The British Medical Association (BMA) highly commended the UNAIDS publication AIDS at 30: Nations at the crossroads (AIDS at 30) at their annual Book Awards ceremony held in London on 13 September 2012. AIDS at 30 had been selected among more than 800 books and other documents and was competing in the public health category.
Evaluating the accuracy, currency, appropriateness, quality, originality and value of the publications, the judges considered AIDS at 30 as “an important book with great information.”
Launched ahead of the High Level Meeting on AIDS that took place in New York in June 2011, AIDS at 30 contains scientific analysis, personal insights and the results of extensive national and regional consultations with governments and civil society organizations working in the AIDS response.
Marking the 30 years of AIDS, the report takes stock of the changes occurred in the AIDS epidemic and responses since the condition was first diagnosed in 1981. It also features commentaries from 15 leaders in the global AIDS response, including South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, former United States President Bill Clinton, former President of Brasil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, singer Angelique Kidjo and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
It is important for us to continue innovating in order to provide strategic information to the global AIDS community that is both accurate and visually enticing
UNAIDS Director of Evidence, Innovation and Policy, Bernhard Schwartlander
AIDS at 30 covers a wide range of areas, including the results achieved by HIV prevention efforts, the record number of people starting lifesaving treatment and the decline in resources for HIV. It also drew attention to the significant challenges remaining such as the gender inequalities and the increasing HIV prevalence among key populations at higher risk of infection.
The publication of the report was coordinated by UNAIDS Director of Evidence, Innovation and Policy, Bernhard Schwartlander. “We are very pleased that AIDS at 30 has been recognized by our peers as a valuable resource for information on the AIDS epidemic,” said Mr Schwartlander. “It is important for us to continue innovating in order to provide strategic information to the global AIDS community that is both accurate and visually enticing,” he added.
The BMA is a medical doctors’ professional organization established to look after the professional and personal needs of its members. The BMA represents doctors in all branches of medicine throughout the United Kingdom.
