GENEVA, 20 April 2017—UNAIDS warmly welcomes the appointment of Achim Steiner as the new Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The UN General Assembly confirmed the appointment of Mr Steiner for a four-year term of office at UNDP beginning on 20 April 2017.
“AIDS continues to impact global development efforts and we look forward to working closely with Mr Steiner to build on the many lessons learned in responding to HIV to advance progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.
UNDP is one of UNAIDS’ 11 Cosponsors and its work includes removing punitive laws, policies and practices that exacerbate gender inequality, stigma and discrimination and hinder effective responses to HIV. It also works to strengthen governance and coordination of national HIV responses to ensure maximum impact and efficiency in efforts to end the AIDS epidemic.
UNAIDS will work closely with Mr Steiner in his new role as Administrator of UNDP in addressing the wide-ranging social and economic impacts of HIV, ensuring respect for the human rights of people living with and affected by HIV and strengthening the synergies between health and sustainable development.
Mr Steiner was the Director of Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford in 2016, prior to which he held a number of international positions, including Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (2006-2016), Director-General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi (2009-2011) and Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (2001-2006).
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.
