GENEVA, 23 January 2023— The end of the Mosaico HIV vaccine trial must lead to a continued drive to innovate as well as an urgency to ensure that proven HIV prevention and treatment options reach all who need them, says UNAIDS. Rapid progress against the HIV pandemic is possible if existing prevention and treatment options are made available through the sharing of technologies, expanding provision, and tackling barriers to access. The development, and sharing, of long-acting prevention and treatment options are also important to expand coverage.

“The disappointment of the vaccine trial further underlines the importance of rolling out available HIV treatment and prevention innovations, including oral PrEP, long acting injectables and the vaginal ring,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. “The search for a vaccine must continue, but it’s important to remember that despite this setback the world can still end AIDS by 2030 by delivering all the proven prevention and treatment options to all the people who need them.”

Although there were no safety concerns flagged during the vaccine trial, it is being discontinued after an independent review of the research found no evidence of reduced risk of HIV infection among participants. The trial began in 2019 as a private-public partnership that included the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., the HIV Vaccine Trials Network and the United States Army Medical Research and Development Command. The trial enrolled 3900 men who have sex with men and transgender people across eight countries in Europe and the Americas, including the United States. Participants received four injections over 12 months, either of the vaccine or a placebo, with the monitoring board finding no significant difference in the HIV acquisition rate between the two groups.

Global research efforts into vaccines and a cure must carry on. At the same time, the world cannot wait for, or depend on, a vaccine or cure. The end of AIDS by 2030, as promised, is still possible, but leaders have no time to wait.

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, 27 January 2023—The Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Winnie Byanyima is calling on world leaders to address the unsustainable external debt service burdens of developing countries which are widening inequalities and undermining the health and livelihoods of millions of people.

Rising interest rates, a strong dollar and inflation are depleting budgets for education, health, including for HIV, and social services in highly indebted developing countries.

“Low-income countries are spending up to four times more on debt repayments than they are on health,” said Ms Byanyima, addressing global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “In 2021, almost half of all developing countries cut health spending and about 70% cut spending on education.”

Efforts to end AIDS are also being impacted. In 2021, UNAIDS saw that globally the number of new HIV infections dropped only 3.6% from 2020, the smallest annual decline since 2016. The impact was also felt in funding for HIV. Donor funding for the AIDS response was 10% lower in 2020 that it was in 2010 and domestic financing fell 2% for a second year in a row in 2020. UNAIDS estimates that continuing on the current trajectory would lead to 7.5 million AIDS-related deaths by 2030, and millions of new HIV infections.  

In 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, low- and middle-income countries transferred almost US$ 1 trillion in debt service to external creditors. The International Monetary Fund calculates that over 60% of low-income countries are now in debt distress or high risk of it—22 of these countries are in Africa, the continent with the highest burden of HIV. 

“COVID-19 proved to us that our health and our economies are locked together,” said Ms Byanyima. “Global leaders must urgently agree on a comprehensive multilateral legal framework to restructure the debt of developing countries. This catastrophic debt crisis is claiming lives and locking millions of children out of the future they deserve.”

She argued that health, education, social protection and climate action should be recognised as global public goods that every government contributes to. “We are becoming wider and wider apart with a global economy that extracts from the weakest and gives to those with the strongest elbows,” said Ms Byanyima.

At a time when debt repayments are crippling health budgets, rich countries are putting the profits of pharmaceutical companies, banks, private lenders and financial institutions ahead of people’s lives in the global south. Almost three years into the COVID-19 pandemic and rich countries are still preventing developing nations from producing generic COVID-19 tests and treatments.

“Without an urgent rethink, the world could sleepwalk into a convergence of health and financial crises that could crush developing countries,” said Ms Byanyima.

UNAIDS is concerned that intellectual property barriers continue to deny millions of people access to lifesaving health technologies. Long-acting medicines for HIV prevention and treatment that are today available in the global North, are still beyond the reach of the developing countries most affected by HIV.

At a time when debt repayments are crippling global south health budgets, UNAIDS is calling for the pharmaceutical company ViiV to reduce the price of long-acting HIV medicines and allow all developing countries to produce generic versions. UNAIDS is also calling on World Trade Organization member countries to ease intellectual property rules for COVID-19 tests and treatments.

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, 20 December 2022—UNAIDS welcomes the judgement by the High Court of Kenya at Nairobi recognizing that coerced sterilization of women living with HIV is a violation of their human rights.  

The judgement follows a case brought forward in 2014 by a Kenyan woman living with HIV who was coerced by professionals at a health facility to undergo tubal ligation thus taking away her ability to have children. The High Court found that the performance of this operation without consent amounted to a violation of her rights to non-discrimination, to dignity, to health and to family.  

“This decision is an important step in protecting the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women living with HIV,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “UNAIDS stands ready to work with all governments to ensure such practices are eliminated completely and that women living with HIV are able to access health services without stigma or discrimination.” 

UNAIDS intervened in this case with an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief that informed the Kenyan High Court on the health guidelines and human rights standards that each country must follow to respect, protect and guarantee the human rights of people living with HIV, and the impact that such involuntary practices can have on the HIV response. The Kenyan Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV/AIDS (KELIN) and the African Gender and Media Initiatives Trust (GEM) were also petitioners in this case.  

HIV-related stigma and discrimination has a significant impact on the health, lives and well-being of people living with or at risk of HIV. Stigma and discrimination hinders the HIV response by limiting access to broader sexual and reproductive health and other health services. UNAIDS continues to work daily to ensure that governments invest in preventing and responding to violations linked to the forms of intersectional discrimination to which people living with HIV have been subjected. 

The plaintiff in the case stated, “This was never about the money. I wanted to fight for justice for myself and all women who have had this experience, and to ensure this does not happen to other women who are living with HIV who need access to reproductive health services.”  

“This case is an important moment for reproductive justice and the feminist movement. Coercive sterilization of women living with HIV is a violation of women’s most fundamental human rights and undermines effective HIV responses,” said UNAIDS Country Director for Kenya, Medhin Tsehaiu. “It is only through a human rights approach that we will end AIDS as a public health threat.” 

A rights-based approach includes the right to start a family and have children, the right to decide the number and spacing of their children, the right to reproductive autonomy and the right to access quality services to support their reproductive health choices, based on their informed, safe and voluntary consent. These are fundamental human rights that belong to all women, regardless of HIV status, and are guaranteed in global and regional treaties.  

“We welcome the court’s decision and although it took a long time, we are happy that the court found the client’s rights had been violated, and particularly the finding of discrimination on the basis of sex and HIV status,” said Allan Maleche, Executive Director, KELIN. 

The Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026: End Inequalities, End AIDS includes a central role for the promotion of human rights, gender equality and dignity, free from stigma and discrimination for all people living with and affected by HIV. It is a commitment by UNAIDS to an ambitious vision to end gender inequalities and realize human rights, including the right to health, calling on all partners and stakeholders in the HIV response in all countries to transform unequal gender norms and end stigma and discrimination.

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, 13 December 2022—UNAIDS warmly welcomes the appointment of Erika Castellanos as the new Executive Director of GATE (Global Action for Trans Equality). GATE works to ensure justice and equality for trans, gender diverse and intersex communities through strategic partnerships with diverse global entities, including UNAIDS and other United Nations bodies and mechanisms.

Born in Belize, Erica started her activism focusing on the rights of people living with HIV and sex workers. She brings to her work her lived experience as a transgender woman living with HIV and as a member of different communities of key populations.

“Erika Castellanos is an internationally recognized and highly respected HIV and human rights activist. UNAIDS appreciates our partnership with Erika as a civil society delegate to our Programme Coordinating Board" said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. “GATE’s work as a trans-led organization has been critical to foster the engagement of trans, gender diverse and intersex communities in the AIDS response. We look forward to continuing our work with Erika and GATE in addressing the inequalities affecting these communities”.

Erika Castellanos joined GATE in April 2017 as Director of Programs. In February 2022, she took the role of Interim Executive Director during which time she has continued to solidify GATE’s position as a global leader in trans, gender diverse and intersex advocacy.

Erika has served various positions at national, regional and global levels including as Executive Director of the Collaborative Network for Persons Living with HIV (C-NET+) – Belize, Vice-Chair of the Board of the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), board member of the HIV Justice Network and co-chair of the ViiV Positive Action program for men who have sex with men and transgender people. In 2018, Erika was the first openly transgender advocate to be appointed to the Board of the Global Fund, as part of the communities delegation.

Erika will begin her new role as GATE’s Executive Director on 1 January 2023.

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.

CHAING MAI/GENEVA, 13 December 2022—UNAIDS welcomes confirmation from the United Kingdom that it will be increasing its funding to UNAIDS from £2.5 million in 2021 to £8 million in 2022.

UNAIDS also welcomes plans being finalized for a multi-year funding agreement between UNAIDS and Ireland for the period 2023 to 2026. 

In recent weeks, a series of donors have been announcing funding commitments to UNAIDS. 

The decisions were shared at the 51st meeting of UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board being held in Chaing Mai, Thailand, and will help provide to secure predictable and timely funding to UNAIDS to enable UNAIDS to deliver on the Global AIDS Strategy 2021-2026.

“We warmly welcome the United Kingdom’s decision to announce further funding to UNAIDS, and Ireland’s multi-year commitment, which underscore both countries’ bold commitment to end AIDS and tackle the inequalities that continue to drive the pandemic,” said the Executive Director of UNAIDS Winnie Byanyima. “The United Kingdom and Ireland are valued and steadfast partners to UNAIDS, and their support allows us to provide the leadership and coordination that the global HIV response requires at this critical time.”

Both the United Kingdom and Ireland share UNAIDS commitment to an equality based, evidence driven approach to ending AIDS which champions the rights of women, girls and the key populations most vulnerable to HIV infection.

Thank you to the United Kingdom for contributing a further £8 million to UNAIDS.

We are grateful for the UK's partnership and support, and for their commitment to the AIDS response. #PCB51 pic.twitter.com/tnd61NKWoi

— UNAIDS (@UNAIDS) December 13, 2022

We are pleased to be finalizing a multi-year funding agreement with Ireland, as announced at #PCB51.

Thank you Ireland for your support and your longstanding commitment to the AIDS response. Together we can #endAIDS by 2030! pic.twitter.com/pLAwYjR631

— UNAIDS (@UNAIDS) December 13, 2022

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, 13 December 2022—UNAIDS welcomes the judgement by the High Court in Barbados to strike down the country’s colonial-era gross indecency and buggery laws that criminalised consensual same-sex relations.

“This historic decision is a significant step towards protecting the human rights and dignity of LGBT people in Barbados,” said Luisa Cabal, UNAIDS Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. “It will also strengthen the country’s HIV response by helping to reduce stigma and discrimination faced by LGBT people and increasing the uptake of HIV testing, treatment and prevention services.”

Under section 9 of the Barbados Sexual Offences Act, punishment could lead to life imprisonment for men engaging in same-sex sexual activity. Under section 12, both men and women were criminalised and liable to up to 10 years imprisonment. Laws that punish consensual same sex relations, in addition to contravening the human rights of LGBT people, act as a barrier to improving health outcomes, including in the HIV response. Such laws sustain stigma and discrimination against LGBT people and stop LGBT people seeking and receiving healthcare for fear of being punished or detained. Decriminalisation saves and changes lives and builds stronger societies.

Barbados becomes the third Caribbean country this year to announce the repeal of such discriminatory legislation. The case was filed by two Barbadian LGBT advocates with local organisation Equals Barbados providing community support, and the regional LGBT umbrella organisation, the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality, convening the process.

Earlier this year, courts in Antigua and Barbuda and St Kitts and Nevis also struck down as unconstitutional laws that criminalised gay men and other men who have sex with men. There now remain six countries in the Caribbean that criminalize gay sex between consenting adults, all of them former British colonies. They are Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

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, 10 December 2022—On International Human Rights Day, UNAIDS is highlighting that the AIDS pandemic will only be ended if the human rights of all people are fully respected.

UNAIDS is emphasising the need for law and policy reform to ensure the human rights of people living with HIV, women and girls, and all marginalised populations, including gay men and other men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who use drugs, and sex workers.

“It’s clear that when communities of people suffer from human rights violations, the response to HIV is undermined,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima.

Multiple and intersecting inequalities that drive the HIV pandemic are exacerbated by, and exacerbate, human rights violations. A UNAIDS report released ahead of World AIDS Day, Dangerous Inequalities, revealed how human rights violations hamper the AIDS response.

Stigma and discrimination, criminalization and marginalization are driving new infections among key populations by blocking access to HIV prevention, treatment and care services. Around the world, 68 countries still criminalize same sex relationships, which prevents tailored service outreach to communities most affected by the pandemic and deters people from visiting public health facilities. In sub-Saharan Africa, studies have shown that in countries where they are criminalised, HIV prevalence is many times higher among gay men and other men who have sex with men and sex workers, compared to countries where they are not. In 2021, 70% of all new HIV infections worldwide were among key populations and their sexual partners.

UNAIDS supports the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) in its #NotACriminal campaign against the dehumanising and denigrating impact of laws that criminalise identities and health status. During its World AIDS Day campaign this year, UNAIDS has been urging countries to challenge the inequalities driving the AIDS pandemic by equalizing access to HIV services.

In 2021, a young woman or girl aged 15—24 years old acquired HIV every two minutes. In sub-Saharan Africa, this group is three times more likely to acquire HIV than adolescent boys and young men of the same age group. These inequalities are not inevitable. Enabling girls to complete secondary education dramatically reduces their vulnerability to HIV, and when countries take measures to tackle gender-based violence and secure access to key services, their risk of HIV infection further decreases.

“Respect for the human rights of all people is key to overcoming the AIDS pandemic,” said Ms Byanyima.

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.

The 2020 Kazakhstan Code on Public Health and Health Care System guaranteed the right of people living with HIV to adopt children. However, certain bylaw regulations remained that created barriers for people living with HIV to enjoy the right to adopt children. On 1 December 2022, the day the world commemorated World AIDS Day, the Ministry of Health removed this remaining barrier.

UNADS welcomes this progressive action as reaffirmation of Kazakhstan’s continuing commitment to eliminate stigma and discrimination against people living with and affected by HIV.

UNAIDS Country Director in Kazakhstan Gabriela IONASCU said, “Living with HIV is no longer seen as an impediment to adopting and raising children. By excluding HIV from the list of diseases that prevent people from adopting children or becoming guardians or foster parents, Kazakhstan is taking bold steps to advance in the right direction: ensuring human rights for all, including for people living with HIV.”

It furthermore underlines Kazakhstan’s commitment to guaranteeing human rights for all leaving no one behind, including activities under the framework of the Global Partnership for Action to Eliminate All Forms of HIV-Related Stigma and Discrimination which the Republic of Kazakhstan joined in 2021 among 30 other pilot countries.

“Similar changes in legislation were made in other eastern European and central Asian countries, including the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. UNAIDS reaffirms its commitment to provide technical assistance and expert support to advance progress to end AIDS in Kazakhstan and support all people living with and affected by HIV across the region,” said Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director and Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Note: The decree of the Ministry of Health of The Republic of Kazakhstan

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.

2 December 2022

UNAIDS and the Australian Government have signed a new five-year strategic partnership agreement to advance efforts to respond to HIV in the Asia-Pacific region. The agreement will help to intensify efforts to get back on track to end AIDS by 2030, by addressing the inequalities that hamper the global HIV response. 

As part of the agreement, Australia will commit AUD 25 million from 2022 to 2027 to support the global effort to ending AIDS, and to improve HIV outcomes for people in Asia-Pacific.  

While Asia-Pacific has seen remarkable progress, many challenges remain. The COVID crisis interrupted vital services across the region, hurting progress. New HIV infections in the region are rising again for the first time in a decade. Key populations, LGBTQI communities, and people with disabilities continue to face unequal access to medicine and healthcare, along with enduring stigma. These inequalities have hindered the HIV response.  

The agreement will assist communities and countries to tackle those inequalities, advancing proven approaches which help equalize access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care. The agreement recognizes the role of UNAIDS in providing international leadership and coordination to guide the HIV response. It builds on the strengths and experiences of Australia and UNAIDS to ensure strong partnership engagement.  

The partnership will enable a robust and sustainable response to HIV which is integrated into the wider context of health and sustainable development in the Asia–Pacific region. 

“Australia is a longstanding and valued partner of UNAIDS, said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. This new agreement will help us to build on this partnership and draw on our collective expertise to end AIDS by 2030.”  

“The Australian Government is investing in our long-standing partnership with UNAIDS,” said Senator the Hon Penny Wong, Minister of Foreign Affairs. “Our five-year partnership builds upon our efforts to recover lost ground during the COVID pandemic and set our region, and the world, back on the path to ending HIV/AIDS.”

In 2021, 650 000 people were lost to AIDS and 1.5 million people newly acquired HIV. Through bold international action to tackle the inequalities which drive it, the world can end 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.

Responding to the scrapping of the colonial era law which had criminalised gay men, UNAIDS Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific region Taoufik Bakkali said:

“Everyone benefits from decriminalisation. The end of the criminalisation will save lives.

In all countries which have criminalised gay men, it has had the consequence of obstructing access to vital services. Laws which punish consensual same sex relations, as well as contravening the human rights of LGBT people, are a major barrier to improving health outcomes, including in the HIV response. Punitive legislation embeds stigma and discrimination against LGBT people, and  deters LGBT people from seeking healthcare for fear of being denounced to the authorities and facing punishment and detention.

The international momentum to scrap colonial punitive laws will inspire other countries to follow. The evidence is clear: if we are to protect the health of everyone, such harmful laws have no future."

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.