Western Central Europe

GENEVA, 19 September 2018—UNAIDS welcomes the decision by its third largest donor, the Netherlands, to increase its funding to UNAIDS by more than 20%. The Netherlands will provide US$ 23.3 million in core funding in 2018, compared to US$ 19.2 million in 2017. 

“I am encouraged by the Netherland’s firm commitment to UNAIDS and to the response to HIV. Despite tremendous progress, there are still miles to go to reach critical targets, and time is running out,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “This increase in funding will help UNAIDS’ efforts in leading the response to push AIDS into permanent decline.” 

The funding agreement was signed in Geneva, Switzerland, by Mr Sidibé and Monique van Daalen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations in Geneva. The increased contributions from the Netherlands will go towards supporting the implementation of UNAIDS’ 2016–2021 Strategy, which includes reducing new HIV infections to below 500 000 and ensuring that 30 million people living with HIV have access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy by 2020. 

“UNAIDS’ mandate is clear and specific, namely to end AIDS. UNAIDS’ leadership has been critical in achieving the progress we have seen to date,” said Ms van Daalen. “UNAIDS is an important knowledge centre and uses critical data and information, also on existing barriers, to advocate for a more effective AIDS response. Increased and consistent funding for UNAIDS will ensure that no one is left behind. UNAIDS’ focus on the most vulnerable groups is crucial.”

UNAIDS is funded entirely through voluntary contributions. Fully funding its work is critical to achieving UNAIDS’ vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

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.

Monaco has joined a network of more than 250 cities worldwide by signing the Paris Declaration, making a commitment to Fast-Track its response to the HIV epidemic and adopt the 90–90–90 targets.

The 90-90-90 targets are that, by 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 90% of all people living with HIV will have access to antiretroviral therapy and 90% of all people on antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.     

At a ceremony attended by Princess Stephanie of Monaco, who is also the President of Fight AIDS Monaco and a UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador, the Mayor of the Principality, Georges Marsan, stressed the importance of testing as the entry point to getting people on treatment and keeping them healthy.   

Twice a year since 2012, Monaco has taken its HIV testing campaign to the streets of the principality through its Test in the City campaign. In his speech, the mayor also underlined the importance of preventing new HIV infections.   

In his remarks at the event, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé recalled visiting South Africa with Princess Stephanie in 2009, when just several hundred thousand people in the country had access to antiretroviral therapy to keep them alive and healthy. Today, he said, that number has expanded to 4.3 million people.

Mr Sidibé added that cities had a vital role to play as hubs of innovation and research and that they could help reach forgotten groups of people at risk of HIV infection.  

Also present at the event were Monaco’s Minister of Health and Social Affairs, Didier Gamerdinger, and the Vice-President of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, Bertrand Audoin.

GENEVA, 19 June 2018—UNAIDS expresses its sincere appreciation to Denmark for its long-standing support and welcomes its decision to increase its core contributions to UNAIDS. Denmark will increase its contribution to UNAIDS to US$ 6.5 million in 2018 (from 30 million kroner in 2017 to 40 million kroner in 2018). 

“UNAIDS is stepping up its work on achieving gender equality, stopping gender-based violence and fulfilling the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls, all of which are critical to ending AIDS,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “This important increase in Denmark’s contributions to UNAIDS will significantly help advance our shared commitment to put women at the centre of the response to HIV.”  

Denmark is one of the leading donors to UNAIDS and is championing efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. By supporting UNAIDS’ work in countries to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030, Denmark is continuing to advance progress in achieving a healthier and more equitable future for all.

“UNAIDS is paramount to ending AIDS as a global health threat, with its strong advocacy role and high standard on data collection and dissemination,” said Ulla Tørnæs, Danish Minister for Development Cooperation. “Denmark’s increased support for UNAIDS goes hand in hand with our strong emphasis on human rights and gender equality, including the advancement of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all, as core to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Fully funding the work of the UNAIDS Joint Programme is critical to ending the AIDS epidemic and achieving UNAIDS’ vision of zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero discrimination.

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.

The Aurora Day Centre in Helsinki, Finland was founded in December 2000 in response to a sharp increase of new HIV infections among people who inject drugs. The centre had an immediate impact and dramatically increased the number of people linked to treatment and care.

During a visit to Helsinki the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, met with staff at the centre to learn how their services are supporting people in the city.

According to Day Centre staff, prior to the opening 53% of people who inject drugs who were living with HIV were retained in care—by 2014, 90% were retained in care and accessing antiretroviral therapy.  

The number of people who inject drugs who were newly infected with HIV was reduced by half between 2007 and 2016 in Finland – source ECDC

The main aim of the centre is to prevent new HIV infections among people who inject drugs and to provide harm reduction services including opioid substation therapy. The centre currently has around 77 clients, with an average age of 50 years old. Many became infected with HIV before harm reduction services became available in Finland.

“The good thing for me is that the clinic is always here,” said Leila, who uses the services at the centre.

People over 50 years of age account for more than 20% of new HIV diagnosis in Finland. – source HIV point

The centre provides holistic support including medical treatment, health guidance, food and mental and social support.

“By bringing the services to the community and adopting a multidisciplinary approach we have shown that we can successfully reach people who inject drugs who are living with HIV,” said Matti Ristola, Head of HIV Services at the Aurora Day Centre.

2015 was the first year with no AIDS deaths in Finland – source HIV point

“The Aurora Centre in Helsinki is living proof that it is possible to reach 90-90-90 and zero new infections among people who inject drugs when there is political commitment and community engagement,” said Mr Sidibé.

Finland’s Eastern neighbour, Russia, has the third largest number of annual new HIV infections in the world. The proximity between Helsinki and St. Petersburg means that people move easily between the two cities.

There are less than 200 new HIV diagnoses annually in Finland – source HIV point

The visit to the Aurora Day Centre took place in the context of a series of meetings with Finnish decision-makers and politicians. Earlier in the day, Mr Sidibé met Anne-Mari Virolainen, the Minister of Foreign Trade, Annika Saarikko, the Minister of Family and Social Services, Finnish parliamentarians and civil society organizations.

On 4 April, Bordeaux became the latest city to sign up to the Paris Declaration to end the AIDS epidemic in cities. The Mayor of Bordeaux and former French Prime Minister Alain Juppé signed the declaration alongside UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé at the opening of AFRAVIH, the international francophone HIV and hepatitis conference being held in Bordeaux, France, from 4 to 7 April.

In signing the Paris Declaration, mayors commit to putting their cities on the Fast-Track to ending the AIDS epidemic. Mr Juppé committed to achieving the 90–90–90 targets—whereby 90% of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 90% of people who know their HIV-positive status are accessing treatment and 90% of people on treatment have suppressed viral loads—in Bordeaux in the next two years. He also committed to eliminating stigma and discrimination and developing a people-centred approach to the AIDS response. In addition, he said, it was crucial to educate young people on HIV, citing a lack of knowledge among French young people.

Since its launch on 1 December 2014, more than 250 cities and municipalities have signed the Paris Declaration. Leaders in those cities have recognized that their strategies for responding to the AIDS epidemic also offer them a platform to address the need for social inclusion, protection, safety and health.

With more than half of the world’s population currently living in cities and urban areas accounting for a large and growing proportion of people living with HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and other diseases, cities will play an essential role in ending AIDS. The risk of contracting, and vulnerability to, HIV and TB is often higher in urban areas compared to rural areas, owing to a number of reasons, including migration, unemployment and social and economic inequalities.

The AFRAVIH conference will focus on the 90–90–90 targets as well as innovations on HIV treatment and prevention and on scientific advances.

Greece experienced a large increase in 2011 in the number of new HIV infections among people who inject drugs. The number of new diagnoses in Athens usually hovered around 11 per year, but shot up to 266. For the first time, injecting drug use and sharing needles became the main source of new HIV infections in Greece, according to the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

In response, the university, along with the Greek Organisation against Drugs and other nongovernmental organizations, launched a programme to “seek, test, treat and retain”, under the name Aristotle, in order to put a halt to the outbreak.

Their first challenge was finding people who inject drugs and identifying if they were HIV-positive.

“Many lived on the streets, some had been in prison and in many instances they were migrants with no knowledge of Greek,” said Vana Sypsa, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and a lead on Aristotle, along with Angelos Hatzakis, Meni Malliori and Dimitrios Paraskevis.

She explained that because of the economic recession, people lost their jobs and shared injecting equipment with other people, and homelessness crept up. In addition, she added, sterile syringes were hard to come by and opioid substitution therapy centres had long waiting lists. The Aristotle programme used a coupon system so that peers could recruit people to come in for an HIV test in return for a stipend.

Ms Sypsa explained that the centre provided food, as well as condoms and syringes. Positive Voice, an association of people living with HIV, helped with HIV counselling, while Praksis focused on facilitating language services and identity papers for migrants.

Nikos Dedes, the head of Positive Voice, said that it played an active role during the diagnosis and referral part of the programme. “We guided them through the maze, which increased the retention of people,” he said. Mr Dedes believes that Aristotle contributed to raising awareness of HIV among people who inject drugs. “For many, HIV was a wake-up call to dealing with their drug addiction,” he said.

The programme had five rounds of recruitment in 2012 and 2013, with some participants taking part in more than one round. Aristotle’s services were provided to more than 3000 people. About 16% of the participants tested positive for HIV and had the opportunity of immediate access to antiretroviral therapy, with social workers arranging appointments. They also had priority access to opioid substitution therapy.

Ms Sypsa said that even before the end of the programme, there was a 78% decline in new HIV infections in Athens.

“Aristotle averted 2000 new HIV infections and we noted a decrease in high-risk behaviour among people injecting drugs at least once a day,” Ms Sypsa said.

She added that aside from containing an outbreak, all those involved in the programme were proud to have changed the lives of many people, linking them to HIV care and treatment.

The programme’s success drew a lot of attention. After the end of the programme, “People kept stopping by the site, looking for Aristotle employees. We had become a reference point for them,” she said.

Five years later a new programme is being started, but this time with an aim to increase care and treatment for HIV and hepatitis C for people who inject drugs.

And Mr Dedes is ecstatic, because this time Positive Voice is an integral part of the programme, with a budget. A new partner has also joined—the liver patient association Prometheus will spearhead the response to hepatitis. Mr Dedes said, “This is a true testament to the success of the programme—incorporating people from the communities.”

Sitting across from the bustling main Geneva train station, the lime-green block structure called Quai 9 stands out. The building houses a supervised drug injection centre run by the non-governmental organisation,  Première Ligne. Quai 9 (track 9 in English) also provides primary health care services as part of its harm reduction drop-in centre to people who use drugs.

On the occasion of UNAIDS 41^st meeting mid-December of the Programme Coordinating Board, the Switzerland government organized a visit for UNAIDS board members.

The visit highlighted how addressing the needs of injecting drug users through a public health and human rights-based approach,  considerably reduces the risks of  HIV infection and links people to health care.

The Swiss Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Valentin Zellweger recalled how in the 1980s and 1990s, Switzerland had one of the highest incidence of HIV in Europe among people who inject drugs. In response to the crisis, Switzerland, introduced a “four pillars” policy, which focused on prevention, treatment, harm reduction and law enforcement.

One of the outcomes was setting up drug injection centres and increasing collaboration between the police and health care clinics.

As a result, HIV infections among people who inject drugs in Switzerland dropped precipitously.

Earlier in the week, Ms Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland, Health minister and current chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, had addressed UNAIDS board members. Ms Dreifuss, who spearheaded the four pillars policy during her tenure, said the evidence that harm reduction and decriminalization of drug use spoke for itself. She urged member states to leave no one behind by ensuring that drug use is treated as a public health issue. That call was further emphasized by members of the NGO delegation. 

UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Luiz Loures commended Switzerland for its innovative, multi-sectoral approach to harm reduction. He said that UNAIDS would continue advocating for evidence-informed, human-rights based AIDS responses such as Quai 9.    

On World AIDS Day, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, led by example by taking a HIV test.

Mr Macron and the First Lady of France, Brigitte Macron, visited a hospital in Saint Denis in northern Paris that caters to people in vulnerable situations, including migrants. Speaking after taking the HIV test, Mr Macron said, “We have not won the battle against AIDS. We need to protect ourselves, get tested, get treated and accept those in society who have HIV.”

Globally today, 40% of people living with HIV don’t know their HIV status. In France, one in five people living with HIV do not know their HIV status. The majority of new HIV infections in the country occur among gay men and other men who have sex with men.

“Emmanuel Macron is showing leadership in action. By publicly taking an HIV test, he has demonstrated French leadership on the right to health,” said Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director. “France is a valued partner of UNAIDS.”

Earlier, on 28 November, Mr Macron renewed his commitment to the global AIDS response during a speech to young students at the University in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

France has played a critical role in ensuring access to medicines globally through its contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to which it has donated more than US$ 4.8 billion. France also supported the creation of UNITAID in 2006.  

These investments have yielded substantial results. Through global solidarity today nearly 21 million people have access to HIV treatment. In 2016, 53% of people living with HIV were on treatment. 

Prévenir, dépister, continuer à soigner. #WorldAIDSDay pic.twitter.com/y2VTZitiOY

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 1, 2017

During a visit to Paris, UNAIDS Executive Director met with France's First Lady at the Elysée Palace to discuss the links between education and HIV.

Mr Sidibé explained that in sub-Saharan Africa, three in four new HIV infections in 15-19 year olds are among girls. And HIV is the third leading cause of death among young women aged 15-29 globally.

The causes vary but lower access to education along with gender inequalities erode women and girls' ability to negotiate safe sex and have control over their bodies. In addition, most young people lack the knowledge to protect themselves from HIV. In sub-Saharan Africa, surveys from 35 countries showed that only 36% of young men and 30% of young women correctly identified the ways of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV.

Mr Sidibé stressed that when girls stay in school they are less vulnerable to HIV. He also emphasized that age-appropriate comprehensive sex education for girls and boys is a cornerstone to end the AIDS epidemic. 

Acknowledging Mrs Macron's vast experience in education as a teacher and educator, Mr Sidibé offered support to organize an event on girls’ education on the sidelines of the Dakar financing conference of the Global Partnership for Education in February 2018. Senegal and France are co-hosting the event to raise funds for teachers' trainings and to promote scientific and computer education in schools. 

UNAIDS has invited the First Lady of France at its Geneva headquarters in the coming year and to join the First Ladies of Africa at next year's General Assembly in New York. 

Germany has been increasingly stepping up its political and financial engagement in global health. Having made global health a priority during its presidency of the G7, Germany has continued this commitment throughout its presidency of the G20. In May 2017, Germany held the first ever meeting of the G20 ministers of health. The meeting was held in Berlin and provided an important platform for discussions and commitments around global health security, health systems strengthening and antimicrobial resistance.

Berlin itself is becoming widely recognised as a centre for global health debate, welcoming a number of important conferences and events around health, human rights and social protection. One of the most important annual events in Berlin’s global health calendar is the annual World Health Summit. This year’s Summit took place from 15-17 October and brought together 2000 participants from more than 100 countries.

UNAIDS has supported the Summit for a number of years and this year the Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS Luiz Loures, participated in a range of sessions and panels from global health security to community health workers.

UNAIDS and German Healthcare Partnership co-organized a panel on the importance of strengthening innovation and health systems in Africa which brought together more than 100 participants from government, the private sector and regional and international organizations to explore opportunities to create firm partnerships and promote innovation.

Panellist Bernard Haufiku, Minister of Health of Namibia, said, “The concept of community health care workers is brilliant to me,” said “They are from the community, they live in the community, and they understand the community, its culture its problems.”

Other panellists included the Minister of Health of Ghana Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Head of the Division of Health, Nutrition and Population at the African Union Commission Margaret Anyetei-Agama, Novartis Foundation Head of Global Health Portfolio Bakhuti Shengelia, and Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Dazhu Yang.

“We are putting a strong emphasis on boosting government commitments to strengthen health systems across the region, building the political will to address priority challenges and developing appropriate financing mechanisms to make services affordable,” said Dr Anyetei-Agama.

Also in Berlin another important symposium was taking place alongside the World Health Summit. “HIV in Eastern Europe – the unnoticed epidemic”, a symposium organized by Deutsche AIDS Hilfe, Action against AIDS Germany and Brot für die Welt brought together civil society from Eastern Europe and Germany to look at finding solutions to the challenges in the response to HIV in Eastern Europe where HIV infection rates are rising, treatment coverage is low and international funding is decreasing.

“People who use drugs, men who have sex with men and sex workers of all genders are not the problem, but part of the solution!” said Sylvia Urban, Chairwoman Action against AIDS Germany and Chairwoman Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe. “There is no alternative to including them and their actual needs in HIV-prevention and treatment strategies in Eastern Europe if those strategies are to be successful. Germanys very own HIV-prevention programs can be used as a blueprint: When the government works with communities and partners with civil society organizations, the results are great.”

Mr Loures joined the debate and voiced his concerns about Eastern Europe. “Despite all the scientific and economic progress, the HIV epidemic is continuing to grow in Eastern Europe,” said Mr Loures. “We have the tools, knowledge and medicines; however, there is a global epidemic of discrimination and without addressing this we will not be able to make the progress that is needed. Leadership and solidarity of civil society and communities from Germany and from Eastern Europe is essential.”

UNAIDS welcomes Germany’s commitment to health and encourages Germany to continue to develop its strong position as a leader in global health and will continue to work closely with Germany in our joint efforts towards ending the AIDS epidemic and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.