UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Luiz Loures joined representatives of key populations, people living with HIV, African political leaders and other dignitaries in a special event to commemorate World AIDS Day during the 18th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa, which is taking place in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The theme of the event was “Getting to zero in Africa—Africa’s responsibility, everyone’s responsibility.” Speakers described the progress that had been made against HIV since World AIDS Day was first marked in 1988, while stressing the need to Fast-Track the response to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 and the importance of leaving no one behind.

Young people entertained the audience with a series of performances, including poems, dances and a special World AIDS Day song.

Earlier in the day, the African Union held a World AIDS Day event calling for renewed action to end the epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria by 2030, with a number of ministers and parliamentarians from leading African countries in attendance. In her keynote address, the Vice-President of Zambia, Inonge Wina, called on parliamentarians to emphasize the key role of policy-makers in ensuring sustained funding for the response to AIDS and in creating an enabling legal environment, particularly for women.

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More than 10 million men and adolescent boys in sub-Saharan Africa have undergone voluntary medical male circumcision for HIV prevention, according to a recent announcement made by the World Health Organization (WHO).  

At the 18th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), taking place in Harare, Zimbabwe, WHO and UNAIDS co-hosted a satellite session to celebrate the achievement, but also to call for redoubling efforts on reaching adolescent boys and men.

This milestone is an impressive example of how communities, countries and global health agencies can work together to provide HIV prevention services to men and generate significant results towards ending the AIDS epidemic. 

Randomized controlled trials have shown that voluntary medical male circumcision reduces the risk of acquiring HIV by about 60%. Follow-on studies have shown that this level of protection may increase over time to reach 74%.

Voluntary medical male circumcision, a one-time procedure, provides lifelong partial protection against HIV and is key to achieving the strategic milestone of reducing new HIV infections to fewer than 500 000 by 2020. In its new strategy, UNAIDS calls for 27 million new medical male circumcisions over the next five years as a core component of the Fast-Track approach.

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In 2011, global leaders committed to working towards ending new HIV infections among children and reducing AIDS-related maternal mortality. They launched the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive (Global Plan). The Global Plan prioritized 22 countries with the highest number of pregnant women living with HIV in need of services, encompassing more than 90% of all women in need of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

At the 18th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa, which is taking place in Harare, Zimbabwe, UNAIDS hosted a discussion on how to maximize the role of communities in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The panel included prominent specialists and activists from Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, who explored promising and innovative ways to accelerate progress towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children and the improvement of maternal health.

The Global Plan calls for broader thinking and action both within and outside the formal health-care delivery system. An important feature of country programmes since the beginning has been their emphasis on communities. Community-based programmes have increased demand for health services and commodities and strengthened their quality.

In addition, community organizations are building their capacity to advocate for better access to appropriate services in line with international guidelines, and are empowering themselves to ensure continuity of care for mothers and children within a family-based approach.

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Emergencies and conflicts around the world are causing a dramatic growth in the number of refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people. Climate change and population growth also force people to migrate, thus adding to the numbers of people on the move.

In 2013, 314 million people were affected by emergencies, of which 67 million people were displaced by natural disasters and conflicts. Of these, 1.6 million were people living with HIV. Migration and displacement are major issues affecting people’s health, including reducing their access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.

In order to assess the implications of such human displacements, UNAIDS organized an event at the 18th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa, which is being held in Harare, Zimbabwe. The event provided an opportunity for key stakeholders to share experiences and best practices in order to ensure that people affected by humanitarian emergencies can continue to access life-saving HIV services.

Increased vulnerability to HIV because of sexual violence, sexual coercion and other human rights violations in humanitarian emergencies, conflict and post-conflict settings was also discussed at the event. 

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African leaders have been involved in a rigorous process to define a common African Union position for the post-2015 development agenda. Among the many goals and targets of the common position are those to end the AIDS epidemic and tuberculosis and malaria by 2030.

At the 18th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa, being held in Harare, Zimbabwe, panellists at a UNAIDS special session discussed how the African Union common position aligns with the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals. The participants stressed the need to reach the AIDS goals and targets within a much broader and more ambitious framework and discussed how to address existing gaps and leave no one behind.

Noting the importance of the 2016 United Nations High-Level Meeting on AIDS, the participants explored what Africa’s priorities are and how the continent should mobilize to achieve them.

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Zero discrimination and full engagement of key populations will be crucial to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030

HARARE/GENEVA, 30 November 2015—On the eve of World AIDS Day 2015, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, stressed the need to reach people most affected by HIV as he spoke at the opening of the Community Village at the 18th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA).  

Mr Sidibé joined hundreds of civil society members, people living with and affected by HIV and other participants at the official opening of the Community Village, where he also underlined the importance of engaging key populations in global, national and local responses to HIV.  

“Key populations are helping us to break the conspiracy of silence,” said Mr Sidibe. “I commend your courage and leadership for building an inclusive and effective response to HIV.”

The Community Village provides a space for grassroots and community-based organizations to present innovative, local responses to the AIDS epidemic and to share information on programmes that are working best among their communities.

“Being here is an opportunity to stand in solidarity with African key populations—sex workers, men who have sex with men, women who have sex with women, trans-diverse persons, people who use drugs, people with disabilities and people living with HIV—in order to end AIDS,” said Regional Coordinator and Executive Director of the African Sex Workers Alliance, Daughtie Ogutu.

The knowledge shared in the Community Village is critical as the most marginalised in society continue to face the greatest challenges in accessing HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services. This is due in large part to persistent stigma and discrimination and other human rights violations, which are drastically increasing the vulnerability of key populations to HIV.

“Coming from a network of women living with HIV, this is a safe space to learn and share with fellow communities,” said Lilian Mworeko, Executive Director, International Community of Women Living with HIV East Africa. “It gives a voice to some of the issues and concerns we have and helps us find solutions.”

Ahead of the conference, UNAIDS joined representatives of key populations including people who inject drugs, gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgender people and people with disabilities who came together at a pre-conference meeting to discuss common challenges and approaches to advancing health and protection for their communities. The participants explored innovative programmes and solutions led by key populations to increase access to HIV services, monitor human rights violations, eliminate discrimination in health-care and other settings and create the leadership required for inclusive AIDS responses in Africa.

The 18th ICASA conference comes at a critical time in the response to HIV in Africa, as UNAIDS urges countries to Fast-Track their efforts over the next five years, focusing on the locations and populations most affected by HIV to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. 

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

GENEVA/HARARE, 29 November 2015—At the opening of the 18th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), taking place from 29 November to 4 December in Harare, Zimbabwe, UNAIDS has urged countries to further accelerate their response to HIV. The biennial conference is taking place at a defining moment in the response to the epidemic.

“Africa is on the brink of breaking the AIDS epidemic,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé at the opening ceremony of the conference. “We have no time to lose. We have five years to Fast-Track the AIDS response so that the epidemic can’t rebound.”

UNAIDS is hosting several special sessions at ICASA, including one to discuss its new Fast-Track Strategy. Fast-Track involves front-loading investments in the AIDS response to reach an ambitious 90—90—90 treatment target by 2020. Reaching this target would see 90% of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status, 90% of people who know their HIV-positive status accessing treatment and 90% of people on treatment having suppressed viral loads. Reaching the Fast-Track Targets will also reduce new HIV infections by 75% and realize the vision of zero discrimination. The Fast-Track Strategy will see resources concentrated in locations with the greatest need and among populations at higher risk of HIV.

Other sessions organized by UNAIDS at ICASA include sessions on AIDS in emergency, conflict and humanitarian contexts and on optimizing the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV through community engagement and mobilization.

The conference is taking place against a backdrop of great progress in the response to HIV, even though many challenges remain. Worldwide, 15.8 million people now have access to life-saving antiretroviral medicines, with more than 10 million people in sub-Saharan Africa accessing treatment. Based on the increased weight of scientific evidence concerning earlier treatment, the World Health Organization has released new guidance recommending that people be offered access to antiretroviral medicines as soon as possible after their HIV diagnosis regardless of their CD4 count.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of AIDS-related deaths in 2014 was 48% lower than in 2005, while new infections have declined by 41% since 2000. Scaled-up access to antiretroviral medicines in 21 high-priority countries has resulted in a fall of 48% between 2009 and 2014 in the number of children becoming infected with HIV. A number of countries including Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania have experienced declines of more than 60% in the number of children becoming infected with HIV.

However, major challenges still remain across the continent. The same progress is not being seen among young women and adolescent girls, for example, with young women aged 15-19 years old accounting for 71% of new HIV infections among this age group in sub-Saharan Africa.

In 2014, there were 36.9 million people living with HIV globally, 25.8 million of whom lived in sub-Saharan Africa. 

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.