Press release and statement archive

The virtual 47th meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) has concluded with important decisions relating to the HIV response, the COVID-19 epidemic, and the ongoing transformation of UNAIDS.

UNAIDS strongly welcomes the announcement by Sweden at the 47th meeting of UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board to renew its annual funding commitment to UNAIDS of SEK300 million in core funding for 2021, equivalent to 36 million USD, demonstrating the country’s continued leadership in the global AIDS response. In making the...

UNAIDS congratulates Bhutan’s parliament on voting to repeal Sections 213 and 214 of the country’s Penal Code. Those provisions criminalized certain private sexual acts and led to discrimination against and the marginalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. The country’s parliament voted for the repeal on Human Rights...

UNAIDS is saddened by the death of the Prime Minister of Eswatini, Ambrose Dlamini, who has died after testing positive for the new coronavirus.

The world is only 10 years away from the deadline for the universal health coverage target of the Sustainable Development Goals. Only 10 years away from when everyone should have access to quality essential health services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines. But that...

UNAIDS announces the launch of its Solidarity Fund, which will support social entrepreneurs and micro-business owned by key populations facing special hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated once again how quickly rights violations can arise in an emergency. Inequalities that have too long been ignored were laid bare and exacerbated during the response to the pandemic. And yet we have learned from the AIDS response that it is only where rights are...

We must have a #PeoplesVaccine, not a profit vaccine. Unless urgent action is taken by governments and the pharmaceutical industry to make sure enough doses are produced, COVID will continue lay existing inequalities bare. Pharmaceutical corporations and research institutions working on Covid19 vaccines must share the science, technological know-how, and...

Kinshasa, 2 December 2020—UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima visited an HIV community village in Kinshasa as part of the World AIDS Day ceremonies in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She commended the country on its vast experience in responding to pandemics such as Ebola after the...

Whether campaigning for multimonth dispensing of HIV treatment, organizing home deliveries of medicines or providing financial assistance, food and shelter to at-risk groups, HIV activists and affected communities have again shown they are the mainstay of the HIV response. I salute you!

As COVID-19 pushes the AIDS response even further off track and the 2020 targets are missed, UNAIDS is urging countries to learn from the lessons of underinvesting in health and to step up global action to end AIDS and other pandemics

UNAIDS and the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM) in Japan are joining forces to end AIDS in Japan. The two organizations today signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the response to HIV and sexually transmitted infections ahead of and during the Olympic and Paralympic Games and...

Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, UNAIDS is calling for the world to urgently scale up efforts to eliminate the neglected pandemic of violence against women and girls in all their diversity, a widespread human rights violation that affects one in three women at...

The latest progress report of the Global HIV Prevention Coalition shows that despite observed declines in new HIV infections among adults in several countries, overall progress in HIV prevention efforts remains variable and is too slow to reach the 2020 targets committed to at the 2016 United Nations High-Level Meeting...

UNAIDS is delighted to announce the appointment of Suki Beavers to the position of Director, Gender Equality, Human Rights and Community Engagement in UNAIDS Programme Branch.

UNAIDS congratulates President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on the recent election results in the United States of America.

UNAIDS is strongly encouraged by new study results showing that the antiretroviral medicine cabotegravir, which is administered by injection every two months, prevents HIV among women. The study shows that the long-acting injections among women in sub-Saharan Africa were 89% more efficient in preventing HIV compared to daily tablets of...

The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has announced that Nigeria will be joining the urgent global call for a People’s Vaccine for COVID-19. The President endorsed the initiative and released an official public statement in favour of the campaign.

Today, the World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council meets to consider a proposal presented by the Governments of South Africa and India for a temporary waiver of certain TRIPS obligations in order to facilitate an appropriate response to COVID-19. The aim is to create certainty...

UNAIDS sends its heartfelt congratulations to the World Food Programme (WFP) for being awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. WFP’s efforts to ensure food security for all, particularly the most vulnerable women, men and children, including people living with HIV, have saved countless lives and prevented hunger and starvation in...

Drawing on 40 years of experience from the AIDS response, UNAIDS is issuing new guidance on how to reduce stigma and discrimination in the context of COVID-19. The guidance is based on the latest evidence on what works to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination and applies it to COVID-19.

Despite decades of scientific advance in the HIV response, progress remains uneven, with some countries rapidly reducing AIDS-related deaths and new HIV infections and others seeing increasing epidemics. Laws and policies are driving a significant part of that divergence.

Survivors of COVID-19 from 37 countries are among almost 1,000 people who have signed an open letter to pharmaceutical industry leaders calling for a ‘people's vaccine’ and treatments that are available to all – free from patents. The letter comes on the eve of a high-level side event about the...

NEW YORK, 23 September 2020—The World Health Organization (WHO) together with the UN, specialised agencies and partners today called on countries to develop and implement action plans to promote the timely dissemination of science-based information and prevent the spread of false information while respecting freedom of expression.

UNAIDS stakeholders met virtually to engage in the development of the next strategy for the global AIDS response

A new report from UNAIDS shows how countries grappling with COVID-19 are using the experience and infrastructure from the AIDS response to ensure a more robust response to both pandemics.

UNAIDS is deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend and former colleague Achmat Dangor. Mr Dangor was an acclaimed author and leading activist who dedicated his life to social justice and the struggle for liberation and democracy in South Africa.

As the Japanese Prime Minister steps down, UNAIDS recognizes Shinzo Abe’s contribution to global health, notably to universal health coverage.

Report reveals interruptions of HIV services, violence, harassment, abuse, arrests, deaths and a failure to respect human rights in their early responses to the pandemic—UNAIDS urges governments to protect the most vulnerable, particularly key populations at higher risk of HIV

UNAIDS is calling on countries to adopt urgent measures to reinforce social protection programmes to shield the most vulnerable people from the health impact and socio-economic fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, on World Humanitarian Day, UNAIDS acknowledges and celebrates the power of communities – the individuals and groups who work together to make a difference to themselves and to each other—the #RealLifeHeroes.

UNAIDS is deeply concerned by reports of the targeting and arrest of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) rights activists as they peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association, as well as reports of discrimination, repression, and scapegoating of LGBTI people.

Tlaleng Mofokeng, a South African medical doctor and a women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health rights activist, has been appointed as the new United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

​As the world faces the colliding pandemics of COVID-19, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, UNAIDS supports the call for bold, bipartisan support by the United States of America for global efforts against these concurrent health challenges.

UNAIDS congratulates the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) on obtaining a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on the dapivirine vaginal ring. The monthly ring adapts a medical technology commonly used as a contraceptive device to deliver the antiretroviral medicine dapivirine to prevent HIV.

UNAIDS is saddened by the death of the former President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Benjamin William Mkapa. Mr Mkapa was a bold and compassionate leader who worked to promote peace in eastern Africa and was committed to ending AIDS, being credited with much of the United Republic of...

Launching today, the COVID-19 Law Lab initiative gathers and shares legal documents from over 190 countries across the world to help states establish and implement strong legal frameworks to manage the pandemic. The goal is to ensure that laws protect the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities and that...

The latest report on the progress towards the Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free targets shows that despite great progress made since the early days of the epidemic, the HIV response for children has fallen behind. Year after year, the bold target of eliminating new HIV infections among children is...

UNAIDS is deeply saddened by the death of Renate Koch, a campaigning pioneer for social justice, feminism and equal rights.

UNAIDS welcomes the decision by Gabon to decriminalize same-sex sexual relations. Following a vote by the Gabon Senate on 29 June 2020, the signing off of the decision by the President means that Gabon has joined a growing list of countries in Africa and beyond that have removed criminal laws...

Missed targets have resulted in 3.5 million more HIV infections and 820 000 more AIDS-related deaths since 2015 than if the world was on track to meet the 2020 targets. In addition, the response could be set back further, by 10 years or more, if the COVID-19 pandemic results in...

Funding from Donor Governments was nearly the same as a Decade Ago, Despite an Increase in the Number of People Living with HIV of 24 percent over that period

The UNAIDS Health Innovation Exchange’s global event, HIEx2020, will feature health-related innovations from around the world and facilitate discussions around innovation in health

The 46th meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) has concluded in Geneva, Switzerland. The PCB, which met from 23 to 25 June 2020, was held for the very first time as a virtual meeting because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The PCB, chaired by the United States of America...

The Government of Germany has announced that, in addition to its annual core contribution of €5 million, it will contribute a further €20 million to UNAIDS in 2020 to strengthen the response to HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn, made the announcement during a...

The 46th meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board commenced on 23 June 2020. Held for the first time as a virtual meeting, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting will see three days of discussion and reflection on the HIV response, the interconnectedness between the twin pandemics...

UNAIDS study shows that the impact on production and logistics caused by COVID-19 could have a significant effect on antiretroviral therapy supply worldwide, but steps taken now could lessen the damage done

UNAIDS congratulates Quarraisha Abdool Karim, the Associate Scientific Director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), for being awarded the prestigious Christophe Mérieux Prize for 2020. Bestowed by the Christophe and Rodolphe Mérieux Foundation to support research into infectious diseases in developing countries, the...

The AIDS movement has lost one of its earliest and leading activists, Larry Kramer, who passed away on 27 May 2020 in New York City. Mr Kramer was one of the first to raise the alarm in the United States of America about the spread of the AIDS epidemic and...

In much of the global COVID-19 conversation, Africa is barely mentioned. But the risks which the COVID-19 crisis brings are even greater in Africa than elsewhere – and those risks will be compounded if Africa is marginalized in the global response.

As we have seen in wealthier countries, economic and social determinants of ill-health are strong predictors of the likelihood of dying from COVID-19. The greatest risk will be for poor people in poor countries who have a much higher burden of existing illness, and of whom hundreds of millions are...

Ground-breaking new study shows the efficacy of a long-acting injectable to prevent HIV

More than 140 world leaders, experts and elders have made an unprecedented call for guarantees that COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics, tests and treatments will be provided free of charge to everyone, everywhere

A cornerstone of the response to HIV, community-led health service delivery has become even more critical in the context of COVID-19, as the needs of marginalized community members and the burden on the health sector are increasing, making it vital that continued provision of HIV, tuberculosis and other health services...

Ahead of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT), on 17 May, UNAIDS is calling on governments to immediately stop arbitrary and discriminatory arrests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and to enact laws to protect their...

We, the leaders of global health, human rights and development institutions, come together to urgently draw the attention of political leaders to the heightened vulnerability of prisoners and other people deprived of liberty to the COVID-19 pandemic, and urge them to take all appropriate public health measures in respect of...

A modelling group convened by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS has estimated that if efforts are not made to mitigate and overcome interruptions in health services and supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic, a six-month disruption of antiretroviral therapy could lead to more than 500 000 extra deaths from AIDS-related...

Both international and European human rights bodies have affirmed the right of people to legally change their gender and name to match their gender identity, recognizing that the right is fundamental to the enjoyment of many other rights. UNAIDS is therefore concerned that the Government of Hungary is proposing to...

Overstretched health systems, lockdowns, loss of livelihoods and fewer employment opportunities could increase unprotected sex, sexual violence and exploitation, transactional sex and sex work, leading to an increase in new HIV infections

The COVID-19 outbreak has been placing unprecedented strains on sophisticated health systems in Europe and Asia, with overstretched medical staff struggling to treat their patients and intensive care facilities overwhelmed in rich countries. With cases rising in Africa, concerns are increasing on the impact on fragile health systems there. This...

UNAIDS and MPact call on governments and partners to protect, support and respect the human rights of LGBTI people during the response to COVID-19

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima’s statement on the economic response to COVID-19 during an online event held on 16 April 2020 cosponsored by the Global Development Policy Center and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNAIDS is deeply concerned by reports that the COVID-19 epidemic is being used as an excuse to target marginalized and vulnerable populations, restrict civil society space and increase police powers. In particular, UNAIDS is extremely concerned by reports of new laws that restrict rights and freedoms and target criminalized groups...

The COVID-19 pandemic, as with other health crises, exposes existing inequalities and disproportionately affects people already criminalized, marginalized and living in financially precarious situations, often outside social protection mechanisms.

UNAIDS is shocked and saddened by the sudden death of Gita Ramjee, who died of COVID-19 related complications on 31 March 2020. Her death is an immense loss to the HIV prevention research community. UNAIDS offers its full support to all efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 and prevent...

UNAIDS warmly welcomes the decision made by the Portuguese Government to grant temporary residency rights to all immigrants and asylum seekers who applied for residency in the country before 18 March 2020, when the state of emergency for COVID-19 was announced. These rights will give immigrants and asylum seekers access...

UNAIDS welcomes the decision by the International AIDS Society to hold the 23rd International AIDS Conference in July as a virtual gathering and hopes that the key population networks organizing the HIV2020 conference can find an alternative solution to hold their conference.

UNAIDS is calling on countries to adopt a human rights-based approach in responding to the global outbreak of COVID-19 that puts communities at the centre and respects the rights and dignity of all. To help guide governments, communities and other stakeholders in planning and implementing measures to contain the pandemic...

UNAIDS warmly welcomes the decision made to make pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) available to everyone who needs it in England. Activists and advocates have been campaigning for a number of years to make the life-saving preventative HIV medicine available to people at higher risk of HIV and on 15 March the...

The COVID-19 outbreak is rightly shining a light on international and national responses to health emergencies—exposing gaps in our systems, showing our strengths and drawing on the valuable experience of responding to other health threats, such as HIV. At UNAIDS, we know that people living with HIV will have some...

UNAIDS and the United Nations Volunteers Programme (UNV) have signed a memorandum of understanding to foster closer collaboration between the two organizations. Under the new memorandum of understanding, UNAIDS and UNV will work together to promote volunteering and engage United Nations Volunteers who are committed to supporting people living with...

Gender discrimination and violence, gaps in education and lack of economic empowerment and protection of sexual and reproductive health and rights are blocking progress

AIDS can be beaten, but it will only be beaten if we take on the social and economic injustices that perpetuate it and spur more scientific innovations to address the real needs of women and girls and people living with and vulnerable to HIV.

On Zero Discrimination Day, which is commemorated every year on 1 March, UNAIDS is calling for an end to discrimination against women and girls and for equal rights, opportunities and treatment.

UNAIDS welcomes the appointment of Deborah Birx as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator. Ms Birx’s distinguished career as a world-renowned medical expert has included her contribution to the recent progress in the global response to HIV and her commitment to working with communities affected by HIV in her position...

Women living with HIV around the world have been fighting for decades for the recognition of their sexual and reproductive health and rights, including their right to start a family and have children. However, over the years, there have been far too many examples of forced sterilizations and coerced abortions.

A survey of people living with HIV has found that the current coronavirus disease outbreak, known as COVID-19, is having a major impact on the lives of people living with HIV in the country.

UNAIDS and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have joined forces to increase action against cervical cancer and HIV.

UNAIDS expresses its deep condolences to the families who have lost loved ones following the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak. UNAIDS stands in solidarity with China and offers its full support to measures under way to end the outbreak.

The United States National Institutes of Health has announced that its HVTN 702 clinical trial of an HIV vaccine has been stopped. While no safety concerns were found during the trial, the independent data and safety monitoring board found that the vaccine was ineffective in preventing HIV transmission.

The Business Alliance to End AIDS by 2030, a public–private coalition co-hosted by UNAIDS and GBCHealth, was announced today in Davos, Switzerland, on the margins of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

UNAIDS is calling on governments to ensure that the right to health is realized by all by prioritizing public investments in health. At least half of the world’s population cannot access essential health services.