Press release and statement archive

The United Nations today called on all Africans including governments, communities, people living with HIV and AIDS and individuals to take ownership and unite in the response to AIDS in Africa.

A comprehensive review of epidemiological and behavioural data released today by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) concludes that HIV prevalence has fallen in Zimbabwe over the past five years, and that HIV incidence has also declined.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) endorse today’s announcement by the European Union (EU) to intensify HIV prevention efforts. The EU’s statement reaffirms the Member States’ commitment to tackling HIV and AIDS, particularly in developing countries.

A new international award celebrating community action on AIDS was launched today on World AIDS Day to honour grassroots leadership in fighting the AIDS epidemic.

Over £27.5 million for global AIDS prevention was today announced by the Prime Minister, showing the UK’s commitment on World AIDS Day to tackling the world’s fourth biggest killer.

The world’s best cricketers have pledged their support to the global fight against HIV and AIDS to mark World AIDS Day 2005 on Thursday 1 December.

A powerful new alliance of international organizations, local governments and the United Nations are joining forces on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2005, to encourage citizens worldwide to fight AIDS. A chain of simultaneous events in cities around the world will link these activities, ranging from media briefings to school...

The figure of 5.134 million people living with HIV in 2004 has been produced by a methodology and statistical calculation based on serological tests performed in sentinel sites all over India.

There is new evidence that adult HIV infection rates have decreased in certain countries and that changes in behaviour to prevent infection—such as increased use of condoms, delay of first sexual experience and fewer sexual partners—have played a key part in these declines. The new UN report also indicates, however...

“A rapid and substantial boost in national, regional and international support for the Latin America and Caribbean region on AIDS is essential to enable the region to get ahead of its diverse epidemics,” said the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today.

The Pacific region needs a comprehensive multi-sectored response to AIDS, backed by political leadership, if it is to effectively address the growing threat of a serious HIV epidemic, Asia Pacific Regional Director for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Dr. Prasada Rao said at the Pan Pacific Regional...

UNICEF, UNAIDS and other partners today launched a global campaign focusing on the enormous impact of HIV/AIDS on children, saying it was a disgrace that fewer than 5 per cent of HIV-positive children receive treatment and that millions of children who have lost parents to the disease go without support.

The threat of HIV and AIDS in New Zealand and neighbouring Pacific regions is bigger than ever before say Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the New Zealand AIDS Foundation on the eve of New Zealand’s first large-scale international conference on HIV and AIDS.

A ministerial level meeting is set to review the current status of HIV vaccine research and development, as well as a range of challenges concerning Africa's active participation and contribution to this area, in collaboration with various stakeholders and partners.

A review of epidemiological and behavioural data commissioned by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and other international partners has found preliminary indications of declining trends in HIV prevalence and incidence in Zimbabwe over the last five years.

UNAIDS signs partnership with police chiefs to tackle AIDS in Pacific

The UN system in Uganda supports the Uganda government policy on prevention of HIV/AIDS including the use of the triple strategy of Abstinence; Faithfulness; and correct and consistent Condom usage (the so-called ABC strategy). The UN system position is that condoms are one of the effective prevention tools in reducing...

Real success in the global response to the epidemic can only be achieved if a long-term horizon is integrated fully into AIDS planning and actions, said the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today.

Statement developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UNAIDS Secretariat Rio de Janeiro, 26 July 2005 – The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS notes with considerable interest the results of a trial examining the potential...

UNAIDS Executive Director says progress made in educating peacekeepers on HIV and AIDS; calls for expanded HIV testing services and intensified effort in addressing AIDS and security in long term

Geneva, 14 July 2005 – The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) finds unacceptable, the actions of the police during a protest of people living with HIV at a South African hospital in Queenstown, Eastern Cape province.

Alleviating poverty and lifting the debt burden in Africa is currently holding the focus of world leaders. But it is HIV and AIDS and the severe burden it puts on families that is the leading development concern facing the continent.

Highlights include new policies on HIV prevention, new efforts for greater coordination among international organizations, and recognition as leader in UN reform through its work and budget planning

Kobe, 4 July 2005 – Six months after the Asian tsunami, opportunities for HIV prevention in hard-hit areas are better than ever.

Kobe, Japan, 3 July 2005 – The response to AIDS in Asia will be in jeopardy unless everyone works more closely together to reverse the epidemic, according to a symposium held at Asia’s leading AIDS conference today attended by representatives from donor governments, civil society, and the United Nations.

As commercial sex and unsafe injecting drug use are the biggest drivers of HIV in most Asian countries, supportive government policies that address these behaviours are urgently needed to slow the spread of AIDS, according to a series of three reports released today by the Monitoring AIDS Pandemic (MAP) Network

In response to the urgent need for action to reduce the growing numbers of new HIV infections, the board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), this week unanimously approved a new policy approach to intensify HIV prevention efforts.

The governing board for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has unanimously agreed to put into practice recommendations on how the UN system and other multilateral institutions can work better together to strengthen the AIDS response in developing countries.

The number of people receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS in developing countries is increasing significantly – more than doubling from 400 000 in December 2003 to approximately one million in June 2005 – according to a new report released today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the...

Almost US$22 billion will be needed in 2008 to reverse spread of AIDS in the developing world, according to latest estimates.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is pleased to announce the appointment of the speaker of the Fijian House of Representatives Ratu Epeli Nailatikau as UNAIDS Special Representative for the Pacific.

The Mozambican chapter of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP/COREM – Conselho das Religiões em Moçambique), UNICEF and UNAIDS are joining forces as part of an initiative to strengthen the capacities of faith-based organizations in Mozambique to better respond to families and communities affected by HIV and AIDS.

The United States and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today congratulated China on its increased efforts to strengthen its response to AIDS and called for further commitments at all levels and through all sectors, as they commence a three-day mission to the south western province of Yunnan.

Today on the occasion of the granting of an honorary doctorate to UNICEF at the University of Antwerp, HRH Princess Mathilde announced her acceptance to become a UNICEF and UNAIDS Special Representative for children affected by and living with HIV/AIDS.

Despite encouraging signs that the AIDS epidemic is beginning to be contained in a small but growing number of countries, the epidemic continues to expand worldwide, according to a report released by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Three United Nations leaders today called for the world to refocus its attention on the chronic problems and humanitarian needs of millions of people in southern Africa, especially children.

A recent advertising campaign is touting the benefits of vitamin therapy above antiretroviral therapy and claiming that antiretroviral therapy is toxic. These advertisements, placed in the international press, are wrong and misleading, reiterated the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint United Nations Programme...

The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Dr Peter Piot, today announced the appointment of Ms Deborah Landey, currently the United Nations Resident Coordinator to the Philippines, as the new Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS.

The Flemish Government and the United Nations in Mozambique today announced the launch of a four year programme to combat the growing feminization of the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Mozambique.

Two years after a historic Special Session of the UN General Assembly on HIV/AIDS, despite considerable progress, many UN Member States will not meet basic AIDS prevention and care goals established at the 2001 meeting unless efforts are dramatically scaled up, according to reports released today by the UN Secretary-General...

Today, India’s Ministry of Defence and the UNAIDS Office on AIDS, Security and Humanitarian Response announced the signing of a partnership agreement committing both parties to work together to reduce the impact of HIV and increase prevention efforts among military personnel, particularly young men and women.

At the conclusion of his first mission to Viet Nam, UNICEF/ UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador Jackie Chan called for an end to discrimination and stigma towards children and families infected or affected with HIV/AIDS.

UNAIDS and WHO applaud the announcement made today by the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative of two new programmes to help expand AIDS care and treatment to children and to people living in rural areas.

UNAIDS thanks the Commission for the opportunity to address it under Agenda Item 12. UNAIDS also wishes to express its gratitude to the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Yakin Ertürk, who has described so forcefully the many ways that violence against women and girls – both inside and outside...

The Committee of Cosponsoring Organizations (CCO) of UNAIDS met in Moscow on 2 April 2005 and discussed the outcomes of the Ministerial Meeting

Today the co-sponsoring organizations of UNAIDS called for a broad-based response to the AIDS epidemic in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Geneva, 30 March 2005 -- A recent advertising campaign is touting the benefits of vitamin therapy above antiretroviral therapy and claiming that antiretroviral therapy is toxic. These advertisements are wrong and misleading, said the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint United Nations Programme...

Leaders from Norway, UK, Sweden, UNAIDS and the World Bank today praised Mozambique’s efforts to fight AIDS, but called for greater donor coordination and continued leadership from the government to strengthen the national AIDS response.

Today UNAIDS and the governments of the United Kingdom, France the United States will co-host a meeting in London to ensure countries can reverse the spread and impact of AIDS. Entitled ’Making the Money Work’ the meeting will also focus on greater coordination among partners and ensuring money is available...

On International Women’s Day, we celebrate women – their strength, their capacity for caring and compassion and the range of achievements they have made in their public, professional, and private lives. It is also a day on which we reflect on some of the difficulties women face in their daily...

By 2025, Africa and the world could face three very different scenarios for AIDS. And depending on the actions taken today, up to 43 million HIV infections could be averted over the next 20 years.

The Steering Committee of the Asia Pacific Leadership Forum on HIV/AIDS and Development (APLF) met last week to discuss ways in which both political and civil society leadership can be supported and strengthened in the region to reduce the spread of AIDS.

UNAIDS, UNICEF and Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) today expressed strong concern about the South African Medicine Control Council’s decision to discontinue use of single-dose nevirapine for prevention of mother to child transmission.

As new developments in the search for an HIV vaccine take place, vaccine researchers from around the world are joining forces to accelerate progress towards an effective and safe HIV vaccine, with the full and equal involvement of countries most affected by the AIDS epidemic.

Since this is my first press briefing of 2005, I feel compelled to begin with brief reference to the Tsunami, the Millennium Development Goals, the debt of African countries and “3 by 5”, the WHO/UNAIDS initiative to put three million people with full-blown AIDS into treatment by the end of...

As the tsunami relief efforts in devastated areas across the Indian Ocean shift towards long-term strategies, it is essential to sustain HIV prevention and care efforts, said Mr Prasada Rao, Director of the Regional Support Team of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Asia today.

By the end of 2004, 700 000 people living with AIDS in developing countries were receiving antiretroviral (ART) treatment thanks to the efforts of national governments, donors and other partners. This is an increase of approximately 75% in the total number receiving treatment from a year ago, and is up...

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has renewed Dr Peter Piot’s appointment as Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Under Secretary-General of the United Nations for four more years. “I am delighted that Dr Piot will continue to lead the response of the United Nations to...

I wish to join today with the legions of activists and advocates in Africa and worldwide who salute the quite remarkable collaboration on the provision of anti-retroviral drugs, jointly announced by The Clinton Foundation, The World Bank, UNICEF and the Global Fund. This initiative, along with WHO’s

Nelson Mandela continues to be an icon in the struggle against HIV and AIDS through his unwavering and outspoken stance on stigma and discrimination towards those living with and affected by the epidemic.