The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima, is leading the UNAIDS delegation at The Summit of the Future and the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York to urge world leaders to make new HIV prevention technologies available to people at risk of HIV infection and revitalize multilateralism in responding to global crises.
Lenacapavir, a new injectable medicine administered once every six months has shown in trials to be nearly 100% effective in preventing HIV with trials having been halted early due to the effectiveness of the new medicine. The medicine could be a game-changer for people most at risk of HIV but only if the technology is available and affordable in countries and populations most affected by HIV.
She will be calling on world leaders to revitalise multilateralism, with people at the centre, to respect human rights, solve the debt crisis to give countries the fiscal space to invest in health and other essential services, and allow communities and young people to lead and shape effective policies and programmes to end AIDS by 2030.
Ms Byanyima will be at #UNGA79 with two young HIV activists, Ibanomonde Ngema from South Africa and Jerop Limo from Kenya who will urge leaders to invest in youth-friendly health systems, to provide holistic services for young people living with HIV, and to partner with young people and communities, allowing them to lead in the response to HIV.
A special event convened by UNAIDS, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria on September 24 will celebrate the achievements of the global AIDS movement, using the global HIV response as a model of hope, global solidarity and multilateralism to renew commitments, both political and financial, to end AIDS by 2030 and secure progress in achieving the SDG’s.
Alongside Ms Byanyima, participants will include HE William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya, HE Tiémoko Meyliet Koné, Vice President of Cote d’Ivoire and HE Russell Dlamini, Prime Minister of Eswatini (see media advisory below for more details).
Ms Byanyima, Ms Ngema and Ms Limo are available for interviews.
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.
