GENEVA, 26 October 2026—The UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) has reaffirmed strong support for a continued, streamlined and efficient UNAIDS Joint Programme. Board members were unanimous that its transformation must protect people and communities living with, at risk and affected by HIV, and ensure governments and communities sustain and enhance the gains of the AIDS response.  

In her remarks, Executive Director Winnie Byanyima captured the significance of the decision, “You have rejected the sunsetting of UNAIDS and chosen instead to transform and strengthen this unique Joint Programme. I thank programme countries, donors, civil society and activists who stood firm and fought for the future of UNAIDS. Saving the Joint Programme is only the beginning. Now we must transform it and get that transformation right.” 

At its special session today, the Board took note of the final report of the PCB Working Group and approved the overall strategic direction for transition of UNAIDS as set out in the report. It asked the PCB Chair to transmit that direction and the Board’s decisions to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). 

The decisions taken by the board are in support of the directions set by the Secretary-General’s UN80 reforms. A transformed United Nations must measure its success not by the structures it preserves or abolishes, but by the impact we deliver for people. Addressing the Board, the Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said, “The Secretary-General’s intention was to preserve and strengthen the UN’s HIV response in face of disruption and anchor the response more firmly at the country level.” 

The key strategic directions outlined in the report include: 

• UNAIDS will not be sunset, and the UN's mandate on HIV continues 
• A strong and focused Secretariat (Hub) leading on four core functions 
• Cosponsors taking stronger leadership in technical areas, according to the division of labour 
• Communities at the centre of the model at every level, with a shift to co-creation and co-leadership 
• Human rights and gender equality protected 
• The ECOSOC mandate and inclusive governance under the PCB maintained 
• A phased transition, not a rushed one, shaped by each country's context and readiness. 

The Board requested the Executive Director to establish a Transition Task Team, comprising Secretariat and Cosponsor representatives and two community representatives nominated by the PCB NGO delegation. The team will work closely with implementing countries, consult relevant Joint Programme stakeholders and be accountable to the Board for delivering a fully costed implementation plan. 

Many programme countries have stepped forward to support UNAIDS in the face of funding cuts and potential withdrawal from countries. 

Algerian Ambassador Idris Latreche announced an early voluntary contribution of US$40,000 to the UNAIDS country office in Algiers for 2027. Algeria also provides office premises free of charge and national personnel to support the office’s operations. Contributions have come from many countries including Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Kazakhstan, Laos, Philippines, South Africa and Thailand. 

“These contributions reflect Algeria’s commitment to our collective efforts towards maintaining an effective UNAIDS presence at country level, towards ensuring continuity of services, and towards avoiding any disruption that could affect the people who depend on them,” said Ambassador Latreche. 

The Board also approved the 2027 Work Plan and Budget, including simplified performance reporting. It thanked governments that contributed to the 2026 budget and urged others to release their contributions as soon as possible. It also encouraged governments to make multi-year commitments and release their 2027 contributions promptly. 

Ms Byanyima also informed the Board that she will complete her service as Executive Director on 31 December 2026. The Secretary-General will appoint an interim Executive Director from 1 January 2027 while the Board begins the selection process for the next Executive Director. 

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.

In March 2024, UNAIDS established a Global Task Team of experts from governments, civil society, donors, academic and public health institutions to recommend a new set of global HIV targets for 2030. The targets set out what is required to put the world on the path to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. But defining the ambition raised an equally important question: what would it actually cost, and what impact would achieving the targets have? 

To answer it, the UNAIDS Sustainability Practice produced The impact and cost of reaching the UNAIDS global HIV targets, a comprehensive assessment drawing on resource needs estimation and epidemiological modelling across more than 118 countries.

The study was jointly led by two experts with complementary roles. John Stover led the epidemiological modelling to quantify the health impact of reaching the 2030 targets. Deepak Mattur, of UNAIDS, led the overall resource needs framework: building and validating a global unit cost database, convening technical consultations with UNAIDS, partner agencies and national programmes, and bringing biomedical, health system and societal enabler investments together into a single global estimate.

Mariana Siapka, Triantafyllos Pliakas and Ricardo Valladares-Cardona contributed to estimating the resources needed for societal enablers, the often overlooked investments that shape whether people can access services at all.

“Resource needs provide an important bridge between ambition and accountability," Mr Mattur explains. “They have provided countries and partners a benchmark against which to monitor progress in mobilizing financial resources, assess financing gaps, track domestic and international commitments, and plan for a more sustainable HIV response through 2030 and beyond.”

What the evidence shows

Reaching the UNAIDS 2030 targets could cut annual new HIV infections by 77% and AIDS-related deaths by 50% between 2023 and 2030, effectively meeting the 2030 goal of ending AIDS as 90% reduction in new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths compared with 2010. Doing so would require approximately US$21.9 billion annually in low- and middle-income countries by 2030.

Just as important is what the analysis says about how. Ending AIDS cannot be achieved through treatment and prevention alone. It requires sustained investment in health systems, community-led responses, human rights and societal enablers.

 “The modeling confirms that through a combination of responses including biomedical, behavioral and societal interventions we can achieve Ending AIDS targets at a reasonable cost,” says Mr Stover.

From evidence to commitment

The analysis became a key evidence base for the 2030 global HIV targets, particularly the financing targets on total resource mobilization, domestic HIV financing, prevention investments and societal enablers. Its findings have informed discussions ahead of the 2026 High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, giving political commitments a foundation in evidence and giving the world a way to hold itself accountable.

The publication is written for those who must make the hard decisions: governments, donors, development partners, civil society, community organizations, researchers and policy-makers. It offers a shared benchmark for assessing financing gaps, aligning priorities and tracking progress, and it informs conversations about sustainable financing and domestic resource mobilization.

It also reflects the unique role UNAIDS plays: convening partners, setting evidence-based targets, supporting country validation, coordinating technical expertise across institutions, and translating global ambition into concrete investment needs.

Geneva/New York, 26 October 2026—UNAIDS welcomes the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Political Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR) on 12 October 2026, a significant reaffirmation of global solidarity and multilateral cooperation in the face of growing health threats.

UNAIDS particularly welcomes the Declaration's emphasis on equity, cooperation and benefit-sharing. The lessons of AIDS, COVID-19 and Ebola are clear: health security depends not only on scientific innovation and strong health systems, but also on whether lifesaving technologies and services reach everyone who needs them, especially the communities most affected.

Governments must now urgently conclude an equitable agreement on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system. This is an essential next step in turning the commitments of the Declaration into action. Beyond PABS, UNAIDS calls for stronger commitments to technology sharing and investment in local and regional production of lifesaving health technologies. Building these capacities to fight today's pandemics is also essential to ensuring equitable access when the next pandemic strikes.

"The real test starts now. Action cannot wait for the next pandemic," said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "We must invest in equity today if we want to be prepared for tomorrow."

For more than three decades, UNAIDS has worked with governments, communities, scientists and partners to respond to HIV and AIDS. This experience has demonstrated that pandemics cannot be defeated by medicines and diagnostics alone. Success depends on political leadership, sustained investment, community engagement, respect for human rights and the empowerment of people most affected.

The Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics, convened by UNAIDS, has provided compelling evidence that inequality is not simply a consequence of pandemics; it is a driver of their spread and impact. Pandemics, in turn, deepen existing inequalities, creating a vicious cycle.

In its report and subsequent analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Council found that countries ranked as more prepared under conventional global preparedness measures did not, on average, achieve better outcomes in responding to COVID-19 or AIDS. By contrast, countries with lower levels of inequality tended to achieve better outcomes.

These findings challenge the way the world measures pandemic preparedness. Laboratory capacity, disease surveillance, emergency response systems and medical technologies are indispensable. But they are not sufficient. Their effectiveness can be undermined by economic inequality, discrimination, weak social protection and the exclusion of communities most at risk.

UNAIDS therefore calls for a fundamental shift in how pandemic preparedness is assessed and measured. National and global preparedness frameworks must go beyond technical health capacities to assess income and social inequalities, access to healthcare, social protection, discrimination, and the strength of community-led systems. Countries must be equipped not only to detect and respond to outbreaks, but also to protect people from the social and economic shocks that pandemics unleash.

This means integrating inequality assessments into national preparedness and response plans, investing in emergency social protection and community-led responses, and ensuring that pandemic measures reduce rather than deepen inequalities.

It also requires a fairer international financial system. Developing countries need access to affordable finance and sufficient fiscal space to strengthen health systems and respond to emergencies. Countries and international financial institutions should consider measures such as suspending debt repayments during pandemics, alongside broader debt relief and financing reforms, so that governments can protect lives and livelihoods rather than divert scarce resources to debt servicing.

The PABS system, being negotiated as an annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement, is intended to link the rapid sharing of pathogens and scientific information with the fair and equitable sharing of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments developed from them. A strong agreement would help build trust between countries and enable a faster, fairer global response to future health emergencies.

The AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics also exposed the dangers of concentrating the production of lifesaving technologies in a handful of countries and regions. Expanding local and regional manufacturing, supported by technology transfer, stronger regulatory capacity and sustainable financing, is essential to building resilient supply chains and ensuring that lifesaving innovations reach people everywhere.

"Thirty years of responding to HIV have taught us that health security and social justice go hand in hand," said Byanyima. "A country cannot be truly prepared for a pandemic if millions of its people cannot access healthcare, lack social protection or are excluded because of poverty or discrimination. We must measure preparedness by how well countries can protect everyone, especially those most vulnerable."

The measure of global pandemic preparedness must be not only how quickly the world detects a threat or develops a vaccine, but how effectively and equitably it protects every life.

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.

Taking a pill every day may sound simple. But for a young person worried about stigma, privacy or how to explain the medication to their family, it can be anything but. 

For Tuyet, a young advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights from Viet Nam, this was among the pressing issues discussed at the 10th International Workshop on Adolescence, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and HIV, held in Bangkok in September 2026. 

“Even when services are available, young people can still face stigma, discrimination and other barriers that make it hard for them to seek care or continue using it,” she said. 

The new long-acting HIV prevention options could offer alternatives to daily pills, but making these advances available and accessible to young people remains a challenge. 

In 2025, around 80,000 young people acquired HIV in Asia and the Pacific, accounting for 29% of all new HIV infections. Between 2010 and 2025, new infections among young people increased fivefold in the Philippines and more than tenfold in Fiji. 

Too many young people from key populations still struggle to access HIV prevention services. Among countries with available data, prevention programmes reach a median of just 28% of young gay men and other men who have sex with men, and 21% of young people who inject drugs. According to UNAIDS, in 20 of 34 countries assessed, some adolescents still need parental consent to get an HIV test. 

“Young people are not being held back by a lack of prevention tools. They are being held back by cost, consent requirements, misinformation and services that are difficult to reach or not youth-friendly,” said Wipaporn Natalie Songtaweesin, Paediatric Infectious Diseases Physician and Lecturer at Chulalongkorn University. 

Held in Asia for the first time, the workshop brought together young leaders, clinicians, researchers and policymakers to discuss advances in HIV prevention and treatment and how to make them work for young people. 

Experiences shared in Bangkok showed what can happen when young people help design services. 

In Thailand, the MPLUS Lampang Foundation established Youth Hubs combining peer outreach, sexual health information and mental health support in safe spaces designed around young people's needs. The initiative engaged nearly 4,900 young people in one year. All those diagnosed with HIV through the initiative were linked to treatment, while others initiated PrEP. 

In Cambodia, Men’s Health Cambodia used social media, dating apps, peer educators and influencers to share information about PrEP, HIV self-testing and other prevention options with young key populations. The campaign reached more than 13,800 people at high risk of HIV, with 369 screened and enrolled in PrEP. 

“Young people should not just be the audience for HIV programmes. We need to be the designers, because we understand how young people are navigating health and information today,” said Jeremy Tan of Youth LEAD, a co-organizer of the workshop. 

Young people are also helping shape policies. In Thailand, a Youth-Led Policy Lab developed recommendations for stigma-free primary health services, easier online access to condoms and HIV self-test kits, better integration of sexual and mental health care, and improved sexuality education. 

Youth LEAD is working with young people in many countries to address digital gender-based violence and improve access to reliable HIV and sexual and reproductive health information online. 

The 2026 United Nations Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS commits countries to meaningful youth engagement in decision-making and predictable, flexible funding for youth-led initiatives. 

“Young people need prevention they can reach, services they can trust and policies that enable them to seek care,” said Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. 

UNAIDS is supporting youth-led approaches across the region. In the Philippines, a Youth Health Learning Package developed with the UN Joint Team on AIDS, government and community partners was co-designed and delivered by young people, including young key populations. So far, 171 young people have been certified as facilitators, and the programme is being integrated into local youth development and health plans. 

“UNAIDS is an immensely important partner in endorsement, technical advice and is a critical convening power for frontline organisations to galvanise efforts in the movement forward for adolescent health,” said Ms Songtaweesin. 

For Riddy Sonsomsuk of Youth LEAD, a young leader from Thailand who co-chaired the workshop and served on its Youth Reference Group, the discussions offered a reminder of what matters most. 

“While data and numbers are crucial for human rights advocacy and funding, we may sometimes become so focused on them that we forget who and what we are ultimately doing this work for,” said Mr Sonsomsuk. 

New HIV prevention technologies are creating more choices. Whether young people benefit from them will depend on removing barriers to services and giving them the resources and influence to shape decisions about their health.