GENEVA, 10 November 2020—UNAIDS congratulates President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on the recent election results in the United States of America.
“UNAIDS looks forward to working with the new United States administration on the challenge of ending AIDS, for which there is still no vaccine and no cure,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “The colliding pandemics of COVID-19 and HIV are evidence that global solidarity and shared responsibility is needed now more than ever before to ensure that no one is left behind and that medicines, services and solutions can be accessed equitably.”
In 2019, around 1.7 million people became infected with HIV and 690 000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses. UNAIDS and the United States Government have collaborated closely since the inception of UNAIDS in 1996, to accelerate progress towards global HIV prevention and treatment targets in the countries most affected by HIV.
Through the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the United States Government has invested more than US$ 85 billion in the global response to HIV, the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease. Strong bipartisan support for investments to end AIDS across successive administrations and effective, data-driven and evidence-informed HIV programming through PEPFAR and investments to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, have enabled millions of men, women and children to live longer, healthier lives.
To ensure continued success towards ending AIDS, concerted, strategic efforts in the months and years ahead will be needed, especially at a moment when COVID-19 threatens the health of people all around the world. To end these dual pandemics UNAIDS looks forward to continuing to work closely with the United States for a safer, healthier world.
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.
