UNAIDS Executive Director, Mr Michel Sidibé and CPLP Executive Secretary, Mr Domingos Simões Pereira signing the cooperation agreement. 17 March 2010, Lisbon, Portugal.
The Community of Portuguese-Speaking Counties (CPLP) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) formalized their cooperation in response to AIDS in CPLP countries with a Memorandum of Understanding. The cooperation agreement was signed today by CPLP Executive Secretary, Mr Domingos Simões Pereira and by UNAIDS Executive Director, Mr Michel Sidibé.
“This agreement strengthens the cooperation that has existed for several years between CPLP and UNAIDS. We are particularly committed to promoting the human rights of people living with HIV and to preventing infection in those countries where Portuguese is the official language,” stated CPLP Executive Secretary, Domingos Simões Pereira.
The Memorandum of Understanding seeks to mobilize technical, political and financial support for civil society networks and organizations, including people living with HIV in the Portuguese-speaking countries. It aims to develop channels for sharing experiences between these countries, by means of horizontal South-South technical cooperation.
“South-South cooperation among Portuguese-speaking nations can help achieve universal access to HIV prevention treatment, care and support and eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV,” said Mr Sidibé. “We can learn from each other, especially when we share a common vision in changing the course of the AIDS epidemic.”
The cooperation agreement forms part of the activities of the III CPLP Congress on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, which is being held in Lisbon, Portugal from March 17-19.
