Documents
Fast-Track cities update, December...
Launched only a year ago, Fast-Track cities has rapidly taken root and grown. This is the first annual update on progress in implementing the Fast-Track cities approach and it supports one of the seven key commitments contained in the Paris Declaration. This report reflects on the actions taken by cities and by the four core partners— the city of Paris, UNAIDS, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC)—towards ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030. Future reports will illustrate good practices and quantifiable evidence of progress that will inspire and inform Fast-Track cities and the many stakeholders helping to confront AIDS as a health and development challenge.
ten targets: 2011 United Nations...
In this report we review global progress made towards those 10 targets in advance of the critical milestone of the 2016 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS and in the context of the target of ending AIDS by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. This is an important opportunity to reflect on progress, but also to identify where gaps remain and to take action to ensure that no one is being left behind by the global AIDS response. The UNAIDS 2016–2021 Strategy aims to harness the momentum we have achieved to date. If we do not Fast-Track our efforts the number of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths will rebound. Investment in AIDS must not falter; in fact, in the short-term it needs to increase. Front-loading investment now will ultimately lead to greater impact and long-term cost-saving.
A public health and rights approach...
UNAIDS welcomes the stronger health and rights approach that is emerging in current drug control debates in the context of the 2016 UNGASS on the World Drug Problem. This trend needs to be translated into concrete operational and measurable commitments by Member States.
2015 progress report on the global...
This is the fourth annual report of the Global Plan, and it summarizes the progress made through December 2014. The final accountability report of the Global Plan will be issued in 2016 when data for the end of 2015 will be available. The Global Plan was developed during 2010 by a Global Task Team (GTT) co-chaired by UNAIDS and the Government of the United States. The GTT consisted of a consortium of stakeholders from 25 countries and 30 civil society groups, private sector partners, networks of people living with HIV and international organizations. The Global Plan was launched as a major new global initiative in 2011, but it uses 2009 as the baseline year against which to measure progress.
AIDS by the numbers 2015
The world has halted and reversed the spread of HIV. The epidemic has been forced into decline. New HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have fallen dramatically since the peak of the epidemic. Now the response is going one step further—ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
On the Fast-Track to end AIDS by...
Within the pages of this World AIDS Day report, Focus on location and population, are more than 50 examples of how countries are getting on the Fast-Track. It shows how governments are working with community groups and international partners to scale up health and social services that put people at the centre and located where they can do more people more good. Read the publication on ISSUU Part 1 (Foreword - Conclusions) Part 2a (Where services are needed - Lesotho) Part 2b (Malawi - References) Download Part 1 (Foreword - Conclusions) (PDF, 27MB) Part 2a (Where services are needed - Lesotho) (PDF, 87MB) Part 2b (Malawi - References) (PDF, 72MB) Full report (PDF, 186MB)
Invest in HIV prevention
Quarter for HIV Prevention (#quarter4HIVprevention) is a campaign to recapture imagination and hope for HIV prevention. It provides prevention choices for people at risk, and—most importantly—protects them from HIV infection. Most importantly, it leaves no one behind. Let us invest in HIV prevention; let us get to zero new HIV infections.
Fast-tracking HIV treatment:...
HIV treatment is a cornerstone of the AIDS response, helping to prevent AIDS-related deaths and avert new infections. It also helps people living with HIV to live close-to-normal lifespans, thereby reducing HIV-related stigma. Evidence shows that HIV treatment, administered ideally as soon as possible after diagnosis, not only slows disease progression but also prevents onward HIV transmission. Moreover, the right to the highest attainable standard of health necessitates access to treatment and other medicines to ensure that people living with HIV can have long and productive lives.
Sustaining the human rights...
The human rights response to HIV, largely implemented by civil society, has been crucial to the HIV response, but it appears that the funding for this work is insufficient and may be threatened further. Based on these concerns—and with the support of the Ford Foundation—UNAIDS commissioned research to better understand the current and future funding landscape as experienced by the civil society groups that are implementing key human rights programmes in the HIV response. This paper presents the results of this research and makes recommendations in an effort to ensure sufficient and sustainable funding for that crucial work until the end of the AIDS epidemic.
Fast-Tracking combination prevention
To reduce new HIV infections globally to fewer than 500 000 by 2020, a step towards ending the HIV epidemic as a public health threat by 2030, we need to Fast-Track the response, including renewed commitment to, sustained funding for and scaled-up implementation of HIV prevention programmes.
Daily Development: Exploring global...
Global goals inspire action. They forge new pathways towards a better future and they demonstrate just how inextricably linked we are in this world. Early on in the AIDS response we learned that responding to AIDS could not be done in isolation. We would need a people-centred approach that left no one behind. And the response became an example of what a holistic development agenda could look like when evidence and human rights meet hope and resilience. By reaching and exceeding Millennium Development Goal 6, we halted and reversed the AIDS epidemic and ensured more than 15 million people had access to life-saving HIV treatment. When goals are reached we reach even higher.
UNAIDS Strategy 2016-2021
The UNAIDS 2016–2021 Strategy is a bold call to action to get on the Fast-Track and reach people being left behind. It is an urgent call to front-load investments. It is a call to reach the 90–90–90 treatment targets, to close the testing gap and to protect the health of the 22 million people living with HIV who are still not accessing treatment. It is a call to redress the deplorably low treatment coverage for children living with HIV.
UNAIDS Terminology Guidelines - 2015
Language shapes beliefs and may influence behaviours. Considered use of appropriate language has the power to strengthen the global response to the AIDS epidemic. That is why the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is pleased to make these guidelines to Preferred terminology freely available for use by staff members, colleagues in the Programme’s 11 Cosponsoring organizations and other partners working in the global response to HIV. These guidelines are a living, evolving document that is reviewed on a regular basis. This revision of the 2011 edition has discarded a few terms and added new ones that are relevant to the global response to HIV and commonly used by UNAIDS. The same terms, grouped by subject headings, also are listed at the end of this document. These guidelines may be freely copied and reproduced, provided that it is not done for commercial gain and the source is mentioned. Comments and suggestions for additions, deletions or modifications should be sent to terminology@unaids.org.
Ending the AIDS epidemic: the...
Cities gave rise to the first cases of HIV infection ever recognized, and the role of urban areas in the global AIDS response has only intensified over time. Globally, 200 cities account for roughly 25% of all people living with HIV. In many countries, a single city accounts for 40% or more of all people living with HIV.
Faces of an AIDS-free generation in...
We present here the stories of women in six countries in eastern and southern Africa—Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia—joining them in their journey to motherhood. Their tales demonstrate the courage, tenacity and support that is needed to ensure children remain free from HIV infection and that their mothers stay alive and well. We hope that by reading their stories, you will be inspired to action and that you too will join us in ending the AIDS epidemic among children.
The critical role of communities in...
This report draws on multiple sources to document the many ways in which communities are advancing the response to AIDS, and the evidence for the effectiveness of these responses. Core areas of community-based activities include advocacy, service provision, community-based research and financing; each of these areas is illustrated by examples of community-based actions.
“15 by 15” - a global target...
Just as we have new opportunities that only a few years ago would have been inconceivable, we also now face new challenges. If the “15 by 15” success story has taught us anything, it is that we have in our hands the power to make the world healthier, more just and more equitable. We hope that this report not only reminds us of our power to change the world when we remain united, but also inspires us to take the actions needed to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat.
How AIDS changed everything — MDG6...
We have reached a defining moment in the AIDS response. Against all odds, we have achieved the AIDS targets of Millennium Development Goal 6. AIDS changed everything. In these pages are valuable insights and ground-breaking and heart-warming experiences from the innovative and exciting work that partners, communities and countries have done and are doing in the AIDS response. There are also heart-breaking stories about the challenges that still remain. More on How AIDS changed everything You can also view the report on Issuu Report with no annexes Annexes only HIV estimates with uncertainty bounds 1990-2014
Executive summary: How AIDS changed...
We have reached a defining moment in the AIDS response. Against all odds, we have achieved the AIDS targets of Millennium Development Goal 6. AIDS changed everything. In these pages are valuable insights and ground-breaking and heart-warming experiences from the innovative and exciting work that partners, communities and countries have done and are doing in the AIDS response. There are also heart-breaking stories about the challenges that still remain. More on How AIDS changed everything You can also view this document on Issuu
Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis–...
The World Health Organization (WHO) anticipates releasing updated guidance on oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), containing tenofovir (TDF), as an additional HIV prevention choice. The new guidance is likely to be significantly broader than previously and creates real opportunities to move forward with implementing PrEP as part of comprehensive HIV programmes. This publication, produced collaboratively between UNAIDS, WHO and AVAC, is intended to complement WHO recommendations and support the optimal use of oral PrEP to protect individuals and contribute to ending the AIDS epidemic.
Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis–...
Implementing PrEP poses new challenges in planning, managing and funding combination prevention. Realizing the promise of PrEP will require governments, funders, civil society and other stakeholders to join forces to systematically address them–licensing antiretroviral medicines for PrEP use, setting priorities for locations and populations for implementation, making services user-friendly and ensuring adherence. These efforts are worthwhile based on their contribution to achieving the global targets of less than 500 000 people annually acquiring HIV in 2020 and the end of AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Understanding Fast-Track
Achieving the Fast-Track milestones by 2020 will put the world on a trajectory to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. The gains will be massive. UNAIDS calculations show that reaching the 2020 milestones will produce multiple major benefits compared to maintaining the current approach.
HIV treatment in Africa: A looming...
Africa’s leadership on AIDS has sharply increased life expectancy and steadily reduced new HIV infections. Hopes are high, but these gains are at grave risk. Continued dependency on external AIDS funding and imported medicines and diagnostics threatens to put the future of AIDS beyond Africa’s control.
Implications of the START study...
UNAIDS welcomes additional evidence released in May 2015 that early initiation of antiretroviral therapy has a positive effect on the health and well-being of people living with HIV. The United States National Institutes of Health-funded international randomized clinical trial START (Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Treatment) has found compelling evidence that the benefits of starting antiretroviral therapy as soon as someone is diagnosed outweigh the risks of delaying until their CD4 count has fallen to 350 cells/mm3.
Empower young women and adolescent...
Fast-tracking the end of the AIDS epidemic by 2030 requires strong political leadership and commitment to stop new infections and deaths among young women and adolescent girls and eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV. This requires building on, and extending Africa’s commitments on sexual and reproductive health and rights, expanding ministerial commitments on comprehensive sexuality education and stopping early marriage, adolescent pregnancy and expanding treatment service coverage.
Social protection: advancing the...
The 10 case studies presented in this document clearly demonstrate that social protection works for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. In particular, they show how social protection benefits the AIDS response through increased access to HIV services for all people including the most marginalized and excluded in society.* The studies also demonstrate that carefully constructed and well-managed social protection programmes have the power to support people who are hardest to reach.
Report of the Special Envoys for...
There are still considerable inequities among the regions in terms of progress and challenges. The Special Envoys have concluded that everything they do must be sustainable and focused on closing the remaining gaps while also addressing the social and structural determinants of health. This is why it is essential to integrate efforts to end the AIDS epidemic throughout the sustainable development goals. The lessons learned and resources marshalled through more than three decades of the AIDS response can inform and empower the post-2015 development agenda to measurably improve the lives and health of people for generations to come.
Diagnostics access initiative to...
The world is uniting around an ambitious HIV treatment target to lay the groundwork to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030. Through national, regional and global-level consultations, diverse stakeholders are pledging to ensure that by 2020: 90% of people living with HIV know their HIV status; 90% of people who know their status receive treatment; 90% of people on HIV treatment have a suppressed viral load.
Community-based antiretroviral...
This document presents experiences of how community-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) delivery can improve both the level of access to treatment and the quality of health outcomes for people living with HIV. These experiences illustrate that community-based ART delivery is efficient, effective and high quality. This document draws from several Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) reports and articles regarding its experiences with community-supported ART delivery.
Cities unite to Fast-Track to end...
Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 is feasible if the world’s major cities act immediately and decisively to Fast-Track their AIDS responses by 2020. Success will rely upon cities frontloading investments and stepping up the pace of delivering HIV services, especially the roll-out of antiretroviral therapy.
Biomedical AIDS research: recent...
The report is divided into an overview section that articulates the views of the Chair of the Scientific Expert Panel on the top 10 biomedical research advances in 2014 and five important research findings anticipated in 2015. Thereafter, the report provides brief summaries written almost entirely by Scientific Expert Panel members. The topics are divided into three main categories, advances in the treatment of HIV and comorbidities; advances in HIV prevention; and advances in HIV pathogenesis, diagnostics and cure. Linked to each summary is a bibliography that provides a list of key articles for further reading.
Technical update on HIV incidence...
This document is intended for epidemiologists, statisticians and laboratory technicians responsible for the use of HIV incidence assays for surveillance and epidemic monitoring purposes. People that are not technical experts in this field may prefer to first read the UNAIDS/WHO Working Group on Global HIV/AIDS and STI Surveillance published guidelines on When and How to Use Assays for Recent Infection to Estimate HIV Incidence at a Population Level for a basic introduction to this topic.
All In to #EndAdolescentAIDS
To end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, specific—yet flexible—strategies are needed for different age groups, populations and geographical locations. Ending the epidemic among adolescents requires amplifying investments where they can make the most difference and fostering innovation by adolescents and youth themselves, as well as governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector.
#Zerodiscrimination - Open up,...
Zero Discrimination Day is a chance to celebrate diversity and to reject discrimination. By joining our voices together, we can be part of a resounding call for compassion, tolerance and peace.
UNAIDS Cosponsor | 2015 | United...
UNHCR runs substantial HIV programmes in Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East and eastern Europe. Under the UNAIDS Division of Labour, UNHCR co-convenes the Inter-Agency Task Team on Addressing HIV in Humanitarian Emergencies, which involves, among other tasks, coordinating HIV technical support for displaced populations. As the lead organization responsible for such populations, UNHCR plays a pivotal role, serving as an entry point for governments and other relevant country-level stakeholders requiring particular UNAIDS technical support.
UNAIDS Cosponsor | 2015 | United...
UNICEF, a founding Cosponsor of UNAIDS, is the leading voice for children in the global AIDS response. It aims for an AIDS-free generation in which all children are born free of HIV, and where children living with, and affected by, the virus have access to the treatment, care and support they need to thrive. UNICEF’s HIV response for children strives to ensure that neither age nor poverty, gender inequality nor social exclusion determines access to HIV prevention, treatment and care.
UNAIDS Cosponsor | 2015 | United...
UNDP is a founding Cosponsor of UNAIDS, a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) and a cosponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP’s work on HIV, health and development leverages the organization’s core strengths and mandates in human development, governance and capacity development to complement the efforts of specialist health-focused United Nations agencies.
UNAIDS Cosponsor | 2015 | United...
As a Cosponsor of UNAIDS, UNODC is the convening organization for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support among people who use drugs and those living and working in prisons. It collaborates with national and international partners, including civil society and other UNAIDS Cosponsors, to assist countries in developing and implementing interventions designed to guarantee that these vulnerable and often very diverse populations can access optimum HIV services.
UNAIDS Cosponsor | 2015 | World...
The organization leads the global health sector response to the HIV epidemic. As a Cosponsor of UNAIDS, WHO takes the lead on HIV treatment and care and HIV/tuberculosis coinfection, and jointly coordinates work on the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
UNAIDS Cosponsor | 2015 |...
As a Cosponsor of UNAIDS, and under the UNAIDS Division of Labour, ILO is the lead agency on HIV workplace policies and programmes and private sector mobilization. ILO recognizes that HIV has a potentially devastating impact on labour and productivity and represents an enormous burden for working people, their families and communities in a number of ways. For example, HIV-related stigma and discrimination threaten their fundamental rights at work and undermine their opportunities to obtain decent and sustainable employment. The workplace offers a unique entry point to reach this large, vital and productive segment of the population. The organization has been involved in the HIV response since 1998 through the world of work.
UNAIDS Cosponsor | 2015 | United...
Addressing HIV is integral to UNFPA’s goals of achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health, and realizing human rights and gender equality. It promotes integrated HIV and sexual and reproductive health services for young people, key populations, and women and girls, including those living with HIV. UNFPA also supports the empowerment of these populations to claim their human rights and access the services they need. All of UNFPA’s work on HIV is done by engaging and empowering the communities it is mandated to serve.
UNAIDS Cosponsor | 2015 | United...
UNESCO is one of the six founding UNAIDS Cosponsors. Under the UNAIDS Division of Labour, UNESCO is responsible for leading efforts to support countries in scaling up the education sector response to HIV. With over 70 offices, institutes and regional bureaux around the world, UNESCO has more than 50 staff members dedicated to working on HIV and health education. Of these, the majority are National Programme Officers based in countries that UNAIDS has prioritized for high-impact interventions. The agency draws on its unique spectrum of competencies across the diverse spheres of education, the sciences, culture, communication and information to push for a truly multisectoral and comprehensive response to HIV.
UNAIDS Cosponsor | 2015 | The World...
The World Bank has long recognized the threat that HIV poses to progress and development. It helps to define the global response to HIV and fully champions the vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. As a UNAIDS Cosponsor, and under the UNAIDS Division of Labour, it is the lead agency for support to strategic planning, including costed and prioritized multisectoral national AIDS plans and conducting analysis to underpin evidence-informed policies. In addition, the World Bank co-leads assistance provided on sexual transmission of HIV with the United Nations Population Fund, and social protection with the United Nations Children’s Fund.
UNAIDS Cosponsor | 2015 | UN Women
UN Women’s strategic approach to HIV includes providing technical and financial support to Member States and women’s organizations, particularly those of women living with HIV, in the area of gender equality and AIDS. To reduce the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV, UN Women seeks to address the challenges that stem from unequal power relations between women and men.
UNAIDS Cosponsor | 2015 | World...
Nutrition and food security are critical components of care and support for people living with HIV and TB patients. In line with its 2010 HIV and AIDS Policy and in response to the UNAIDS 2011–2015 Strategy, WFP’s HIV work has a strong focus on linking food and health systems through the provision of nutrition and food assistance for better health outcomes, such as nutritional recovery for malnourished people living with HIV and TB patients, retention in care programmes and treatment success. WFP provides support at the individual and household levels—including food, but also cash and vouchers—to enable improved access and adherence to treatment.