GENEVA, 27 June 2018—UNAIDS welcomes the announcement by the Government of Australia confirming an additional AUD 1.3 million (almost US$ 1 million) for the AIDS response. The additional funding, announced at the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board meeting on 26 June 2018, will be used to scale up HIV prevention in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Papua New Guinea. The funds will add to the AUD 4.5 million (US$ 3.3 million) annual contribution to UNAIDS that Australia has pledged for the next five years.
“Australia is a leading advocate in the AIDS response in Asia and the Pacific,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “This additional contribution is an important signal at a time when we need more energy and action in HIV prevention to ensure that everyone, particularly people at higher risk of HIV, can protect themselves against the virus.”
In 2016, around 5.1 million adults and children were estimated to be living with HIV in the Asia–Pacific region, some 270 000 people became newly infected with the virus and 170 000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses. Just under half (47%) of all people living with HIV in the Asia–Pacific region had access to antiretroviral therapy in 2016.
Fully funding the work of the UNAIDS Joint Programme is critical to ending the AIDS epidemic and achieving UNAIDS’ vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.
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.
