The first session of the Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Economy and Finance and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development is taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 31 March to 2 April 2008. The conference will also mark the start of a yearlong commemoration of the Economic Commission for Africa’s 50th anniversary. As part of the celebrations, participants, including selected African Heads of State and Government and other eminent persons, will be invited to reflect on the theme of the Conference, ‘Meeting Africa’s New Challenges in the 21st Century’.

An independent Commission on AIDS in Asia has released a report outlining strong recommendations for more effective national responses to AIDS across Asia. The report was presented to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on 26 March at an event in New York.

The biannual international microbicides conference “Microbicides 2008” ran 24 –27 February in New Delhi under the theme “Striving towards HIV Prevention”. The scientific and networking conference was opened on Sunday by the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Anbumani Ramadoss.

The event ended on a positive and hopeful note. Addressing the closing ceremony, UNAIDS Executive Director Dr Peter Piot acknowledged the difficult time it has been for microbicide research but focused on the progress made in the field so far.

In Mexico, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot joined government and civil society representatives and people living with HIV to commemorate World AIDS Day 2007. Throughout the events, Dr Piot underlined the importance of continued leadership on AIDS issues. “Sustaining leadership and accelerating action on AIDS… requires us all to focus on AIDS every day of the year,” he said in his statement marking the Day.

The 5th Central American Congress on HIV is being held in Managua, Nicaragua, from 4-9 November. Over 1,500 participants are attending the Congress including representatives from governments, the United Nations, people living with HIV, women’s organizations, religious groups and the private sector.
UNAIDS Executive Director Dr Peter Piot gave one of the key note speeches at the official opening ceremony of CONCASIDA. During his speech he highlighted the need to deal with the tough issues that lie at the core of the AIDS epidemic in Central America and called for strong and exceptional leadership on AIDS.

In a joint mission, UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot and Dr Tadatakai Yamada, Executive Director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Programme visited Botswana to gain a shared perspective of the progress and challenges facing the country in its AIDS response. With 25% of adults aged 15-49 estimated to be living with HIV, Botswana has one of the world’s highest HIV prevalence rates, but the country has made significant progress in its response to AIDS, especially in providing treatment. Meeting with various officials in the country, Dr Piot praised this progress and stressed the importance of scaling up comprehensive HIV prevention.

The UNAIDS Global Staff Meeting took place at the Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1st to 5th October. The overall goal of the Global Staff Meeting is to put both the organization at large, and all staff in a position to respond effectively to the challenges and expectations of UNAIDS constituents in scaling up global and country level response. The agenda of the meeting included among others, skills building workshops, group discussions, panelists’ reflections, conferences as well as feedback and evaluation of all the activities.

UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot participated in a forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C., discussing the United States’ important role in the global AIDS response and the upcoming reauthorization of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

During his speech, Dr Piot noted the leadership role that has been played by the United States in addressing the global AIDS epidemic, and called on the country to maintain and strengthen this commitment. “We must accelerate our efforts, and broaden them—by bolstering our long-term, sustainable efforts to fight this disease,” he said.

Up to half of all deaths in people living with HIV are caused by tuberculosis - Yet TB is both preventable and curable.

In the run up to the International Women’s Summit, twenty five members of the GCWA Leadership Council gathered in Nairobi for their 3rd meeting since the creation of the Coalition in 2004. Representing all regions of the world, participants came together to do more to address the critical importance of gender dynamics in the AIDS epidemic and women’s needs in the response. Dr Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director who took part in the meeting, congratulated the work done over the past year and called on the Leadership Council members to go beyond analysis and to find concrete solutions that work for women.