and television personality, to join its Forum of Young Global Leaders.

The Forum of Young Global Leaders is a community of young leaders from around the world who contribute fresh thinking, multi stakeholder engagement and dynamic new ways of collaborating to develop solutions to complex global issues. The 900 Young Global Leaders are already successful and accomplished in their own fields. They join a broad community of other young leaders who commit both their time and talent to have a positive impact on global challenges. 

As the main anchor for 10 years for China Central Television’s (CCTV’s) English Channel, Mr Chau has reported on key global events and development issues. He is currently Special Contributor to CCTV News and a columnist with the Huffington Post. He is also active across social media, with a following of 1.7 million on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo.

Since his appointment in 2009, Mr Chau has used television and digital media platforms to help support people living with and affected by HIV. 

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The Rudra Béjart School of Dance Lausanne has given a special performance at UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to celebrate International Women’s Day.

The specially choreographed performance by 38 dancers from 15 countries was a powerful visualization of young people’s strength, innovation and unity—qualities that are essential to advancing gender equality and Fast-Tracking the end of the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

The event was attended by more than 200 people, including ambassadors from the Permanent Missions to the United Nations of Haiti, Namibia and Zambia.

The Rudra Béjart School of Dance Lausanne is a private international free school sponsored by the Sandoz Family Foundation, Béjart Ballet Lausanne, Loterie Romande, the Fondation Leenaards, the Fondation Maurice Béjart and Jaquet Droz.

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Young sports leaders from 15 countries in the Asia and Pacific region have learned about HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health.

Some 30 volunteers participating in the Youth Leadership Programme of the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP), a programme designed to bring change in the volunteers’ homelands, attended a workshop in which they discussed how to talk about HIV with young people, explored ways to overcome the challenges faced by youth and debated the role of grass-roots sports activities in the HIV response.

As part of the workshop, held in the Republic of Korea, the youth leaders also designed and created innovative advocacy campaigns on HIV prevention and testing and on promoting zero discrimination, which they promised to implement in their home countries.

The workshop was led by UNAIDS youth officers and was organized by the Youth Leadership Programme of UNOSDP in partnership with Gwangju Summer Universiade Organizing Committee and the Youth Sport Trust. 

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UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO, PEPFAR, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and youth movements represented by PACT and Y+ join President Uhuru Kenyatta to launch All In, a new platform for action against the adolescent AIDS epidemic.

NAIROBI, 17 February 2015—While major advances have been made in almost every area of the response to HIV, progress for adolescents is falling behind, said leaders in the global response to end the AIDS epidemic.

AIDS has become the leading cause of death for adolescents in Africa and the second leading cause of death among adolescents globally. Just one in four children and adolescents under the age of 15 have access to life-saving antiretroviral treatment. Deaths are declining in all age groups, except among 10–19 year olds.

New HIV infections among adolescents are not declining as quickly as among other age groups. Adolescent girls, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, are most affected. In South Africa in 2013, more than 860 girls became infected with HIV every week, compared to 170 boys.

To address this inequity, UNAIDS, UNICEF and partners have launched All In, a new platform for action to drive better results for adolescents by encouraging strategic changes in policy and engaging more young people in the effort.

Leaders from around the world met today in Nairobi, Kenya, where President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the new platform, which will help address one of the most pressing gaps in the AIDS response. 

“By including adolescents in decision-making processes that have a direct effect on their lives, this initiative will be a catalyst for change,” said President Kenyatta. “Kenya is proud to support this new initiative.”

All In focuses on four key action areas: engaging, mobilizing and empowering adolescents as leaders and actors of social change; improving data collection to better inform programming; encouraging innovative approaches to reach adolescents with essential HIV services adapted to their needs; and placing adolescent HIV firmly on political agendas to spur concrete action and mobilize resources.

“AIDS is the leading cause of death among adolescents in Africa. Globally, two thirds of all new infections among adolescents were among adolescent girls. This is a moral injustice,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “I am calling on young people to lead the All In movement, alongside the United Nations, public and private partners, and countries themselves, to end the adolescent AIDS epidemic.”

Most of the 2.1 million adolescents living with HIV in 2013 became infected at least 10 years ago, when their mothers were pregnant, during delivery or in the first months of life—at a time when antiretroviral medicines that can greatly reduce the possibility of HIV transmission were not available. Many were never diagnosed, lost to follow-up or fell out of treatment and care programmes.

“Children and young people should be the first to benefit from the progress we have made in ending the epidemic, not the last,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “We need to reach the adolescents we are missing and engage all young people in the effort to end adolescent AIDS. In fact, we cannot achieve the goal of an AIDS-free generation without them.”

More than 200 young advocates and leaders from adolescent and youth movements were present at the launch of All In.

“We can’t talk about ending AIDS or getting to zero without including adolescents in every decision-making platform,” said Consolata Opiyo, from Y+, the Global Network of Young People Living with HIV. “Adolescents are the group most affected by HIV and they are tomorrow’s leaders.”

“We can’t say that we are on the right track to end AIDS if it continues being the main cause of death for adolescents in Africa,” said Pablo Aguilera, Executive Director of the HIV Young Leaders Fund and Co-Chair of the PACT. “We must ensure that no adolescent is left behind.”

Since the HIV status of many children went undiagnosed 10 to 15 years ago, they are now entering adolescence unaware that they are living with the virus, with limited opportunities for HIV detection and referral to treatment programmes.

Deborah Birx, United States Global AIDS Coordinator and United States Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, said, “The future of sub-Saharan Africa rests in the health and well-being of the youth. We’re committed to working with partner countries and others to close the health gap that leaves adolescent girls and young women particularly vulnerable to HIV infection.”

“I warmly welcome this launch of the All In initiative as an innovative way to tackle a stubborn stronghold of HIV infection,” said Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization.

The All In platform for action aims to increase the meaningful participation of adolescents in decision-making processes and strengthen youth-led social movements. The campaign will also identify opportunities to link adolescent HIV strategies into existing adolescent health and development programmes. In addition, All In will engage national leaders to coordinate, support and lead assessments of existing programmes and expand partnerships for innovation between the public and private sectors.

“We need to meet adolescents where they are and address the challenges they face,” said Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. “UNFPA is All In to protect their human rights and sexual and reproductive health, and prevent and treat HIV.”

All In will aim to reach adolescents with HIV services designed for their specific needs and realities and to fast-track progress among an age group critical to advancing global efforts to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

“We can expand opportunity by getting everyone to recognize the seriousness of HIV, and how to end it,” said Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The next five years are crucial. UNAIDS has set new Fast-Track Targets to be achieved by 2020 for adolescents that include reducing new HIV infections by at least 75%, reducing AIDS-related deaths by 65% and achieving zero discrimination. Achieving the targets would put the world on track towards ending adolescent AIDS by 2030 and ending the global AIDS epidemic as a public health threat.   

All In to #EndAdolescentAIDS
All In to #EndAdolescentAIDS is a platform for action and collaboration to inspire a social movement to drive better results for adolescents through critical changes in programmes and policy. It aims to unite actors across sectors to accelerate reductions in AIDS-related deaths and new HIV infections among adolescents by 2020, towards ending the AIDS epidemic for all by 2030. It is convened by a leadership group that includes UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO and PEPFAR, as well as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and the adolescent and youth movement represented by the HIV Young Leaders Fund on behalf of the PACT and Y+. 

UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org. Follow UNICEF on Twitter and Facebook.

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. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

By Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director and Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director

When you are an adolescent, you are supposed to feel as if you could live forever. And, indeed, adolescents are less vulnerable to disease and more resilient. Their survival rates are as high as their youthful spirits. 

But HIV changes everything. It is shocking that more adolescents die every year from AIDS-related illnesses than from any other cause except road accidents. In 2013 alone, 120 000 adolescents died from AIDS-related causes: more than 300 every day.

It is even more shocking that the number of adolescents dying of AIDS is not decreasing when AIDS-related deaths have dropped in every other age group. And it is shameful that this is happening when we have the knowledge and tools to keep adolescents living with HIV alive and well and to prevent new HIV infections.

What can we do to bring back the invincibility of youth? We must begin at the beginning—and stay with adolescents throughout their lives.

The vast majority of adolescents who died of AIDS-related illnesses in 2013 acquired HIV during pregnancy, delivery, or in the first months of life—because their mothers were not receiving the antiretroviral medicines that greatly reduce the possibility of HIV transmission. Although we have made great strides, far too many mothers and their infants are still not getting the HIV services they need to survive and thrive.

The remaining 20 per cent of adolescents living with HIV were infected as adolescents—an uncomfortable fact whose causes we need to honestly confront. 

More than 250 000 15 to 19-year-olds were newly infected with HIV in 2013—and they are overwhelmingly girls.  In that age group, girls account for two out of three new HIV infections globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, that number jumps to nearly eight out of ten. In South Africa, more than 800 girls in this age group are infected with HIV every week.

Girls are more vulnerable to HIV because they are more vulnerable generally—to violence, including sexual violence, forced marriage and trafficking. They are far less likely than boys to have the information they need to protect themselves, but even if they have that information, they may not be empowered to use it.

The remainder of young people who acquire HIV during adolescence are often gay and bisexual boys, and boys and girls engaged in using drugs or selling sex. Many are never diagnosed, let alone treated—because they fear repercussion if they seek information, enter prevention programmes, or get tested.

Many adolescents feel misunderstood, but when it comes to HIV and adolescents, it is not just a passing phase. National health plans and health systems in the most affected countries do not track or focus on adolescents—and there is precious little data monitoring their health and development over the age of five. Too old for paediatrics and often deemed too young for adult health services, many adolescents fall through the cracks at a time they most need our attention.

We must do more to protect all adolescents and empower them to protect themselves and their health. In fact, we cannot end the epidemic without a global movement to end AIDS-related deaths and new HIV infections among adolescents.

There are promising signs that such a movement is gathering force.  More programmes are reaching out to adolescents, many steered by young people themselves. More countries are including adolescents in national AIDS agendas.

The United States of America recently announced a new investment of US$ 210 million to prevent new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria recently announced US$ 14 billion in grant money, with a commitment to include a focus on the adolescents at greatest risk.

We need to build on this momentum. This week, leaders working to end the AIDS epidemic are coming together in Kenya to call for a new global target of reducing AIDS-related deaths among adolescents by 65% and cutting new HIV infections among adolescents by 75% in the next five years.

This ambitious goal is the centrepiece of All In, a new platform for action to end adolescent AIDS.  It concentrates on the areas where we need to accelerate progress: from improving data to identify the young people we are missing and provide a sharper focus on adolescents in national AIDS programmes…to fostering innovation in developing new technologies and approaches to engage adolescents more effectively...to advocating for more resources to reach every adolescent living with, or at risk of acquiring, HIV, before it is too late. 

Most of all, young people themselves need to be ‘all in’ to end adolescent AIDS. Already, they are helping steer this movement, calling for positive change. The more we engage them and support their leadership, the more successful our common efforts will be to end this epidemic together.

Anthony Lake is the Executive Director of UNICEF. Michel Sidibé is the Executive Director of UNAIDS.

All In to #EndAdolescentAIDS

All In to #EndAdolescentAIDS is a platform for action and collaboration to inspire a social movement to drive better results for adolescents through critical changes in programmes and policy. It aims to unite actors across sectors to accelerate reductions in AIDS-related deaths and new HIV infections among adolescents by 2020, towards ending the AIDS epidemic for all by 2030. It is convened by a leadership group that includes UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA, WHO and PEPFAR, as well as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and the adolescent and youth movement represented by the HIV Young Leaders Fund on behalf of the PACT and Y+.