The Government of Brazil and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) announced today a new approach to scale up the response to AIDS in developing countries through multilateral agreements between the Government of Brazil, UNAIDS and other developing countries. As part of this new joint initiative, UNAIDS will establish an International Centre for Technical Cooperation on AIDS, based in Brazil.

Greater participation of women and adolescents is needed in HIV vaccine clinical trials, according to a group of international experts, who attended a consultation on HIV vaccine trials in Lausanne, Switzerland, from 26-28 August.

India's entertainment industry is challenging the AIDS epidemic head-on. For the first time ever, a mainstream Bollywood Hindi film, Phir Milenge (We’ll Meet Again), has placed AIDS at the heart of its story line.

Geneva, 16 August 2004 – UNAIDS is deeply concerned about the recent detention and reported mistreatment of 39 members of the Blue Diamond Society, a Nepalese AIDS NGO working with sexual minorities. The Nepali police arrested these people on 9 August 2004 and they are still being held today.

HIV infections among women and girls in nine countries in southern Africa are increasing at an alarming rate, a new report commissioned by United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has found, with many young women being infected almost as soon as they start having sex.

Efforts to combat HIV in Central America and the Caribbean received a major boost today. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the German Development Bank (KfW) signed a cooperation agreement to encourage HIV prevention and reduce infection in these severely affected regions. This signing strengthens the already extensive collaboration between UNAIDS and KfW on AIDS programming.

UNAIDS welcomes the new initiative announced by the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Tony Blair. This commitment, to spending at least £1.5 billion over the next three years on HIV-related programmes, represents a tremendous step forward in the global effort to combat AIDS. UNAIDS also applauds the strategy’s strong focus on women, young people and orphans; often the most vulnerable groups. The UK is once again showing the importance of directed and informed leadership.

Action against HIV/AIDS that does not confront gender inequality is doomed to failure, according to a report released today by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

Political leaders in Asia and the Pacific have a precious window of opportunity to save millions of people from HIV infection. But to succeed, they will need to drastically increase spending on AIDS and scale up prevention, care and treatment programmes, according to a report by the Asia Pacific Leadership Forum (APLF) on HIV/AIDS and Development.

Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and gender inequality remain the two biggest challenges to AIDS prevention in South Asia, according to experts. A satellite session at the XV International AIDS Conference today reviewed the progress made and challenges in mounting an effective AIDS response in South Asia.