Update

BRICS renew their commitment to global health and to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030

25 June 2015

The Ebola virus disease outbreak that swept through West Africa in 2014 demonstrated to the world the importance of having strong disease surveillance and health care systems that can prevent or minimize the impact of future pandemics. The Ebola outbreak devastated the most affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.  Since March 2014 some 11 160 people have died of Ebola. The human and social costs of the crisis are catastrophic. In addition, the World Bank estimates that the GDP losses for the three countries rose to U$S 2.2 billion in 2015, in large part due to the outbreak of Ebola.

At the international conference "Common threats - joint actions: The response of the BRICS countries to dangerous infectious diseases," held in Moscow from 24 to 25 June 2015, experts discussed, among other things, how to deal with outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola and the Middle East respiratory syndrome.

Since 2011, ministers of health of the economic bloc that includes Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) have consistently said infectious diseases are a priority for cooperation. The Russian Presidency of the BRICS reiterated that position in 2015. 

The two-day conference, organized by Russia's Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Protection and Welfare, highlighted the BRICS members’ joint mechanisms and experience in addressing infectious diseases.

During a special session, representatives of Brazil, South Africa and the Russian Federation said that each of the BRICS countries had made progress in different areas of the AIDS response, but that a Fast-Track approach would be needed to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

The five BRICS countries represent over 40% of the global population and about 30% of all people living with HIV - giving the BRICS a unique role and responsibility in contributing to global health and ending the AIDS epidemic. In 2014, the BRICS ministers of health agreed to ambitious tuberculosis targets and to work towards achieving the 90–90–90 HIV treatment target by 2020. 

Quotes

"We call on all countries to actively cooperate in research to control and prevent infectious diseases."

Olga Golodets, Deputy Prime Minister, Russian Federation

“The control of infectious diseases is one of the key priorities for the Russian Federation in the area of international humanitarian cooperation. Under the current chairmanship of Russia in the BRICS, we are calling for a new level of collaboration between BRICS members to counter the challenges of infectious diseases.”

Anna Popova, Head of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing

"UNAIDS is honoured to support the BRICS efforts to renew their commitment to global solidarity and take a Fast-Track approach to end the AIDS epidemic.”

Luiz Loures, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director