Home to the world’s fourth largest population and with a vast geographical spread, Indonesia is a country of critical focus for the AIDS response.

Given the increasing numbers of new HIV infections in recent years, the government and partners are accelerating action across the country to help increase programming and action to reduce the number of new HIV infections and deaths and to increase access to HIV treatment.

In 2013, a national strategy was adopted to rapidly increase access to antiretroviral therapy, in order to maximize its prevention impact. Through the programme, early initiation of antiretroviral therapy, regardless of CD4 count, can now be offered to pregnant women, serodiscordent couples, all members of key populations living with HIV, and people living with HIV, tuberculosis and/or hepatitis B and C coinfection. The programme is currently being rolled out in partnership with the authorities, civil society, and development and international partners in 13 districts across the country and will be expanded to 75 districts by the end of 2014.

In parallel, Indonesia continues to scale up HIV prevention efforts, focusing on key affected populations. Recent data from 16 cities across Indonesia show that efforts to increase access to condoms—especially for sex workers—and their effective use has lowered the number of sexually transmitted infections, for example syphilis, and therefore reduced the risk of HIV transmission.

“From increasing treatment and prevention programmes, to focusing responses geographically and among key populations, there are examples of progress that now need to be replicated, rapidly, to make further progress,” said UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Jan Beagle, who made an official visit to Indonesia in April.

A time for action

Partners in the Indonesian AIDS response agree that further scale up must be continued. There were an estimated 76 000 new HIV infections in 2012. The number of people with access to antiretroviral therapy rose to just under 40 000 in 2013 (a 27% increase from 2012). While there may be signs that epidemics among sex workers and people who use drugs are stabilizing in some areas, HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men has significantly increased nationally, from 5.3% in 2007 to 8.5% in 2011, and in Jakarta from 8.1% in 2007 to 17.2% in 2011, according to national Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance 2007 and 2011 data.

“In a decentralized country like Indonesia, we have to translate strategies into progress and action at the provincial and district levels, and to do this we need to make sure we have excellent partnerships,” said Deputy Minister of Health Ali Ghufron Mukti, when meeting with the UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director in Jakarta. “We are working hard with our local authorities in the districts and with civil society and communities,” he added.

Bali is a province heralded as having a growing number of strategies and initiatives that are showing positive results. For example, Bali’s programme to prevent sexual transmission of HIV has been strengthened through updating of regulations on sex work that enable sex workers to have easier and confidential access to HIV and sexual health services. Bali has also been in the forefront of implementing the national programme on the strategic use of antiretroviral therapy, providing treatment to all key populations without reference to CD4 levels.

Community-centred action driving results

Community-centred and community-led services are showing significant results in terms of increasing interest in and uptake of services. For example, despite the complex and sensitive cultural context on the issue of sex between men, the Bali Medika Clinic in Kuta (Bali) is viewed by community groups as friendly to such people. Over the past few years, it has seen an increasing number of clients taking up its anonymous testing and counselling service and referral to early initiation of HIV treatment.

“The Bali Medika Clinic is a community-led initiative. Our services are built around the needs and requests of men who have sex with men. Our clients can enjoy a patient-centred approach and our one-stop service, which is affordable and also confidential,” said Yogi Prasetia, from the Clinic.

United efforts of UNAIDS

Strong partnership among the United Nations on HIV is also helping to support the accelerated efforts in Indonesia. UNAIDS led the development of a Joint Support Programme on AIDS, which represents the combined United Nations efforts to support the Government of Indonesia and its partners in the national AIDS response.

The Programme responds to Indonesia’s identified priorities within the national strategic plan, with particular focus on ensuring increased access to antiretroviral therapy. It particularly aims to maximize the impact of the United Nations’ collective response, harmonize and better coordinate Cosponsor programming, financing and reporting, and reduce duplication and transaction costs.

The Les Canelles wellness centre in Seychelles was opened in 2013 with the aim of helping clients stop or reduce the use of drugs through opioid substitution therapy, reducing the harm caused by long-term drug use and reintegrating the clients into their communities to lead healthy and productive lives.

Visiting the wellness centre on 22 April 2014, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé reiterated the importance of putting in place a comprehensive opioid substitution programme to deal with the psychological, physical and sociological effects of drug use. “This is one of the best drug rehabilitation centres I have visited. It is not only treating drug addicted people and saving their lives, it is also restoring the dignity of people who are left behind,” said Mr Sidibé.

Since its inauguration in January 2013 by Seychelles President James Michel, the centre has reached hundreds of inpatient and outpatient clients. "I am staying out of addiction and beginning to realize what life is about after six years of using heroin. When you take heroin it makes you feel that you are ok but in reality you are not,” said a client. “My life journey has begun with great support of the staff at the wellness centre. I hope that the centre will always be there for us."

Maternal deaths have decreased by 45% since 1990 according to a new report released on 6 May by the Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group. Entitled Trends in maternal mortality: 1990 to 2013, the report estimates that 289 000 women died in 2013 owing to complications in pregnancy and childbirth, down from 523 000 in 1990.

Including new data as well as improved methods of estimating births and all female deaths, the report notes that 11 countries that had high levels of maternal mortality in 1990—Bhutan, Cambodia, Cabo Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Nepal, Romania, Rwanda and Timor-Leste—have already reached the Millennium Development Goal target of a 75% reduction in maternal mortality from the 1990 rate by 2015. Based on these latest trends, however, many low- and middle-income countries will not achieve this goal.

A major challenge found by the report in addressing maternal deaths is the lack of accurate data. Uncounted or unknown causes of death make it difficult for national health programmes to allocate resources where they are needed most.

New information on causes of death

Another report released on 6 May sheds more light on why childbearing women are dying when giving birth. The World Health Organization has released Global causes of maternal death: a WHO systematic analysis in the Lancet Global Health. That study finds that more than one in four maternal deaths are caused by pre-existing medical conditions, such as diabetes, HIV, malaria and obesity, whose health impacts can be aggravated by pregnancy.

Having strong health systems—with facilities that have adequate health workers, equipment and medicines—continue to be key to delivering quality health care to save the lives of women and their newborn babies, according to the report.

There is growing consensus worldwide that ending preventable maternal deaths can be achieved by ensuring that every woman has access to quality health care. Global and national targets beyond 2015 will be important for tracking progress in reducing maternal deaths and ensuring that maternal health continues to be a global development priority.

Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, delivered a keynote speech at The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) Capitol Hill Conference “Making AIDS History: From Science to Solutions”. The conference gathered leading government, research, policy and advocacy experts in Washington DC to build on the enormous progress seen in the response to HIV and chart a roadmap for ending the AIDS epidemic.

“We have made tremendous progress—but there is still so much to do,” said Ambassador Deborah Birx, Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS. “We are at a critical moment in time—where we can redefine the trajectory of this epidemic.”

In his remarks, Mr. Sidibé highlighted how the AIDS response has served as a catalyst for transforming the financing paradigm for global health and development. “The AIDS response has enabled us to change the paradigm of development financing,” said Mr Sidibé. “Today, we are moving even further to help countries implement investment frameworks that will maximize the impact of every dollar.”

He also called for continued, strong support from the US government. “If we don’t have the courage and bold leadership to ensure everyone has access to lifesaving services—including the key populations of young girls and women, men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who use drugs, prisoner and migrants—we will not be able to end this epidemic,” said Mr Sidibé.

At the conference, amfAR board Chair fashion designer Kenneth Cole announced amfAR’s “Countdown to a Cure”—a new initiative designed to raise an additional US$ 100 million for AIDS cure research. “I’ve been involved in AIDS activism for almost 30 years now, and I’ve never seen so much optimism in the world of AIDS research. We are closer to a cure for HIV than ever before because we have learned so much in the past few years,” said Mr Cole. “But we must remain relentless in our commitment to do whatever has to be done with whatever resources are available to support all efforts needed to find a vaccine and a cure.”

Other speakers at the conference included: Douglas Brooks, Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy; Paul Farmer, Co-founder of Partners in Health and Chair of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine; Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health; Gabriela Isler, Miss Universe 2013; World Bank President Jim Kim and various members of the US Congress.

If the world is to effectively reduce poverty and reach key development goals in critical areas such as health and education, countries need to focus not only on achieving growth as an end in itself but on implementing policies that allocate resources to those who are extremely poor. This is the central message of a recent major World Bank paper that explores how nations can enhance shared prosperity and ensure that growth is of benefit across the board. 

Prosperity for all, ending extreme poverty highlights the World Bank Group’s two bold goals to be achieved: eradicating extreme poverty so that no more than 3% of the global population live on less than US$ 1.25 a day; and raising income growth among the bottom 40% of earners.  

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim recognized the hugely ambitious nature of the goals, but maintained that they can be reached with increased commitment and the right interventions. “To end extreme poverty, the vast numbers of the poorest … will have to decrease by 50 million people each year until 2030. This means that 1 million people each week will have to lift themselves out of poverty for the next 16 years. This will be extraordinarily difficult, but I believe we can do it. This can be the generation that ends extreme poverty.”

Growth alone is unlikely to end extreme poverty by 2030 given that, according to the report, as poverty falls growth tends to lift fewer people out of poverty: when growth occurs many of the lowest income earners are in such difficult situations that ameliorating their lives is very hard. So, identifying and focusing on the bottom tiers, in country-specific ways, is considered crucial to making sure that the world’s 1.2 billion poor are not left behind and can fulfil their potential, benefitting themselves, their communities and their nations. (Five countries, Bangladesh, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Nigeria, are home to nearly two thirds of the poor, nearly 760 million people.)

The paper also warns of the dangers of not tackling income inequality. In countries where it is rising, the effect of growth on poverty has been slowed or in some cases reversed.

Prosperity for all, ending extreme poverty suggests that the twin goals, critical to the post-2015 development agenda, can be achieved through promoting more inclusive growth and through proactive programmes, such as conditional and unconditional direct cash transfers, which have been shown to have a significant impact on education, employment and health outcomes. To achieve sustainable development it is seen as vital not simply to lift people out of extreme poverty, but, as the report contends, “It is also important to make sure that, in the long run, they do not stagnate just above the extreme poverty line due to lack of opportunities to continue to move toward better lives.”

The World Bank Group has acknowledged that HIV, inequality and extreme poverty are inextricably linked and need to be tackled jointly. Earlier in 2014, the Bank, alongside UNAIDS, committed to four areas of action, which include aligning health and development efforts towards ending extreme poverty and AIDS and urging the post-2015 development agenda to include targets towards ending AIDS, as well as the goal of universal health coverage, so that no one falls into poverty or is kept in poverty due to payment for HIV treatment or health care. There is also a commitment to promoting national and global monitoring and implementation research.

According to the paper, such monitoring and mapping on a wider socioeconomic scale will be essential to see the World Bank Group’s overarching twin poverty eradication goals become reality. More and better data will be required so that interventions can be evidence-informed and progress monitored. This research will help the world’s policy-makers attain more inclusive growth and ensure that sustainable prosperity is shared and that the bottom 40% can benefit from the full range of economic and development gains.

Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MTV Networks International Bill Roedy reached the top of Africa’s highest mountain on 12 April and demonstrated his solidarity with UNAIDS and global partners working in the AIDS response.

“We trekked through the huge temperature fluctuations and intense fog and sun radiation of the desert,” said Mr Roedy. “With your inspirational support and incredible generosity we successfully reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.”

“MTV brought a great opportunity for us to communicate with young people in an entertaining and meaningful manner. I am very proud that Mr Roedy continues to inspire young people and the world both in his professional and personal life,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé.

Since 1996, MTV has had a long-standing partnership with UNAIDS and its Cosponsors. In 1998, MTV created the Staying Alive campaign—a multimedia global campaign against HIV.

The successes of the campaign led to the formation of the Staying Alive Foundation, which provides financial and technical support to young people working on innovative HIV prevention programmes on the ground and broadcasts original content to help spread HIV awareness around the world.

In May 2010, a three-part TV drama—Shuga—commissioned by MTV Networks Africa won a Gold award at the World Media Festival in Hamburg, Germany, in the Public Relations Health category. Shuga was based on a story about a group of young friends living in Nairobi, Kenya, and includes messages about HIV prevention for young people.

From the headquarters of MTV to the 120 km/hour winds of Mount Kilimanjaro, Mr Roedy continues to advocate for the response to HIV.

“Everybody experienced some form of altitude sickness. We battled through vomiting, tears, windburn, knee pain, freezing cold hands and feet and complete exhaustion at the end, but somehow, we managed to reach Uhuru Peak, said Mr Roedy. “Having all of your support made all the difference.”

Despite the unprecedented progress made in the AIDS response in recent years, emerging evidence suggests that adolescents are falling behind as a result of not receiving the attention and services they require.

AIDS-related mortality among adolescents has increased by 50% over the past seven years, but fell for all other age groups, according to UNAIDS estimates. Two out of three people aged 0–14 lack access to HIV treatment worldwide, and recent data collected from sub-Saharan Africa indicate that only 10% of young men and 15% of young women (15–24 years) are aware of their HIV status.

To advance the adolescent treatment and care agenda, UNAIDS, the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+) and PACT brought together key treatment actors, United Nations and youth organizations and networks of young people living with HIV. During the two-day meeting, held on 16 and 17 April, participants analysed the main obstacles affecting adolescents in the AIDS response and charted an action agenda to ensure that adolescents are not left behind.

There is an urgent need to ensure that adolescents living with HIV become aware of their status and have access to effective HIV treatment and quality care programmes. Furthermore, adolescents face particular challenges to adhere to HIV treatment, lack support to disclose their status and there is an absence of information about their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

There are many reasons why adolescents may stop taking their HIV medications regularly, including their side-effects, “treatment fatigue”, self-stigma or a lack of community support. However, maintaining adherence to HIV treatment is one of the key elements for optimizing health outcomes for adolescents living with HIV. Besides its primary health benefits, taking antiretroviral treatment correctly and consistently delays the development of drug resistance and contributes to preventing the onward transmission of HIV.

“We cannot achieve zero AIDS-related deaths and zero new HIV infections if we don't focus on addressing the unique treatment needs of adolescents,” said Bactrin Killongo, from the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition. “For me, the agenda of scaling up HIV treatment should start with adolescents, especially those who were perinatally infected.”

Many adolescents living with HIV have also expressed lack of support regarding how, when and with whom to disclose their HIV status. This can lead to anxiety and depression. For members of young key populations, the situation is even more difficult, as they often face discrimination on account of the behaviour that makes then vulnerable to HIV, such as sex between men, as well as their HIV-positive status.

“Where do you go when you are discovering your sexuality as an adolescent? Very often the challenge that we face as young gay men is the double disclosure,” said Pablo Aguilera, Executive Director of the HIV Young Leaders Fund. “You have to tell people around you that you are HIV-positive and that you are gay, and this can get much more complicated when homosexuality is criminalized in your country and when you need the consent of your parents to access health care!”

Comprehensive sexuality education that is specifically catered to the unique needs of adolescents living with HIV is missing from most school and health-care settings globally. Many adolescents living with HIV are therefore left to deal with sexuality and relationships entirely on their own, leaving them isolated and fearful of sex and sexuality, while others lack sexual and reproductive health information and skills around safe sex.

“There is a need to tackle HIV prevention and treatment simultaneously and holistically among adolescents, recognizing not only their treatment and clinical needs but their emotional, physical and sexual needs too,” said Musah Lumumba, a young man living with HIV and Y+ member from Uganda.

Stigmatizing attitudes from health-care workers in relation to adolescents who are sexually active are also persistent. “As a young woman living with HIV, we often face challenges with access to sexual and reproductive health and services and adherence to HIV treatment, due to mistreatment and stigma from health-care workers,” said Consolata Opiyo, from the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS. 

A call to action

After two days of intense conversations, the participants identified core priorities to move the agenda forward, including developing a network to advance an agenda for adolescents to access medicines, demanding better treatment services at the country level, with a particular focus on national antiretroviral therapy guidelines and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria proposals, implementing a science agenda to fill the current research gaps regarding adolescents living with HIV and developing a mechanism to support the scaling up of programmes around adolescents living with HIV that work.

“This is a watershed moment in the AIDS response,” said Linda-Gail Bekker, Professor of Medicine and Deputy Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre. “We now have a critical mass of organizations working jointly to advance the adolescent treatment and care agenda!”

The outcome document from the meeting will be available ahead of the World Health Assembly in May 2014.

In 2006, the Government of Mauritius started harm reduction programmes—needle exchange programmes and opioid substitution therapy (methadone)—to reduce the transmission of blood-borne infections among people who inject drugs both inside and outside prison. Government figures from 2012 show that more than 5 400 people were enrolled on opioid substitution therapy, and the Global AIDS response progress report for Mauritius for 2012 shows that HIV transmission through injecting drug use in Mauritius declined from 73% in 2010 to 68% in 2011.

During an official visit to Mauritius, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé visited the Central Prison in Beau-Bassin, Mauritius’s largest prison, to learn about its opioid substitution programme, which allows inmates to continue receiving a daily dose of methadone while imprisoned.

During the visit, Mr Sidibé commended the Government of Mauritius and nongovernment organizations for putting in place a programme that ensures the well-being of inmates. “The quality of the treatment of prisoners reflects the level of humanity in Mauritius,” said Mr Sidibé. “The Central Prison in Beau-Bassin is restoring human dignity in all its dimensions.”

Government figures show that in March 2014 an estimated 2 289 convicted and remand detainees were held in nine prisons in Mauritius. Almost 40% of male inmates in the country are imprisoned due to drug-related crimes, and 30% of inmates are living with HIV. Sharing of smuggled injecting equipment is common in jail, which increases the risk of HIV infection while in custody.

Mauritius is proud to be among the few countries to implement a methadone programme in prison, which covers more than 200 inmates,” said Jean Bruneau, Commissioner of Prisons in Mauritius. “Because of this programme, Mauritius has been able to reduce HIV transmission among prisoners who use drugs.”

“I am grateful to the government for supporting the methadone programme and other important services at the prison care centre,” one prison inmate told Mr Sidibé. “This is preparing me to get back to a normal life and be a valued member of my community.”

During his visit to Mauritius, Mr Sidibé also met with representatives of civil society organizations and networks of people living with HIV to discuss opportunities and challenges in the national AIDS response.

“My discussion with civil society was a moment of truth, an exchange that brought a face to the epidemic,” said Mr Sidibé. “As we look to our post-2015 goals, we must make sure that no one is left behind.”

Stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV remain critical to the national AIDS response. The People Living with HIV Stigma Index shows that in Mauritius 30% of respondents—people living with or affected by HIV—had fears about being insulted or verbally threatened or harassed, while 23% feared physical assault. Additionally, 28% of respondents reported being denied access to health services due to HIV, while 40.5% reported discriminatory or very discriminatory responses to disclosures of their HIV status to health-care workers.

“People are stigmatized and discriminated because of their HIV status—they are continuously denied services, excluded from their communities and face the threat of deportation. These are the realities of people living with HIV in Mauritius,” said Nicolas Ritter, Executive Director of Prévention Information et Lutte contre le SIDA.

The Caribbean response to HIV has known many successes in recent years. Since 2001 there has been a 54% decline in AIDS-related deaths while new HIV infections have dropped by 49%. Twenty times more people are accessing HIV treatment now than there were ten years ago. And several countries are on track to virtually eliminate new HIV infections among children by 2015.

However, stigma and discrimination are still hampering efforts to reduce new HIV infections, increase the numbers of people accessing antiretroviral treatment and ensure that all people living with HIV can live full and productive lives. Prejudice towards people living with HIV and other key populations such as men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, people who use drugs, homeless people and prisoners, remains a major obstacle throughout the region.

“HIV is a by-product of social inequities,” said Carolyn Gomes, Executive Director of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition at the Caribbean Consultation on Justice For All in Kingston, Jamaica. “We need a bottom-up approach. We have to find ways to be heard. We have to apply resources to what we know would bring about transformative change.”

The “Justice For All” initiative is meant to link the voices and actions of members of civil society with governments, faith communities and the private sector. It is an attempt to collectively propel Caribbean countries toward improving citizens’ access to justice and equity. It also aims to build alliances in order to increase awareness and support for human rights.

Coordinated by the Pan-Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), the effort is led by the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy on HIV for the Caribbean, Professor Edward Greene, supported by UNAIDS.

“The world now knows what to do to end this epidemic,” UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Luiz Loures told participants. “We have the tools but we have entered a phase in which some people are getting left behind. The Caribbean is part of this contradiction. The general epidemic is going down but there are still laws, attitudes and practices that stop us from achieving our goals.” Dr Loures encouraged participants in the consultation to choose concrete targets and milestones to chart their progress towards ending stigma and discrimination.

The Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Mark Dybul, noted that this regional approach to building a culture of respecting human rights is unique. "The Caribbean can become the leader in ending AIDS,” said Mr Dybul. “We are at an historic moment when we can end AIDS as a public health threat. No other epidemic is pushing us to respond to one another differently and to embrace everyone, every small subset of people, as part of the human family.”

Mr Greene identified key areas of focus including reducing gender inequality, promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights and repealing discriminatory laws that infringe human rights. Sex between men is a criminal offence in 11 nations in the region and several Caribbean countries prohibit aspects of sex work. Some countries also have laws that restrict entry on the basis of sexual orientation, HIV status and disability. The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Denzil Douglas, assured that “Justice For All” will be a focus of discussion for the region’s political leaders. 

Cricket players from around the world are once again showing their support to young people living with HIV as part of the global Think Wise partnership on HIV.

Throughout the International Cricket Council (ICC) 2014 World Twenty20 (WT20) tournament—which runs in Bangladesh until 6 April—cricketing stars from a variety of international teams are taking part in coaching sessions and site visits. They are meeting with young people living with and affected by HIV, raising awareness of the importance of accessing HIV information and services.

The Think Wise initiative is a long-running partnership between ICC, UNICEF and UNAIDS that uses the power of cricket to reach out to large numbers of people on HIV issues. The partnership, which emphasizes messages on HIV prevention and the need for the elimination of HIV-related stigma and discrimination, has been profiled throughout the 2014 WT20. Players and match officials have worn red ribbons in solidarity with people living with HIV and Think Wise messages are profiled in the stadiums.

As part of the Think Wise activities carried out in Bangladesh, players from the Australia, Bangladesh, West Indies and South Africa teams held special cricket coaching sessions and events for children and young people. As well as practical cricket instruction from the players, the young participants spent additional time with them discussing HIV and life skills issues. Young participant Pranto Sarkar, aged 11, underlined his excitement at having time with the cricketing stars to play with and learn from them. “I just can’t believe that I have played with them, for me it’s a dream come true,” he said.

A special site visit was arranged for members of the Bangladesh women’s international team to the Ashar Alo Society, an organization of people living with HIV. Players met children living with and affected by HIV, who shared their stories about the challenges they face.

Stressing the importance of partnership with the Bangladesh National AIDS Programme, the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the civil society partners that helped to facilitate events, trainings and site visits, the Chief of HIV at UNICEF Bangladesh, Dr Tajudeen Oyewale said, “The events in Bangladesh are a demonstration of the effective power of sport in reaching adolescents with HIV prevention information. The uniqueness of the training lies in the integration of HIV messages into cricket training drills, as well as the broad partnership between UNICEF, UNAIDS and ICC, and the national partners.”

Think Wise has inspired many leading cricketers to join efforts to promote HIV prevention and reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination. For the 2014 WT20, Bangladesh international all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan championed Think Wise—speaking about HIV prevention and stigma at a number of public events, starring in a Think Wise public service announcement that was shown in cricket grounds throughout the tournament and taking part in the in-tournament Think Wise activities with his colleagues.

“I feel privileged to be a part of the Think Wise campaign. As a sportsperson I know how far-reaching an impact we can make in addressing key issues around HIV, especially in developing countries like Bangladesh,” said Mr Al Hasan.

Commenting on the importance of the involvement of sports stars in the profiling and dissemination of key HIV and health messages, UNAIDS Country Director for Bangladesh Leo Kenny said, "We are thankful to the WT20 partnership with ICC and UNICEF and its ambassadors like Shakib Al Hasan for using cricket as a vehicle for making HIV everybody's business.”