GENEVA, 28 September 2021—UNAIDS warmly welcomes the intent of the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, to nominate John Nkengasong as Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally at the Department of State.

One of the world’s leading pandemic experts, Mr Nkengasong is an HIV virologist with decades of experience in the global AIDS response and is the current Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. He is an inspired choice to lead the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the largest response in history by any nation to a single disease.

“John Nkengasong’s vast experience in combatting HIV, combined with his position as Africa’s leading disease expert fighting Ebola, COVID-19 and more, position him extremely well to guide the United States’ global contribution towards ending the AIDS pandemic,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Today, the HIV and COVID-19 pandemics are colliding in communities throughout the world, and the threat of a resurgent AIDS pandemic is very real. We need the kind of bold thinking and commitment he has brought throughout his career.”

Previously, Mr Nkengasong was Acting Deputy Director, Center for Global Health, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and prior to that the Chief of the International Laboratory Branch, Division of Global HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, at the CDC. He also served as the Associate Director for Laboratory Science, Division of Global AIDS/HIV and Tuberculosis, Center for Global Health, CDC, and Co-Chair of PEPFAR’s Laboratory Technical Working Group. Mr Nkengasong has served as a member of the UNAIDS Advisory Group since 2019 and as the World Health Organization Director-General’s Special Envoy on COVID-19 Preparedness and Response since 2020.

Marking its 25th anniversary this year, UNAIDS has long partnered with PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to advance progress towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

UNAIDS is very grateful to the Acting United States Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, Angeli Achrekar, and her team, who have steered PEPFAR through a year of transition between administrations, and multiple pandemics, with urgency and expertise. Ms Achrekar will continue to lead PEPFAR through Mr Nkengasong’s Senate confirmation process.

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.

GENEVA, 11 August 2021—UNAIDS welcomes the announcement by Chile that it recognizes international responsibility for violating the rights of a woman living with HIV who was sterilized without her consent almost 20 years ago. The government has agreed a friendly settlement with the woman, Francisca, that includes the payment of reparations for the violation of her human rights. It has also committed to ending forced sterilization and to guaranteeing reproductive rights as human rights without discrimination.

Francisca delivered a healthy baby boy in 2002 and was then sterilized without her consent by the doctor who carried out her Caesarean section, making the decision that a woman living with HIV should not be able to have children. The friendly agreement announced this week comes after more than a decade’s litigation by the woman and her legal teams.

“This settlement is a significant moment for women around the world who have been fighting for reproductive justice for decades. Coercive sterilization of women living with HIV is a violation of women’s most fundamental human rights,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. “Unfortunately, this practice is still happening in many countries and efforts to stop it and bring justice to more women must be stepped up.”

This settlement comes after years of efforts before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) after an earlier complaint in the Chilean justice system was unsuccessful. The case was litigated by the Chilean organization, Vivo Positivo, and the international human rights organization, Center for Reproductive Rights.

UNAIDS submitted an amicus brief to inform the IAHCR the standards that governments must uphold to address the HIV stigma and discrimination that impact women living with HIV. These include the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil women’s autonomy in decision making on matters related to their sexual and reproductive lives, their right to physical integrity and their right to be free from violence, including from violence by health personnel.

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.

GENEVA, 8 July 2021—UNAIDS is shocked and saddened by the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, the President of Haiti, during an attack by gunmen at his private residence. It also sends its sincere hopes that the First Lady, Martine Moïse, will recover from the injuries that she sustained during the incident.

“My thoughts are with the family of President Moïse at this incredibly difficult time,” said the UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. “I sincerely hope that the First Lady will recover from her injuries. She is a strong friend to UNAIDS and a staunch champion in the response to the HIV epidemic, both in Haiti and across the region.”

Ms Moïse, above left, has chaired Haiti’s Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Country Coordinating Mechanism since 2017 and is a close ally of UNAIDS. She is also a member of the Spouses of Caribbean Leaders Action Network and champions its work around the Every Woman, Every Child initiative in Haiti. Among Ms Moïse’s priorities are combatting violence against women and girls, teen pregnancy and human trafficking. She also supports the agenda to prevent and eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

In June, Ms Moïse spoke on behalf of the Caribbean Community at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS.

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.

GENEVA, 6 July 2021—UNAIDS is deeply concerned by new legislation in Hungary that includes discriminatory amendments against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.

The amendments include banning the dissemination of content in schools and public service announcements deemed to “promote gender identity different from sex assigned at birth, the change of sex and homosexuality” to people under the age of 18 years. The amendments were tacked on to a popular bill to increase the criminalization of paedophilia, which was signed into law by Hungary’s President, János Áder, on 23 June 2021.

“The association of sexual orientation and gender identity with criminal acts such paedophilia is not only wrong, it is intolerable,” said Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director of UNAIDS. “To end the AIDS epidemic, we need laws that protect, not harm, already marginalized communities.”

Criminalization and discrimination against LGBTI people hinder the availability, access and uptake of HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and care and support services. Data from UNAIDS show that knowledge of HIV status among gay men and other men who have sex with men who are living with HIV was three times higher in countries with the least repressive LGBTI laws than in countries with the most repressive LGBTI laws.

In response to a recent question on the new law, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, said, “No discrimination is acceptable in any circumstances, and any discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people is totally unacceptable in our modern societies.”

The new legislation will also present new barriers to addressing discrimination against LGBTI people in school settings. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Global Education Monitoring Report, launched last May, more than half of LGBTI students in Europe have experienced bullying in school at least once based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or variations of sex characteristics.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called the Hungarian bill a “shame”, saying that it “clearly discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and goes against the fundamental principles of the European Union.”

In the recently adopted Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030, United Nations Member States committed to “urgent and transformative action to end the social, economic, racial and gender inequalities, restrictive and discriminatory laws, policies and practices, stigma and multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including based on HIV status, and human rights violations that perpetuate the global AIDS epidemic.”

UNAIDS will continue to advocate with legislators, other government authorities and civil society around the world to establish anti-discrimination and protective laws, to eliminate the discrimination and violence faced by LGBTI people and to advance the right to health for all people without exception.

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.

GENEVA, 7 July 2021—UNAIDS strongly condemns the attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) activists and journalists at Tbilisi Pride’s offices and surrounding areas, which have forced the cancellation of Gay Pride events in the city. UNAIDS expresses its solidarity with all LGBTI people in Georgia.

“The shocking violence suffered by LGBTI activists and journalists in Tbilisi is completely unacceptable,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “The authorities must take urgent measures to protect the human rights of the LGBTI community, including their right to freedom of expression and assembly, and to bring those responsible for the attacks to justice.”

On 1 December 2018, Tbilisi signed the Paris Declaration to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, joining more than 300 municipalities in the Fast-Track cities initiative, which was initiated by the Mayor of Paris, UNAIDS, IAPAC and UN-HABITAT in 2014. The initiative commits Tbilisi to work closely with communities, including gay men and other men who have sex with men and transgender people, to foster social equality.

The new UNAIDS Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026: End Inequalities, End AIDS is also clear that stigma and discrimination against LGBTI people violates human rights, deepens inequalities and acts as a critical barrier to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. A crucial element of the strategy is to address the challenges faced by key populations (gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgender people and people who use drugs) so that less than 10% experience stigma, discrimination and violence by 2025. The strategy calls on countries to take immediate action to reduce stigmatizing attitudes and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity as a critical element to ending AIDS by 2030.

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.

GENEVA/LUSAKA, 18 June 2021—UNAIDS is deeply saddened by the death of the first President of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda, and expresses its sincere condolences to his family, his friends and the country. Mr Kaunda was a strong supporter of the AIDS response and showed great leadership and courage in speaking out against HIV-related stigma and discrimination in the early days of the epidemic.

Mr Kaunda, who lost a son to AIDS in the 1980s, was one of the first members of the Champions for an AIDS-Free Generation in Africa, a distinguished group of former presidents and influential African leaders mobilizing political leadership to end AIDS as a public health threat on the continent by 2030. Mr Kaunda also dedicated time and effort to the AIDS response through his Kenneth Kaunda Children of Africa Foundation and through the Zambian Chapter of the Brothers for Life Campaign, which aimed to encourage healthier lifestyles among young men.

In 2018, UNAIDS conferred its Leadership Award on Mr Kaunda for his services to the global, regional and national AIDS response. Upon accepting the honour, he dedicated it to the people who had died of AIDS-related illnesses as well as those on the front line of fighting HIV. Mr Kaunda is also fondly remembered for performing at public events his song: We Shall Fight and Conquer AIDS.

“The sun has set on a great and good man, freedom fighter, pan-Africanist, founding parent of the Organisation of African Unity and giant of the HIV response,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. “He was brave, compassionate and tireless in confronting HIV-related stigma and discrimination from the early days of the epidemic and his contribution to Africa’s response will not be forgotten. We shall fight and conquer AIDS.”

GENEVA, 12 May 2021—UNAIDS strongly welcomes the report and recommendations of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response. Amongst others, the panel calls for the establishment of a Global Health Threats Council with participation at the highest political level to coordinate global action against pandemics and secure agreement between governments in aligning efforts to tackle the health, social and economic challenges of major pandemics. 

“The Independent Panel's recommendations are a wake-up call for transforming health systems across the world,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Health is a universal public good in this interconnected society—no one is safe, until everyone is safe so we must reimagine health to provide the same quality of care regardless of geography, income or social status.”

UNAIDS shares the panel’s concerns on the impact of COVID-19 in deepening inequalities within and across countries. There has been a particularly uneven burden that women have had to endure. Despite constituting almost 60% of the health workforce and front-line workers, the needs of women have not been included in most COVID-19 responses, increasing the inequality gap. 

“Like HIV, COVID-19 has exploited the fault lines of society and exposed the fragility of recent gains in public health, added Ms Byanyima. “Lessons from the AIDS response can help shape a new paradigm for global health in which people are placed at the centre, inequalities are erased and the right to health is enshrined in every part of the world. 

UNAIDS also commends the report in highlighting the urgency for vaccine equity in calling for the urgent redistribution of 1 billion vaccines from rich to limited-resource countries by September 2021 to be followed by another 1 billion doses to be redistributed during 2022. 

UNAIDS fully supports the call for G7 countries to commit to providing 60% of the US$ 19 billion required for ACT-A in 2021 for vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics and strengthening health systems with the remainder being mobilized from others in the G20 and other higher income countries. A formula based on ability to pay should be adopted for predictable, sustainable, and equitable financing of such global public goods on an ongoing basis. 

UNAIDS stands ready to support efforts to build pandemic resilience and preparedness, specifically building on UNAIDS experience with community-led responses, activism and rights-based approaches, and in leveraging investments in the unique HIV infrastructure and networks to create resilient health systems. UNAIDS urges all partners to apply the lessons learned from the HIV response to ensure a community led, equitable and human rights-based approach to support stronger pandemic preparedness and responses to ensure health for all.

HIV and pandemic preparedness will be discussed at the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on HIV between 8-10 June.

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.

I applaud the announcement from United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai supporting the waiving of intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines.  

This is the kind of global leadership the world desperately needs as we witness horrific scenes in countries like India, where only nine in 100 people have been vaccinated. To date, more than 1.1 billion doses of vaccine have been administered globally, but more than 80% of those have been administered in high- and upper-middle income countries, while just 0.3% have been administered in low-income countries.

We are in a race to vaccinate the majority of the world’s population to curb death tolls and before more potent variants of COVID-19 emerge, rendering current vaccines ineffective. The faster we can scale up global vaccine supply, the faster we can contain the virus and the less chance we will face a day when variants prove resistant to existing vaccines. As the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has said “no one is safe until everyone is safe”.

The TRIPS waiver would enable the sharing of technologies, data, know-how, patents and other intellectual property rights across the world. The announcement of the US administration sends a powerful signal to the rest of the G7 and to the European Union to also support the World Trade Organization TRIPS Waiver and inspire other countries to take a powerful stand in favour of people before profits. This remarkable position from the US government is a fundamental step towards a People’s Vaccine.

To ensure everyone, everywhere has access to a lifesaving vaccine, we also need to see a pooling of technology through the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool, as well as financing to help build a network of vaccine manufacturing in developing countries. These three actions can together build a sustainable system to vaccinate the world, reach the needed herd immunity and open the paths to make the world best prepared for future pandemics. 

As we have learned from 40 years of fighting AIDS, equitable access to medical technologies is critical both for saving lives and for decreasing the impact of infectious diseases on people, communities and nations.

We are grateful to President Biden and his Administration for the generous humanitarian pledges made on COVID-19 and for the announcement.

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.

GENEVA, 6 May 2021—UNAIDS is deeply concerned by the Ugandan parliament’s decision earlier this week to adopt the Sexual Offences Bill 2019, which includes provisions that further criminalize entire groups of people, such as the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, sex workers and people living with HIV. The bill criminalizes same-sex sexual relations, extends the criminalization of sex work and imposes mandatory testing for HIV and harsher sentences on people living with HIV than the general population accused of some similar crimes.

Although UNAIDS welcomes some aspects of the bill, such as the extension of protection from sexual harassment, violence and sexual exploitation to groups of people such as people in detention and migrant workers, it urges parliamentarians to reconsider the provisions that discriminate against some people.

“I am deeply troubled by the Ugandan parliament’s adoption of portions of this bill that further criminalize and marginalize vulnerable groups of fellow citizens and deny them their human rights, including their right to health,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. “Targeting people living with HIV, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and sex workers increases stigma and discrimination and undermines the HIV response by preventing people from receiving the HIV treatment, prevention and care services that they so urgently need.”

UNAIDS recognizes the good progress that Uganda has made in recent years in reducing the impact of HIV. The number of AIDS-related deaths has fallen by 60% since 2010, with 1.2 million people out of 1.5 million people living with HIV on medicines to keep them alive and well. In addition, the number of new HIV infections has fallen by 43% since 2010. However, many vulnerable groups of people, such as gay men and other men who have sex with men and sex workers, continue to be less likely than the general population to receive the HIV treatment, prevention and care services they need.

UNAIDS urges Uganda to join the growing number of countries in Africa and globally that are removing unjust laws from their penal codes. The Ugandan parliament’s adoption of the new law comes just weeks before the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS, which will take place from 8 to 10 June 2021.

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.

GENEVA, 29 April 2021—The government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) has informed UNAIDS that funding for UNAIDS for 2021 is confirmed at GBP 2.5 million, compared to the GBP 15 million received by UNAIDS from the UK for 2020.

This cut of GBP 12.5 million (or more than 80%) is significant. It affects the provision of live-saving HIV prevention and treatment services around the world. It affects the empowerment of young women and adolescent girls and their access to sexual and reproductive health and rights across the world, and Africa in particular. It impacts on support to upholding the human rights of some of the most marginalized people, including lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer and intersex people in low- and middle-income countries. It reduces global health security.

UNAIDS recognizes the challenging situation facing many governments, yet deeply regrets this decision of our longstanding partner and advocate. We are assessing the full scope and impact of the cut and are actively formulating mitigation strategies.

The UK government has said the decision does not reflect a diminished commitment to UNAIDS or the HIV response. UNAIDS will continue working with the UK and partners to explore ways to ensure continuity and predictability of funding to sustain the hard-won gains in the fight against HIV and to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

The UK has been a leader in the fight against AIDS. It has called for the G7 to be centred on beating pandemics and is rallying the world for girls’ education and empowerment. UNAIDS is determined to deliver breakthroughs on those together with the UK. We hope that the UK, which has rated UNAIDS ‘A’ for delivery, will decide to supplement its current allocation for 2021.

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.