On 5 December, health ministers from nine African countries joined UNAIDS, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and other development partners in Geneva, Switzerland, to demonstrate their leadership in ending AIDS among adolescents and preventing new HIV infections among children by 2020.

The nine ministers attending were:

• Isaac Adewole, Minister of Health, Nigeria.
• Abdourahmane Diallo, Minister of Health, Guinea.
• Bernard Haufiku, Minister of Health and Social Services, Namibia.
• Peter Kumpalume, Minister of Health, Malawi.
• Mantoetsi Liteboho Mohatonyane, Vice-Minister of Health, Lesotho.
• Sarah A. Opendi, Minister of State for Health, General Duties, Uganda.
• Salomon Nguema Owono, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Equatorial Guinea.
• Mouzinho Saíde, Vice-Minister of Health, Mozambique.
• Sibongile Simelane, Minister of Health, Swaziland.

Representatives of the Governments of Cameroon, Kenya and Zimbabwe also participated.

The meeting, co-convened by Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director, and Deborah Birx, United States Global Aids Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, aimed to identify the opportunities in, and possible barriers to, implementing the new Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free framework. The framework builds on the legacy of the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive—which contributed to a 60% reduction in new HIV infections among children in the 21 high-burden Global Plan countries between 2009 and 2015—to accelerate the end of the AIDS epidemic among children, adolescents and young women.

The meeting participants included Jean-Marie Ehouzou, African Union Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, and Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The participants also included key technical partners, including representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, as well as representatives of civil society organizations, including Angeline Chiwetani, from the Widows Fountain of Life, Zimbabwe, and faith-based organizations.

The need to assess gaps and challenges at the country level, so that domestic and international resources can be identified to overcome the challenges, was stressed. The ministers were encouraged to demonstrate their continued commitment as champions of Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free, mobilize resources and scale up effective responses.

Start Free Stay Free AIDS Free focuses on accelerating progress towards ending new HIV infections among children, finding and treating children, adolescents and mothers living with HIV and preventing the cycle of new HIV infections among adolescents and young women. Building momentum to implement the framework will be critical to empowering high-profile advocates, developing linkages between the global framework, national strategies and community agendas and ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.