The President of Angola José Eduardo dos Santos said his country is committed to stopping new HIV infections among children and improving access to HIV treatment. He made the commitment during a meeting with UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé on 7 October in Angola’s capital of Luanda.  

Since the 27-year civil war ended in 2002, Angola has moved swiftly to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the government is gradually rebuilding its public infrastructure

Mr Sidibé congratulated the President on his leadership and engagement in the peaceful and economic transformation of Angola and called on him to take on the twin challenges of ensuring all babies are born free of HIV and ensuring all Angolans living with HIV have access to lifesaving antiretroviral treatment.

Angola is one of the few countries in Africa where new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have risen in the last ten years. New HIV infections increased from 19 000 in 2011 to 28 000 in 2012 – a 47% increase. AIDS-related deaths rose from 8 400 in 2001 to 13 000 in 2012. Antiretroviral treatment coverage for adults and children is also very low in Angola. Only 15% of eligible children and 48% of adults had access to treatment in 2012 under 2010 guidelines from the World Health Organization.

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Obstetricians and gynecologists, ministers, public health specialists and civil society organizations convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 2-5 October at the First International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Africa Regional Conference to discuss ways of improving maternal and child health in Africa.

Speaking at the opening, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme, Luiz Loures highlighted the link between HIV and maternal and child health. He called for women’s health and HIV communities to closely work together to increase access to life-saving health services to reach the most marginalized in society.  He also stressed the need to uphold the sexual and reproductive rights of women living with HIV. 

In sub-Saharan Africa, women are more likely to be living with HIV than men, accounting for 58% of the 22.1 million adults who were living with HIV in the region in 2012. Young women are particularly at risk of HIV infection–– around 28% of all new adult HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa are among young women between the ages of 15-24. HIV is also a leading cause of death among women of reproductive age and has a major impact on child health and mortality, mainly through the transmission of HIV from mother to child.

Dr Loures congratulated FIGO on its visionary and bold work on women’s sexual and reproductive rights. He also underscored UNAIDS commitment to strengthening its collaboration with FIGO to raise political visibility and engage women’s networks on HIV and sexual and reproductive rights issues to reduce AIDS related maternal and child mortality.

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UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé welcomed the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko to UNAIDS Headquarters in Geneva. During their bilateral meeting, they reviewed Ukraine’s impressive progress in its national AIDS response.

The country has nearly doubled the number of people accessing HIV treatment in the last year—now reaching more than 40 000 people. Vice Prime Minister Gryshchenko conveyed his appreciation to UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and national foundations for supporting the HIV response in Ukraine and expressed hope that Ukraine will advance this progress through the newly developed National AIDS Programme for 2014-2018.

The Vice Prime Minister also reiterated the invitation by the Government of Ukraine to Mr Sidibé to make his first official visit from 22 to 24 October 2013.

In October 2012, a high-level delegation of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) visited Ukraine to see first-hand the achievements in the national AIDS response. Ukraine will join as a new member of the PCB for a three-year term from 2014 to 2016.

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UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme, Luiz Loures shaking hands with the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardi. Photo courtesy of South Sudan Presidency.

The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit has reaffirmed his commitment to expand HIV programmes in the country.  During a meeting with UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme, Luiz Loures in South Sudan’s capital Juba, President Kiir said, "We won the battle for the independence of South Sudan. We will also win the war against HIV.  I have made this my priority. I want to keep my people safe at all costs."

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 following a 30-year civil war that claimed the lives of more than 2.5 million people. The country is now entering a challenging transition period––from war to peace and development.

For the past two years South Sudan, in collaboration with its development partners, has been working hard to build multi-sectorial institutions and infrastructure to provide basic public services, including education and health care.

“These efforts are a testament to the resilience of the South Sudanese people and a clear sign of their desire to achieve a viable independent state,” said Dr Loures commending the government for its commitment to creating a healthy and productive nation.

Efforts are in particular need of scaling up in the country’s response to HIV. In 2012, an estimated 150 000 people were living with HIV in South Sudan and just 9% people who were eligible for treatment under the World Health Organization’s 2010 guidelines had access to lifesaving antiretroviral therapy. Only 13% of pregnant women living with HIV had access to services to prevent transmission of the virus to their child and AIDS-related deaths have almost doubled since 2001––from 6 900––to 13 000 in 2012.

The population of South Sudan is largely made up of young people. According to the World Bank, 51% of the population in the country are under the age of 18 and 72% are under the age of 30. President Kiir acknowledged the need to tailor HIV services to the needs of young people, “If they are left vulnerable, there will be no country,” he said.

UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme Dr Luiz Loures with United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan peacekeepers at Bangladeshi Camp, UN Base Tomping on 30 September 2013. Credit: UNAIDS

Dr Loures emphasized the need to firmly engage the armed forces in the response to HIV. The South Sudanese army has been at the forefront of the national AIDS response having established an HIV Secretariat in 2006.

Dr Loures also addressed the United Nations peacekeeping mission troops deployed in South Sudan. He highlighted the responsibility that peacekeepers have in preventing gender-based violence and sexual exploitation in their operational zones––two key factors that exacerbate the spread of HIV in conflict and post-conflict settings, as outlined in the UN Security Council in Resolution 1983.

During his visit Dr Loures met with Ministers, representatives of the United Nations Secretary-General and development partners to take stock of the AIDS response in the world’s youngest nation. The discussions focused particularly on security, peacekeeping and HIV in a post-conflict zone.

UNAIDS and the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 30 September at UNAIDS Headquarters in Geneva. The agreement aims at intensifying the AIDS response in countries of the CIS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia—where the HIV epidemic continues to rise.

Signed by the Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the CIS, Sergey Lebedev and UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, the Memorandum will extend the collaboration between the parties. The collaboration was first initiated in 2001 when the CIS Council of Heads of States approved the first ‘Programme of urgent measures in response to AIDS’ and was advanced through the Action plan to strengthen cooperation in the field of development to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 6 in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (12 October 2011).

The major fields of cooperation of this new memorandum include:

• to increase cooperation between governments and civil society organizations to scale up access to HIV services for people living with HIV;
• to share best practices in addressing challenges in the AIDS response;
• to foster CIS Member States involvement in international activities on AIDS;
• and to strengthen cooperation towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal 6—to halt and reverse the spread of HIV by 2015—in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of diplomatic missions of the CIS countries in Geneva, including the Ambassadors of Belarus and Turkmenistan, as well as senior UNAIDS staff from Geneva and the UNAIDS Regional Support Team in Moscow.

Established in 1991, the CIS promotes cooperation in political, economic, environmental, humanitarian, cultural and other domains between its Member States. It is made up of 11 countries including: Republic of Armenia, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

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Barbara Martinez, a young Ecuadorian activist living with HIV, urged the international community not to drop its guard on HIV during her address at the 68th United Nations General Assembly special event on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The event was convened to review progress towards the MDGs as well as to discuss the transition into the post-2015 development framework.

Ms Martinez stressed that integrated and concerted action was needed to reach the MDGs and urged the international community, civil society and people living with HIV to remain vigilant in achieving the goals originally set in the Millennium Declaration. She also called on world leaders to ensure HIV remains a high priority for the world in the post-2015 agenda.

According to Ms Martinez, the MDGs have helped countries make major advances in their responses to HIV. She went on to stress that the efforts towards these goals have greatly contributed to a major reduction in the number of children born with HIV and the dramatic increase in the number of people accessing HIV treatment.

As the only speaker representing civil society, Ms Martinez participated as a member of the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Young People Living with HIV (Y+LAC). Around 210 000 young people are currently living with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean, with 34 000 new HIV infections among young people in 2012.

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L to R: Ambassador Eric Goosby, US Global AIDS Coordinator; President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame; US Secretary of State, John Kerry; President of Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba; and South African Ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool. Credit: PEPFAR

The Secretary of State John Kerry unveiled a United States (US) plan to enter into Country Health Partnerships—a new model of collaborative work—with Namibia, Rwanda and South Africa. The announcement was made by Secretary Kerry during a high-level meeting he hosted on the margins of the 68th United Nations General Assembly.

The new initiative is intended to strengthen collaboration with selected country partner governments leading to greater and mutual accountability and long-term sustainability.

“The Country Health Partnerships are about shared responsibility, shared accountability, budget transparency, and a commitment to investing strategically based on what we’ve learned from improved data collection and analysis,” said Secretary Kerry. “South Africa, Rwanda, and Namibia are all on the front lines of these efforts.”

The meeting featured the participation of the President of Namibia, the President of Rwanda, the South African Ambassador to the United States and global health leaders including UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé.

“To convene this meeting with key African heads of state and partners during the UN General Assembly sends a strong signal of the continued leadership and support of the US Government for the global AIDS response,” said Mr Sidibé. He also highlighted the continued commitment of UNAIDS to provide the strategic information and support for investment approaches that would help to ensure the success of the new partnerships.

During the roundtable, the Secretary of State also announced that the US will host the next Global Fund Replenishment Meeting in Washington, DC in December 2013.  Secretary Kerry highlighted the strong commitment from other donors to support the successful replenishment of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Earlier this year, Germany, the Nordic Countries, France and the United Kingdom have already announced important contributions to the Global Fund for the 2014 – 2016 period to support countries in their response to HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

On the occasion of the 68th General Assembly of the United Nations starting in New York on 24 September, WHO, UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNICEF and the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Financing the Health MDGs and for Malaria released a joint statement calling for a final push to achieve the health-related MDGs and lay the foundations for a post-2015 world. 

According to the statement, “Now is the moment to build on our remarkable success and insure that we actually meet the health MDGs in the time left to achieve them.”

• Read full statement 

HRH Crown Princess of Norway, Mette-Marit (centre) and Pablo Aguilera, Director of HIV Young Leaders Fund participating in the interactive dialogue with key emerging leaders in the social good space on the topic of Creating a new narrative on AIDS for the post 2015 world – what role can the social good sector play? Credit: UNAIDS

Bloggers, HIV experts and emerging leaders in the social good arena from around the world met in New York to discuss how new technologies can be used to effectively respond to HIV and can help create a new narrative around AIDS for the post 2015 world.

The dialogue took place during a session held at the Mashable Social Good Summit, which is organized on the side-lines of the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The aim of the Summit is to bring together global leaders to discuss an idea: the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve the world’s greatest challenges. This year’s main debates focused around finding innovative solutions for a world post-2015—when the Millennium Development Goals will come to an end.

Speaking at the event, UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway stressed the importance of keeping AIDS in the Post-2015 development framework and called on Member States to ensure young people have a seat at the discussion table.

“We need a new narrative on AIDS. One that projects hope and inspires action,” said the Crown Princess. “Young people demand to play a role in shaping and changing their world,” she added.

Participants identified social media as a primary tool to communicate the realities of young people living with HIV. Raising awareness among young people about how their peers live with the virus could help create a new social dialogue; one that challenges taboos and addresses stigma and discrimination.

“As a young person living with HIV, I can tell you it is very different now from what it was 15 or 20 years ago,” said Pablo Aguilera, Director of HIV Young Leaders Fund. “We need to craft a compelling new narrative about AIDS, based on the realities of today, to engage people in reaching the end of the epidemic.”

However, according to participants, any social media initiative addressing HIV must take into consideration the digital divide. They stressed that all initiatives must ensure that online tools are used for offline action. 

One such project is ACT 2015 where Youth organizations and UNAIDS, with support from HRH Crown Princess, will aim to catalyze social action to inspire a new wave of activism in the AIDS response.

ACT 2015 will engage and support youth activists to host online and offline host forums in their local communities to jointly agree and advocate for a new progressive framework that addresses the real HIV and sexual and reproductive health needs of young people. The open forums will take place during the month of November 2013.

World closing in on Millennium Development Goal 6, globally the AIDS epidemic has been halted and reversed—race is on to reach universal access to HIV treatment.

GENEVA, 23 September 2013—As world leaders prepare to meet at the United Nations General Assembly to review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals—a new report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) shows dramatic acceleration towards reaching 2015 global targets on HIV.  

New HIV infections among adults and children were estimated at 2.3 million in 2012, a 33% reduction since 2001. New HIV infections among children have been reduced to 260 000 in 2012, a reduction of 52% since 2001. AIDS-related deaths have also dropped by 30% since the peak in 2005 as access to antiretroviral treatment expands.

By the end of 2012, some 9.7 million people in low- and middle-income countries were accessing antiretroviral therapy, an increase of nearly 20% in just one year. In 2011, UN Member States agreed to a 2015 target of reaching 15 million people with HIV treatment. However, as countries scaled up their treatment coverage and as new evidence emerged showing the HIV prevention benefits of antiretroviral therapy, the World Health Organization set new HIV treatment guidelines, expanding the total number of people estimated to be in need of treatment by more than 10 million.

“Not only can we meet the 2015 target of 15 million people on HIV treatment—we must also go beyond and have the vision and commitment to ensure no one is left behind,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

Significant results have also been achieved towards meeting the needs of tuberculosis (TB) patients living with HIV, as TB-related deaths among people living with HIV have declined by 36% since 2004.

Despite a flattening in donor funding for HIV, which has remained around the same as 2008 levels, domestic spending on HIV has increased, accounting for 53% of global HIV resources in 2012. The total global resources available for HIV in 2012 was estimated at US$ 18.9 billion, US$ 3-5 billion short of the US$ 22-24 billion estimated to be needed annually by 2015. 

As well as outlining new global HIV estimates, the 2013 UNAIDS Report on the global AIDS epidemic reviews progress on ten specific targets which were set by United Nations Member States in the 2011 UN Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS.

The report finds that progress has been slow in ensuring the respect of human rights, securing access to HIV services for people most at risk of HIV infection, particularly people who use drugs, and in preventing violence against women and girls––a key factor in vulnerability to HIV. Gender inequality, punitive laws and discriminatory actions are continuing to hamper national responses to HIV and concerted efforts are needed to address these persistent obstacles to the scale up of HIV services for people most in need.

The 2013 UNAIDS Report on the global AIDS epidemic is available on line at unaids.org