GENEVA, 06 May 2022—UNAIDS warmly congratulates John Nkengasong on confirmation by the U.S. Senate as Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally. As the new U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Dr Nkengasong will lead the United States’ President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
“This is great news for the world. John Nkengasong is an inspired choice to lead PEPFAR,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “He is one of the world’s leading experts on HIV and pandemic preparedness and has practical experience on how to advance efforts to end AIDS amidst the COVID pandemic. We need the kind of bold thinking and commitment that he has brought throughout his career. It will be a true honour to work with him in his new role, supporting continued United States leadership on HIV, and strengthening the life-saving partnership between the UNAIDS Joint Programme and PEPFAR.”
An HIV virologist with more than three decades of experience in the global HIV response, Dr Nkengasong’s work on COVID-19 in his most recent highly acclaimed role as the founding director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has been internationally recognized.
PEPFAR is a critical partner of UNAIDS, with an unprecedented proven track record of global life-saving work. In over 80 countries, PEPFAR and UNAIDS work hand-in-hand providing support to governments and communities to implement the Global AIDS Strategy and accelerate ending AIDS. Together they ensure that efforts are focused on the people and areas most affected by HIV, including supporting children, women and girls, and key populations.
Since its inception in 2003, the US Government, with bipartisan support, has invested over US$100 billion through PEPFAR – the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease. The United States’ investments and efforts have saved more than 21 million lives, prevented millions of HIV infections, and accelerated progress toward ending AIDS in over 50 countries.
The world is currently confronted with dual global pandemics. As Dr Nkengasong has noted, “We have seen how COVID-19 has affected some progress in our HIV efforts with devastating results, but we have also witnessed how the health systems and institutions built and strengthened by PEPFAR’s investments have been central to the COVID-19 response.” Through bold global action, the end of AIDS is possible, and actions to accelerate ending AIDS will strengthen the world’s efforts to beat all pandemics.
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.
