December

The global AIDS response has lost a great champion

UNAIDS is deeply saddened at the passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu who fought against apartheid in South Africa and combated racism and injustice worldwide. He was a powerful voice in the fight against AIDS, combating denial, demanding access to treatment for all, calling out against discrimination of people living with HIV, and championing the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, women, and children. His work on HIV and tuberculosis prevention and treatment changed global paradigms and saved many lives.

26 December 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS welcomes the approval of long-acting injectable cabotegravir as a pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention

The United States Food and Drug Administration announced its first approval of a long-acting HIV prevention medication earlier this week. The long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB - LA) is approved as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for adults and adolescents who are at risk of acquiring HIV sexually in the United States of America.

22 December 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS welcomes the appointment of Catherine Russell as the new Executive Director of UNICEF

UNAIDS welcomes the announcement from the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres of the appointment of Catherine Russell as the new Executive Director of UNICEF.

20 December 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS Board closes after making bold decisions on societal enablers and ending HIV-related stigma and discrimination as a pivotal part of ending inequalities and AIDS

The 49th meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB), which commenced on 7 December 2021, closed on 10 December.

14 December 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

Addressing inequalities to ensure health and rights for all

As we commemorate Universal Health Coverage Day 2021, the world is entering year three of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has reminded us that no one is safe until everyone is safe. It shows how pandemics expose intersecting inequalities among people, countries and communities.

12 December 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

International Human Rights Day: overcoming pandemics by respecting human rights for all

On International Human Rights Day, UNAIDS is calling for concrete action to prevent and respond to systemic human rights violations that create and exacerbate inequalities.

10 December 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS calls for urgent action to end the inequalities driving HIV and other pandemics around the world

As the 21st International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) opens in Durban, South Africa, UNAIDS is calling for urgent measures to be taken to reduce the inequalities fuelling the twin pandemics of HIV and COVID-19. The mainly virtual event is being held against the backdrop of increasing COVID-19 infections driven by the new omicron variant of the coronavirus identified by South African researchers last month.

06 December 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

Fulfilling our promise to adolescents and young people

Children today are leading the charge on a number of global issues – be it girls’ education, be it climate change or HIV. We have at least two world leaders on the issue of girls’ education and of climate change – Malala and Greta – who began their leadership as children and made the world listen to them. Why is this possible in today’s day and age? Because we are all more and more connected, and children and young people are now growing up with the internet as well as other media.

03 December 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

Botswana is first country with severe HIV epidemic to reach key milestone in the elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission

Botswana has become the first high-burden country to be certified for achieving an important milestone on the path to eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV by the World Health Organization (WHO).

02 December 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

World AIDS Day 2021—Step up, be bold, end AIDS, end inequalities and end pandemics

With millions of lives on the line, UNAIDS and WHO World AIDS Day event saw global partners, including Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, urgently call for expanded access to health treatments and technologies and for human rights to be upheld

01 December 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

World AIDS Day 2021 message from UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima

There is not a choice to be made between ending the AIDS pandemic that is raging today and preparing for the pandemics of tomorrow. The only successful approach will achieve both. As of now, we are not on track to achieve either.

01 December 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

Forty years of AIDS: Equality remains central to quelling a still-potent epidemic

On 1 December, we mark World AIDS Day. This year marks a sombre anniversary. On 5 June 2021, it was forty years since disturbingly unexplained cases of illness and death – later called AIDS – were first officially tabulated. These four decades have yielded enormous medical and scientific progress – but too many deaths and far too much stigma remain very much with us.

01 December 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

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November

UNAIDS warns of millions of AIDS-related deaths and continued devastation from pandemics if leaders don’t address inequalities

UNAIDS issued a stark warning today that if leaders fail to tackle inequalities the world could face 7.7 million* AIDS-related deaths over the next 10 years. UNAIDS further warns that if the transformative measures needed to end AIDS are not taken, the world will also stay trapped in the COVID-19 crisis and remain dangerously unprepared for the pandemics to come.

29 November 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS welcomes the first WHO COVID-19 Technology Access Pool licensing agreement

UNAIDS welcomes the first licensing agreement under the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) initiative, negotiated between Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spain’s High Council of Scientific Research) and the Medicines Patent Pool.

24 November 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS Executive Director urges action to turn the tide on violence against women and girls and HIV

“Ending gender-based violence requires a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach. But I am convinced that if decision-makers, at a minimum, push on these key actions, we will have a win–win for everyone: less violence against women and girls and fewer women and girls acquiring HIV or falling through the cracks in accessing and staying on antiretroviral therapy. We must revolutionize the ways of doing business in the AIDS response. Gender equality and women’s rights must be at the centre. There is no room for complacency or acceptance of gender-based violence if we are to end AIDS as a public health emergency by the 2030 deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

24 November 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS calls for greater and sustained funding commitments to support its work in leading global efforts to end AIDS by 2030

Having experienced major shortfalls in funding since 2015, UNAIDS convened donors, partners and Programme Coordinating Board members in Geneva, Switzerland, for a dialogue to help bolster UNAIDS’ efforts in supporting countries to end AIDS by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

19 November 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

Summit concludes with a call for action to reinvent the response to the HIV pandemic and end AIDS in Western and Central Africa

A three-day regional summit on HIV/AIDS held in Dakar, Senegal, has concluded with a call to action that urges stronger support for community-led responses, policies driven by science and data, increased investment in the HIV response and putting HIV at the centre of pandemic preparedness and response. In his closing remarks, the President of Senegal, Macky Sall, committed to advancing the call to action with the African Union and pledged additional funds to implement it in Senegal and across the region.

03 November 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

On International Drug Users’ Day, UNAIDS calls for action against the criminalization of people who use drugs and for community-led harm reduction programmes

On International Drug Users’ Day, UNAIDS is calling for urgent action against the criminalization of people who use drugs, for the redress of criminalization’s negative effects on HIV, viral hepatitis and other health issues, for the respect of human rights and for more funding for community-led harm reduction programmes.

01 November 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

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October

How to end the AIDS epidemic in western and central Africa

The AIDS epidemic in western and central Africa is an ongoing emergency. The early gains made against HIV in this region have not been translated into the sustained progress that has been made in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

31 October 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS welcomes landmark agreement between Medicines Patent Pool and Merck Sharp and Dohme

UNAIDS welcomes the agreement between the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and the pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme through which the intellectual property rights over an antiviral medicine to treat mild to moderate forms of COVID-19 in adult patients are shared with interested sub-licensees on a non-exclusive and transparent basis. The new medicine, molnupiravir, is still pending regulatory approval but has obtained optimal results in clinical trials.

28 October 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS welcomes New Zealand’s decision to lift travel restrictions for people living with HIV

UNAIDS welcomes the announcement by New Zealand that it has removed all travel restrictions for people living with HIV. The recent decision by Immigration New Zealand to remove HIV from the list of medical conditions deemed likely to impose significant costs or demands on New Zealand’s health services means that the blanket ban for people living with HIV to get a resident visa has officially been removed.

25 October 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

The quest to end the COVID-19 and HIV pandemics

At a time when millions have lost work, Queen Kennedy got a new job. As a woman living with HIV in Nigeria, she answered the call to become a community pharmacist. Lockdowns lowered access to HIV treatment and prevention. But through an International Community of Women Living with HIV West Africa initiative, Queen and her colleagues home deliver HIV medicines. They also conduct adolescent HIV prevention sessions.

25 October 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS Board approves 2022–2023 budget and a five-year results and accountability framework

The UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) has approved, at a special session, the Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework (UBRAF) for 2022–2026 and the UNAIDS budget for 2022 and 2023. The approved budget is set at up to a threshold of US$ 210 million per year.

07 October 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

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September

UNAIDS welcomes President Biden’s intent to nominate John Nkengasong as the new United States Global AIDS Coordinator

UNAIDS warmly welcomes the intent of the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, to nominate John Nkengasong as Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally at the Department of State.

28 September 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

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August

UNAIDS welcomes Chile’s recognition of responsibility for violating the rights of a woman living with HIV sterilized without her consent

UNAIDS welcomes the announcement by Chile that it recognizes international responsibility for violating the rights of a woman living with HIV who was sterilized without her consent almost 20 years ago. The government has agreed a friendly settlement with the woman, Francisca, that includes the payment of reparations for the violation of her human rights. It has also committed to ending forced sterilization and to guaranteeing reproductive rights as human rights without discrimination.

11 August 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

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July

New report reveals stark inequalities in access to HIV prevention and treatment services for children—partners call for urgent action

Almost half (46%) of the world’s 1.7 million children living with HIV were not on treatment in 2020 and 150 000 children were newly infected with HIV, four times more than the 2020 target of 40 000

21 July 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    Download PDF

UNAIDS report shows that people living with HIV face a double jeopardy, HIV and COVID-19, while key populations and children continue to be left behind in access to HIV services

The UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2021, launched today, highlights evidence that people living with HIV are more vulnerable to COVID-19, but that widening inequalities are preventing them from accessing COVID-19 vaccines and HIV services.

14 July 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS is shocked and saddened by the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, the President of Haiti

UNAIDS is shocked and saddened by the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, the President of Haiti, during an attack by gunmen at his private residence. It also sends its sincere hopes that the First Lady, Martine Moïse, will recover from the injuries that she sustained during the incident.

08 July 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS strongly condemns violence against LGBTI activists in Tbilisi, Georgia

UNAIDS strongly condemns the attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) activists and journalists at Tbilisi Pride’s offices and surrounding areas, which have forced the cancellation of Gay Pride events in the city. UNAIDS expresses its solidarity with all LGBTI people in Georgia.

07 July 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS calls on Hungary to immediately remove amendments discriminatory to LGBTI people from newly adopted law

UNAIDS is deeply concerned by new legislation in Hungary that includes discriminatory amendments against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.

06 July 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

Education Plus launched in response to alarming rates of HIV among adolescent girls and young women in Africa

Unequal gender power dynamics continue to put women and girls at higher risk of acquiring HIV. Six out of seven new HIV infections among adolescents aged between 15 and 19 years in sub-Saharan Africa are among girls and 4200 adolescent girls and young women between 15 and 24 years became infected with HIV every week in 2020

06 July 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS Board closes after discussing the way forward for the new 2022–2026 UNAIDS budget, results and accountability framework

The 48th meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB), which commenced on 29 June 2021, closed on 2 July.

06 July 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

New film sends a powerful message to world leaders: end inequalities, end AIDS

Celebrities and supporters of the global HIV response take part in a new UNAIDS film and social media campaign calling on world leaders to address the inequalities driving the HIV epidemic to end AIDS by 2030

01 July 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

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June

UNAIDS is deeply saddened by the death of the former President of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda

UNAIDS is deeply saddened by the death of the first President of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda, and expresses its sincere condolences to his family, his friends and the country. 

18 June 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    Download PDF

United Nations High-Level Meeting on AIDS draws to a close with a strong political declaration and bold new targets to be met by 2025

After weeks of robust discussions, the 2021 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS is drawing to a close with the adoption of a new, ambitious and achievable Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030. The declaration is based on evidence, grounded in human rights and will serve as an important road map to advance the global HIV response over the next five years.

14 June 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

New global pledge to end all inequalities faced by communities and people affected by HIV towards ending AIDS

World leaders agree to reduce the annual number of new HIV infections to under 370 000 and AIDS-related deaths to 250 000, eliminate new HIV infections among children, end paediatric AIDS and eliminate all forms of HIV-related discrimination by 2025. They also committed to providing life-saving HIV treatment to 34 million people by 2025.

08 June 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

Forty years on and new UNAIDS report gives evidence that we can end AIDS

UNAIDS urges world leaders to adopt a bold political declaration on HIV at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS, being held in New York and online next week, and to commit to achieving a new set of targets for 2025 to end AIDS by 2030

03 June 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

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May

COVID-19: make it the last pandemic

UNAIDS strongly welcomes the report and recommendations of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response. Amongst others, the panel calls for the establishment of a Global Health Threats Council with participation at the highest political level to coordinate global action against pandemics and secure agreement between governments in aligning efforts to tackle the health, social and economic challenges of major pandemics.

12 May 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS condemns new law that further criminalizes and marginalizes vulnerable groups of people in Uganda

UNAIDS is deeply concerned by the Ugandan parliament’s decision earlier this week to adopt the Sexual Offences Bill 2019, which includes provisions that further criminalize entire groups of people, such as the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, sex workers and people living with HIV. The bill criminalizes same-sex sexual relations, extends the criminalization of sex work and imposes mandatory testing for HIV and harsher sentences on people living with HIV than the general population accused of some similar crimes.

06 May 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    Download PDF

Statement from the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima on the decision by the United States of America to support the TRIPS waiver for COVID-19 vaccines

I applaud the announcement from United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai supporting the waiving of intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines.

06 May 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

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April

United Nations Secretary-General calls for a greater focus on ending inequalities to end AIDS

Forty years since the first AIDS cases were reported and just weeks before the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS, the United Nations Secretary-General has released a new report with recommendations and targets to get the world back on track to end AIDS

30 April 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    Download PDF

UNAIDS welcomes Lord Fowler as an ambassador

Norman Fowler, the pioneering United Kingdom Secretary of State for Health, human rights campaigner and respected Lords Speaker, will champion law reform, health for all and girls’ education worldwide to help end HIV as an ambassador for UNAIDS.

30 April 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    Download PDF

UNAIDS statement on UK’s proposed reduction in financial support

The government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) has informed UNAIDS that funding for UNAIDS for 2021 is confirmed at GBP 2.5 million, compared to the GBP 15 million received by UNAIDS from the UK for 2020.

29 April 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

Benefits of continuing to provide life-saving HIV services outweigh the risk of COVID-19 transmission by 100 to 1

Disruption to HIV services as high as 75% has been reported in some countries—to prevent increased AIDS-related deaths, HIV services must continue during the COVID-19 pandemic

13 April 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    Download PDF

Statement by Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, on the occasion of World Health Day

On World Health Day 2021, let us make that call to ensure that people’s lives come before profits. Let governments make the commitment that they will guarantee that everyone, without discrimination, has access to quality health care. The right to health is an inalienable human right.

07 April 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

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March

UNAIDS Board adopts new global AIDS strategy which paves the way to end AIDS by 2030

The new Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026, End Inequalities, End AIDS, is a bold approach that uses an inequalities lens to close the gaps preventing progress to end AIDS

25 March 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    Download PDF

UNAIDS welcomes bold support from the United States of America in response to colliding pandemics

UNAIDS warmly welcomes the passing of the US$ 1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act. The historic legislation will deliver much-needed relief in the light of COVID-19, both in the United States of America and around the world.

18 March 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    Download PDF

UNAIDS warns that violence in Myanmar is impeding access to services for people living with and affected by HIV

As the situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate and fatalities rise, UNAIDS is warning that the violence also threatens access to life-saving essential services, including services for people living with and affected by HIV.

17 March 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS is deeply saddened by the death of His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini of the Zulu nation

UNAIDS is saddened by the news that His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini has died and conveys its sincerest condolences to the Zulu royal family and to the wider Zulu nation.

17 March 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    Download PDF

UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, meets with President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari

The UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, has met the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, to discuss the country’s response to the colliding pandemics of HIV and COVID-19. The meeting was part of Ms Byanyima’s three-day visit to the country, which also included visits to communities on the frontline of the response and events to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March.

10 March 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS Executive Director's message on International Women’s Day 2021

Women leaders have provided a guiding light for the world in responding to the COVID-19 crisis, from heads of government to coordinators of grass-roots social movements. They have reminded the world how crucial it is to have critical numbers of women, in all their diversity, in positions of leadership.

08 March 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    Download PDF

Message from the UNAIDS Executive Director on Zero Discrimination Day 2021

Ending inequalities will advance the human rights of all, make societies better prepared to beat COVID-19 and future pandemics and support economic recovery and stability.

01 March 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    Download PDF

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February

UNAIDS welcomes the United Nations General Assembly decision to hold a high-level meeting on HIV and AIDS in 2021

UNAIDS welcomes the United Nations General Assembly decision for a high-level meeting on HIV and AIDS to take place from 8 to 10 June 2021. The high-level meeting will review the progress made in reducing the impact of HIV since the last United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on HIV and AIDS in 2016 and the General Assembly expects to adopt a new political declaration to guide the future direction of the response. The high-level meeting will take place as the world marks 40 years since the first case of AIDS was reported and 25 years of UNAIDS.

25 February 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS welcomes the appointment of Andrew Spieldenner as Executive Director of MPact

UNAIDS warmly welcomes the appointment of Andrew Spieldenner as the Executive Director of MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights. MPact has been working since 2006 at the intersection of sexual health and human rights for gay and bisexual men and is linked to more than 120 community-based organizations in 62 countries. MPact has long been a key partner of UNAIDS—its work is critical for the promotion of the health and rights of gay and bisexual men and their communities and to ending AIDS.

23 February 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS welcomes the United States of America’s decision to support women’s health, safety and rights

UNAIDS warmly welcomes the announcement by the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, that he has rescinded the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance Policy (PLGHA, previously known as the Mexico City Policy). The policy required foreign nongovernmental organizations to certify that they would not perform or actively promote abortion using funds from any source (including non-United States funds) as a condition of receiving United States Government funding.

03 February 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

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January

UNAIDS calls for the release of five humanitarian workers detained in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

UNAIDS is deeply troubled and concerned about the detention by military police of the Venezuelan citizens and humanitarian workers Johán León Reyes, Yordy Bermúdez, Layners Gutiérrez Díaz, Alejandro Gómez Di Maggio and Luis Ferrebuz, who are members of the nongovernmental organization Azul Positivo. The five have been held since 12 January 2021.

29 January 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

UNAIDS calls for the LGBT community in Uganda to be treated with respect and dignity at all times

UNAIDS is concerned that the vilification of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities in Uganda could lead to heightened violence, stigma and discrimination against them and reduce their access to HIV and other essential services. In a recent media interview, the President, Yoweri Museveni, described being LGBT as a “deviation”.

12 January 2021   |   Email this link to me   |    

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