The Mongolian Minister of Defence, H.E. Mr. J. Gurragchaa, and the Minister of Justice and Home Affairs, H.E. Mr. Ts. Nyamdorj signed a partnership agreement today with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to tackle HIV in uniformed services.

Chris Kirubi, leading African businessman and Chairman of Kenya’s HIV/AIDS Business Council, has been named Special Advisor to the UNAIDS Executive Director in an effort to strengthen the business response to AIDS in East Africa. Mr Kirubi has agreed to accept this honorary position on a voluntary basis for one year. He is also the corporate advisory board member of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS.

A major step was taken at a meeting today in Washington D.C., co-chaired by UNAIDS, the UK and the US, where donors and developing countries agreed to three core principles to better coordinate the scale-up of national AIDS responses. Known as the “Three Ones”, the principles are: one agreed HIV/AIDS action framework that provides the basis for coordinating the work of all partners; one national AIDS coordinating authority, with a broad based multi-sector mandate; and one agreed country-level monitoring and evaluation system.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the UN agency charged with coordinating United Nations efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, jointly appointed today action star Jackie Chan as one of its Goodwill Ambassadors.

Despite the low HIV prevalence in South Asia, the epidemic continues to spread unabated, particularly among high-risk groups. In an effort to accelerate and strengthen the response to AIDS in the region, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has taken a significant step forward by signing a memorandum of understanding with UNAIDS today.

Nordic funding to fight AIDS globally ranks among top 5 in donor spending

London/Geneva, 13 April 2004 – Players from the India and Pakistan cricket teams will wear the symbolic red ribbon as part of international cricket’s commitment to raise awareness about HIV in today’s third Test match, being held in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. As part of this ground-breaking initiative, the team captains will also be accompanied by an HIV-positive person for the coin toss before the match.

Discrimination against women, both legal and de facto, renders them disproportionately vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Women's subordination in the family and in public life is one of the root causes of the rapidly increasing rate of infection among women. Systematic discrimination based on gender also impairs women's ability to deal with the consequences of their own infection and/or infection in the family, in social, economic and personal terms.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic poses serious human rights challenges - for example, unequal access to HIV/AIDS-related treatments remains a global reality. If countries are seriously committed to protecting the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, then this inequality must be addressed. The problem is urgent. In poor countries, millions of people with HIV/AIDS need antiretroviral treatment immediately and very few of these are on antiretroviral treatment. Without accelerated prevention and treatment the AIDS epidemic will continue destroying communities, health care systems and economies, placing a shadow upon the future of entire countries.

The Pacific Island countries have a unique opportunity to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS before it is too late. “Although HIV prevalence levels remain low, we must not underestimate the size of the challenges confronting the Pacific Islands region,” said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, in a video statement for the opening of the UNAIDS workshop, “Accelerating Action Against HIV/AIDS in the Pacific”, being held in Fiji from 22-26 March 2004.