The President of Malawi, Arthur Peter Mutharika, met with UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, on 13 June 2015, on the side lines of the 25th African Union Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Mr Sidibé congratulated President Mutharika on the breakthrough results that Malawi has achieved in its AIDS response in recent years. Malawi was the first country in the world to implement the World Health Organization’s Option B+ for HIV-positive pregnant women (access to lifelong antiretroviral treatment), which has resulted in a dramatic 67% decline in mother-to-child transmission since 2009. The President expressed his commitment to continue to invest in prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV to meet the target of bring new HIV infections down to below 5% as outlined in the Global Plan to eliminate new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive.

Earlier in the day, Mr Sidibé met with the African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, Mustapha Kaloko, who also expressed his desire to see an AIDS-free generation by 2030. Mr Sidibé affirmed UNAIDS’ commitment to continue to work on the Fast-Track approach to ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030, taking advantage of the next five years to leverage country ownership and global solidarity.