Update

The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, and the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund), Mark Dybul, met with German parliamentarians and ministers to discuss the importance of a continued commitment to ending the AIDS epidemic.

The Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development held a parliamentary breakfast in which the critical role of UNAIDS and the Global Fund was highlighted alongside Germany’s contribution to the AIDS response.

Mr Sidibé remarked on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s participation at the opening of the World Health Assembly and commended her commitment to health issues. He also emphasized the importance of increased momentum over the next five years in order to break the trajectory of the epidemic for good. He explained why the UNAIDS Fast-Track approach and the 90–90–90 targets were so important.

Members of the German Bundestag attending the session raised questions about the sustainability of the AIDS response in the countries most affected and on the process of moving from the Millennium Development Goals towards the sustainable development goals. Dagmar Wöhrl, Chair of the Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development, said that she was particularly concerned about mother-to-child transmission of HIV and that efforts needed to be stepped up. 

Mr Sidibé and Mr Dybul subsequently met with Parliamentary State Secretary Thomas Silberhorn and the Minister of Health, Hermann Gröhe.  

Germany is one of the largest donors to the Global Fund and has demonstrated ongoing support to UNAIDS since its creation.