Credit: UNAIDS/P. Virot

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published its first ever list of 30 priority medicines for maternal and child health. The list includes medicines for children living with HIV as well as a triple combination of drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Compiled by experts in maternal and child health and medicines, the list is based on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines and the latest WHO treatment guidelines. It provides a concrete way forward in striving to achieve global health goals[i].

The health situation for many women and children across the globe remains precarious. Despite a decline since 2004, in 2009 an estimated 260 000 children under the age of 15 died from AIDS-related illness[ii]. Every day some 1000 women lose their lives due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Most of these deaths can be prevented if the correct medicines in the correct formulations are prescribed and used in the correct way.

Many of the medicines can be administered quickly and easily. For example, a single injection of oxytocin can stop a woman bleeding to death if she haemorrhages after childbirth.

Preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV

The WHO-recommended drug regimen of prolonged use of combination of three antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV is also highlighted in the priority medicines list.

Positive results from a WHO-led study that were published in The Lancet in January 2011 showed that giving pregnant women living with HIV a combination of three ARV drugs during the last trimester of pregnancy, through delivery and six months of breastfeeding can reduce the risk of their baby being infected with HIV by more than 40% compared to the use of a single-dose ARV drug regimen which stopped at delivery as had been recommended by WHO since 2004.

Children and HIV

Without effective HIV treatment, an estimated one third of infants living with the virus will have died by one year of age, and about half will have died by two years of age. The list includes recommendations in the area of paediatric AIDS. Appropriate doses of the right combinations of antiretrovirals are critical to reducing child deaths from AIDS-related illness.

According to WHO, additional research and development is also urgently needed for appropriate products for prevention and treatment of tuberculosis, particularly in children living with HIV.    

Despite these pressing needs, surveys conducted in 14 African countries show that children's medicines are available in only 35% to 50% of pharmacies and drug stores[iii]. There is also a lack of awareness that children need different medicines from adults. When adult medicines are fractioned into smaller parts for children, the dose can be inaccurate and the medicine hard to swallow.

WHO recommends that, wherever possible, medicines for children should be provided in doses that are easy to measure and easy to take. There should also be steps to ensure that medicines are appropriate for the intended setting.

"Medicines produced in liquid form are more expensive than tablets or powders and are also more difficult to store, package, and transport, due to their bulk, weight and need for refrigeration. The list we have drawn up tells manufacturers exactly what they should be producing to meet countries’ needs," said Dr Hans V. Hogerzeil, Director of WHO's Department for Essential Medicines and Pharmaceutical Policies.

The release of the list of top 30 medicines to save mothers and children was timed to coincide with the meeting of the 18^th Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines. The meeting took place in Ghana, 21-25 March 2011. “This list is designed to help countries prioritize, so that they focus on getting the most critical things available and save the most lives," said Dr Elizabeth Mason, Director of WHO's Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health.

[i] Millennium Development Goals 4, 5 & 6: Reduce child mortality; Improve maternal health; Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

[ii] UNAIDS global report 2010

[iii]  Jane Robertson, Gilles Forte, Jean-Marie Trapsida & Suzanne Hill. What essential medicines for children are on the shelf? Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2009;87:231-237. doi: 10.2471/BLT.08.053645

A 40-foot converted shipping container making its way around European cities is vividly highlighting the work of North Star Alliance. Credit: UNAIDS

A 40-foot converted shipping container making its way around European cities is vividly highlighting the work of North Star Alliance. This public-private partnership is committed to building a network of roadside clinics at transport ‘hotspots’ in Africa to provide long-haul truck drivers, sex workers and surrounding communities with access to basic health care.

This week the North Star Alliance road show, with its container-based model wellness centre, arrived in Geneva. UNAIDS and World Health Organization staff were able to see for themselves exactly how these centres operate. Many took advantage of the opportunity to receive free medical checks, including blood pressure  testing.

From HIV prevention to antihistamines

The broad range of services on offer in a typical wellness centre includes condom distribution, treatment for sexually transmitted infections, information on HIV prevention and nutrition, basic eye tests, malaria treatment and even getting antihistamines for the common cold. Most centres also offer HIV counselling and testing and access to a behaviour change communication specialist. North Star is planning to expand its services to include greater support for antiretroviral therapy and tuberculosis screening.

There are now 22 wellness centres in 10 countries in east and southern Africa. By the end of 2014 there will be 100 such centres covering 85% of the major transport corridors on the continent. 

In the field, the shipping containers are placed at border posts or transit towns where truckers congregate and are open late, when drivers have parked for the night and sex work tends to take place. In general mobile workers, who often have to spend long periods away from their families, may have multiple partners and use the services of sex workers.

A model partnership

A broad range of services are on offer including condom distribution, treatment for sexually transmitted infections, information on HIV prevention and nutrition, basic eye tests, and malaria treatment. Credit: UNAIDS

North Star Alliance is an independent non-governmental organization, supported by five core partners: the express distribution company TNT, the International Transport Workers’ Federation, the World Food Programme, UNAIDS and ORTEC, a large provider of logistics software. It is seen as a model of public-private partnership.

According to Robin Jackson, UNAIDS’ representative on the board of North Star; “This is one of the best public-private partnerships I’ve seen. It works well. Each partner brings specialist expertise and knowledge to make a strong and cohesive intervention that’s really making a difference. ”

Minister of Heath of Kyrgyzstan, Sabyrbek Dzhumabiekov (left) and, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme, Paul De Lay addressing participants at the universal access consultation. Kiev, 17-18 March 2011

Insufficient investment in programmes to prevent HIV infection among key populations at higher risk is hampering efforts to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. That’s according to participants at the regional consultation that took place in Kiev, Ukraine on 17-18 March 2011.

Government and civil society representatives from 30 countries across the region participated in the universal access consultation. The objective was to discuss gaps in the region’s response to HIV as well as identify key priorities for future action.

“Eastern Europe and Central Asia remain far from achieving universal access, in spite of significant efforts,” said Dr Denis Broun, Director, UNAIDS Regional Support Team, Europe and Central Asia.

The region has seen progress in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission. HIV treatment coverage has been slowly increasing in recent years. Yet only one out of four people needing treatment are receiving it—the lowest coverage rate in the world.

Insufficient availability of treatment as well as prevention programmes—especially for the key populations at higher risk of HIV such as people who use drugs, men who have sex with men, prisoners and sex workers—were seen as the major gaps in the region leading to the increase of new infections. 

One of the discussions centred around the significant dependence that the region has on international financial support, specifically in the form of Global Fund grants. Participants stressed that national funding levels were low and called for countries to increase their domestic investment in the AIDS response. “Countries should not wait until funding from the Global Fund and other international donors ends. Sustainability of the HIV prevention, treatment, care and support should rely on national budgets,” stated participants in their final recommendations. “Governments should look at AIDS funding not as ‘spending’ but as investing in the economy, in the workforce and the future."  

Representatives of non-governmental organizations noted that, in general, civil society is not involved in budgetary decision-making when it comes to allocation of government funds. As a consequence, the effectiveness of the overall AIDS response remains low due to the limited capacity of the State to respond to the needs of people at higher risk of infection.

According to participants, there is a lack of sufficient HIV prevention programmes providing information to young people, raising awareness and promoting condom use to prevent sexual transmission of HIV. The existence of HIV-related travel restrictions, criminalization of HIV transmission and same-sex relations and the repressive police practices towards people who inject drugs were identified as significant barriers to establishing relationships of trust with people most-at-risk. Participants also agreed on the need to create legal environments to facilitate the intake of HIV prevention services by populations at higher risk of infection.

The recommendations made by participants will be included in the universal access progress report that will be presented at the United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS that will take place in New York in June 2011.

“The HIV situation in the region is critical. By contributing to the recommendations at a time when they are developed, we have a chance to ensure that the voice of people living with HIV is heard,” said Vladimir Zhovtyak, head of the Eastern European and Central Asia Network of People Living with HIV.

(from left) Advocate Bience Gawanas, Commissioner of Social Affairs at the AUC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Mr Robert Joseph Mettu Mumoo, Deputy Minister of Health Ghana; Mr Modoul Diagne Fada, Minister of Health and Prevention, Senegal; Mr Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive director; Mr Essimi Menye Lazare, Minister of Finance, Yaoundé, Cameroon. Credit: UNAIDS

African Ministers of Finance and Health came together in Addis Ababa on 29 March 2011 for a high level panel discussion to explore new ways of investing in health.

The panel, entitled More health for money and more money for health, was part of the 4th Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Economy and Finance and ECA Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

The discussion aimed to foster dialogue on health financing to improve health outcomes to help accelerate achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals. Ministers of Finance and Economic Development from Sierra Leone and Cameroon joined Ministers of Health from Ghana and Senegal as well as the Executive Directors of UNAIDS and UNFPA.

“Investing in AIDS is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “Thanks to smart investments, more than four million Africans now benefit from HIV treatment, living resourceful, productive lives and raising solid families,” he continued. “And because we have invested in HIV prevention strategically over the past decade, the rate of new infections has dropped by more than one-quarter in 22 African countries,” he added.

Development assistance to health more than doubled with the emergence of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and recently, the International Health Partnership. This progress in health financing has contributed to improvements in child health, HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

While some improvement has been made in health outcomes in parts of the Africa continent, progress is still limited and unequally distributed both among and within countries.

Abuja commitments on health financing not being met

In 2001, African Heads of State and Government made financial commitments towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals by pledging to allocate at least 15% of their national budgets to health. These pledges remain largely unmet, as only six out of 53 African States have achieved the Abuja commitments on health financing.

(from left) Donald Kaberuka, President of African Development Bank and Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director. Credit: UNAIDS

Moreover, some 32 of the 53 Africa Union (AU) member States still invest less than half the WHO-recommended US$ 40 per person. Eleven of these countries are investing about US$ 5 per person, an amount too low to tackle diverse health challenges and strengthen health systems.

Participants at the panel discussion concluded that investment in health is an investment in economic development. It was agreed that a key element for sustainable economic development is long-term investment in human, health and social development.

As part of his participation at the conference, Mr Sidibé also met with Mr Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank. They agreed to explore and support innovative sustainable mechanisms for funding the AIDS response on the African continent.

United Nations in Vienna
Credit: UN

The fifty-fourth session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) has adopted a resolution on Achieving zero new infections of HIV amongst injecting and other drug users.

The CND noted the 2011-2015 UNAIDS Strategy which promotes the objectives of achieving zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero stigma and discrimination. UNODC was requested to continue providing advice and guidance on effective measures to scale up HIV prevention for people who use drugs, and on how to reduce stigma and discrimination.

The Commission also reaffirmed the central importance of civil society as a key partner in the global response to HIV, including to achieving the vision of zero new HIV infections. Member States were urged to ensure their political commitment to the HIV response, by highest level participation in the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS which will take place in New York 8-10 June 2011.

A statement was delivered to the CND on behalf of UNAIDS by Michael Bartos, Team Leader, Strategy Support and Evaluation. UNAIDS’ strategy goal of preventing all new HIV infections among people who use drugs was highlighted. “Despite major gaps in programme efforts directed to this goal, real country results in preventing HIV transmission among drug users suggest that where programmes are delivered at scale, achieving this ambitious goal is possible.”

HIV and injecting drug use 

Globally, there are an estimated three million people who inject drugs also living with HIV—with nearly 13 million more at risk of HIV infection. While access to HIV prevention services, including harm-reduction programmes has increased, in 2009 the median coverage of HIV prevention services was 32%.

Commission on Narcotic Drugs

The Economic and Social Council established the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in 1946 as the central policy-making body of the United Nations in drug-related matters. CND enables Member States to analyse the global drug situation, provide follow-up to the General Assembly and to take measures at the global level within its scope of action. It also monitors the implementation of the three international drug control conventions and is empowered to consider all matters pertaining to the aim of the conventions, including the scheduling of substances to be brought under international control.

(from left) Helen Jackson, UNAIDS, Senior HIV Prevention Adviser, ESA; Elhadj As Sy, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA); Tigest Ketsela, Director, Family and Reproductive Health, World Health Organization (WHO), Africa Region; Michael Klaus, Regional Chief of Communication, UNICEF ESARO.

The elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Eastern and Southern Africa has come a step closer with the endorsement of a new regional framework following a three-day consultation in Nairobi, Kenya earlier this month.

The consultation brought together government representatives from 15 high-burden countries[i], civil society organizations and donors. They were joined by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

In 2009 some 370,000 young children were newly infected with HIV. It was noted that although the scale of the problem of mother-to-child transmission of HIV cannot be underestimated, there is much that can be done. According to Elhadj As Sy, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, “We now have the leadership at all levels to bring this number down. We know what works. Now is the time to act and make a difference. An AIDS-free generation by 2015 is possible.”

Championing both new and existing interventions

Partners endorsed the UNAIDS call for the virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015 and adherence to the new WHO guidelines that recommend giving pregnant women and new mothers a combination of three antiretroviral drugs. They also pledged to vigorously pursue all four components of the internationally agreed UN strategy to dramatically reduce mother-to-child transmission.

There was an acknowledgement that a different approach is needed if the elimination target is to be achieved. A series of priority actions—which include enhanced support for existing programmes and strategies to implement new ones—were defined:

• Improving coverage access and use of services
• Strengthening the quality of existing interventions
• Integrating efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmission into routine antenatal and reproductive health services
• Making paediatric HIV care a routine part of child health services
• Promoting health systems development
• Improving measurement of programme performance and impact assessment
• Engaging communities more fully

The partners also agreed to work on ensuring that all pregnant women and their partners are counselled and tested during their first antenatal care visit.

Room for optimism

Although many pregnant women are still falling through the treatment coverage net, in recent years scaled up prevention of vertical transmission efforts have been effective. According to UNAIDS 2010 estimates, in southern Africa in 2009 an estimated 130,000 infants were newly infected, more than 30% fewer than in 2004. In Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland treatment coverage has reached more than 80%[ii]. Given these figures, and the possibility that they can be achieved across the region, participants in the consultation expressed optimism. 

“If countries continue rapid scale up of quality, comprehensive PMTCT service access, the goal of elimination of HIV transmission from mother to infants by 2015 can be achieved,” said Helen Jackson, Senior HIV Prevention Advisor for UNAIDS in Eastern and Southern Africa. “We have joined forces to make sure this happens.”

[i] South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Angola, Burundi, Lesotho, Botswana, Rwanda, Swaziland and Namibia.

[ii] Ibid

How to translate the concept of Treatment 2.0 into practice was the topic of discussion at a seminar organized by UNAIDS and WHO on 18 March at the UNAIDS Headquarters in Geneva.

How to translate the concept of Treatment 2.0 into practice was the topic of discussion at a seminar co-organized by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) on 18 March at UNAIDS Headquarters in Geneva. Staff members from both organizations participated in the event together with colleagues from the Global Fund, the International AIDS Society and UNITAID.

“We need to find innovative solutions to overcome the HIV epidemic,” said Dr Bernhard Schwartländer, UNAIDS Director of Evidence, Strategy and Results Department and the seminar’s organizer. “Innovation to improve treatment regimens but also innovation in the way we approach the AIDS response.”

Treatment 2.0 is a concept launched in November 2010 by UNAIDS and WHO that calls for a radically simplified treatment platform. Its viability and implementation at country level will determine the level of success in the response to HIV in the coming years.

Craig McClure, Senior Adviser on Treatment 2.0 at WHO and Mariangela Simao, UNAIDS Chief, Prevention, Vulnerability and Rights, jointly presented on “Catalyzing the Next Phase of Treatment”. They outlined the five pillars on which the Treatment 2.0 initiative is based: optimizing drug regimens, simplifying laboratory platforms for diagnosis and monitoring; reducing costs; adapting delivery systems and mobilizing communities. 

Mr McClure recognized that, while some of the innovations in drugs and diagnostics are years away, there are many actions that countries can take now to simplify treatment and make it more efficient,. For example, choosing to purchase one-pill-per-day fixed dose drug combinations, legal reform to use TRIPS flexibilities to reduce costs, integrating HIV treatment with prevention services and other areas of health care where appropriate and involving communities more intensively in designing and delivering HIV services.

On this topic, David Barr from the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition gave specific examples that show how involving communities in managing treatment programmes can improve treatment access and adherence. Community approaches shall also reduce the burden faced by health systems in trying to absorb the number of people newly put on treatment.

Another advantage of scaling up community-based service delivery is that communities can better reach and engage key affected populations. “Community-based approaches have demonstrated to improve the ability of populations at higher risk of HIV to access HIV services and to benefit from antiretroviral therapy and prevent new infections,” said Mr Barr.

Providing a perspective from Latin America, Dr Massimo Ghidinelli, Regional HIV Adviser at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) discussed some of the critical issues faced in that region. The need to optimize drug regimens, diagnosis and monitoring tools as well as lowering costs and improving treatment delivery systems were identified as major challenges.

According to UNAIDS, the new treatment approach could also reduce new HIV infections by up to one million annually if countries provide antiretroviral therapy to all people in need. “We cannot treat ourselves out of this epidemic,” said Dr Schwartländer. “But reaching all eligible with effective therapies will not only safe millions of lives, but significantly reduce the number of new infections through lowering the viral load in people living with HIV.”

Joy Ndugutse, co-founder of Gahaya Links, showed UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé a selection of handicrafts produced by women in Rwanda for the North American market.

In 2004, two sisters in Rwanda started a “trade-not-aid” initiative that produces high-end handicrafts. From a humble beginning with just 20 artisans in the remote village of Gitarama, Gahaya Links has since expanded its network to more than 5000 weavers nation-wide.

Most of the employees at Gahaya Links are women who lost husbands and children in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Many are HIV-positive. The income earned through their work ensures they can provide food, education, and healthcare for their families.

“This is development in practice,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé during a visit to the Gahaya Links head office in Kigali on Tuesday. “It is a success story for restoring the dignity of people living with HIV,” he added. In a guided tour of the project, Mr Sidibé saw first-hand the range of handicrafts on offer, including brightly-coloured woven baskets and crocheted glass-beaded necklaces.

Gahaya Links organizes sessions on HIV prevention for its employees and teams with national partners and health centres to ensure that women have access to antiretroviral treatment and care. The programme fosters an environment of support, cooperation and mutual trust for people living with HIV.

Joy Ndugutse, co-founder of Gahaya Links, told Mr Sidibé that the project transforms the lives of women living with HIV. “These women are now stronger and more confident,” she said, adding that many others could benefit from such support.

Gahaya Links collaborates closely with Same Sky, a New York-based company founded by social entrepreneur Francine Le Frak that markets the Rwandan handicrafts for a North American market. Proceeds are reinvested into expanding the business to other world regions and employing more women artisans.

PrePex: A potential new tool for HIV prevention

While in Kigali, Mr Sidibé visited the Nyamata hospital, a public facility serving a population of approximately 300 000 people. The hospital was chosen as a site for a safety study of a new, non-surgical method of male circumcision called “PrePex.”

“The most interesting thing about PrePex is that it doesn’t require going to the operating theatre,” said Dr. Agnes Binagwaho Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health of Rwanda. “It can be done from any clean environment. It is also cost-effective and does not require highly trained staff—any well-trained person can do it,” she added.

Studies have shown that adult male circumcision reduces the risk of HIV transmission from women to men by about 60%. Existing techniques for male circumcision require highly trained health professionals and surgical settings.

During his tour of the hospital, Mr Sidibé commended health authorities in Rwanda for their work on this groundbreaking study. “PrePex marks a revolution in the framework of accelerating HIV prevention,” he said. If larger studies confirm that PrePex is safe and effective, PrePex could be approved as a medical device that would triple the number of male circumcisions that health facilities conduct daily.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh Long, Director General of the Viet Nam Authority for AIDS Control discussed gender mainstreaming in the next National Strategy on HIV

Nguyen Thi Hien, from Viet Nam’s northern province of Bac Ninh, contracted HIV from her husband. “My husband told me when we started our relationship that he had sex with sex workers and injected drugs in the past, but I did not know then what the implications were for me,” she said.

Ms Nguyen Thi, now a peer educator of the Bright Futures network of people living with HIV, said most of the women she meets are widows of men who injected drugs and who only found out their HIV status after their husbands died of an AIDS-related illness.

According to the Viet Nam Authority for AIDS Control (VAAC), in 2010 women accounted for up to 30% of the total registered HIV infections in Viet Nam, while before 2005 women made up less than 15%.

The epidemic in Viet Nam is still mainly concentrated among men who inject drugs. However, this change in the ratio of newly reported HIV cases may reflect an increase in HIV transmission from men with high risk behaviours to their wives or regular female sexual partners in Viet Nam.

The Government of Viet Nam has made firm commitments to develop a comprehensive response to HIV, as well as to prioritize gender equality within the country’s socio-economic development strategy.

To support this, the government and major stakeholders, including civil society and people living with HIV, came together to discuss ways to improve the gender responsiveness of the 2011-2020 National Strategy on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. “We need to mainstream gender issues in each of the three pillars of the next strategy including HIV prevention, treatment and care, and impact mitigation,” said Dr Nguyen Thanh Long, Director General of the Viet Nam Authority for AIDS Control (VAAC).

Technical experts from UN Women and UNAIDS joined the discussions on 14-17 March. Participants identified areas of the national HIV response that should better respond to the specific needs of women and men at higher risk of infection. These include men and women who inject drugs, female and male sex workers and women whose intimate partners engage in high-risk behaviour. One area to explore is how the rapid scale up of methadone maintenance therapy—a priority for the next phase of the HIV response—could offer opportunities to better protect the HIV-negative sexual partners of drug users; for example, by providing people taking methadone with services to prevent sexual transmission of HIV.

“I have seen good signals of an engendered HIV strategy for Viet Nam,” said Suzette Mitchell, UN Women Country Representative. “Viet Nam has strong political commitment to address gender issues; and civil society is very engaged, providing many good ideas for gender mainstreaming in the strategy,” she added.

A 2010 United Nations-supported analysis of the current strategy for Viet Nam’s HIV response highlighted the need for more data to better understand the gender dynamics of the epidemic. In particular, the analysis identified a need for more information on how economic reform and social changes have different impacts on men and women and make them vulnerable to HIV.

“Gender issues need to be specifically addressed in the baseline analysis for the strategy and gender sensitive indicators need to be developed,” stressed Dr Long.

With intensified action to place gender issues at the centre of the national AIDS strategy, Viet Nam joins increasing efforts across Asia-Pacific to address this aspect of the AIDS response in the region.

 “Viet Nam is showing extraordinary leadership on this issue,” said Jane Wilson, UNAIDS Gender Advisor from the UNAIDS Regional Support Team. “The agreement to engender the National Strategic Plan will have significant impact in making the AIDS response more effective and is an example of progressive action in the region on gender.” 

Rwandan President will work with fellow leaders to shape the future of the AIDS and development agenda 

Geneva, 24 March 2011—In partnership with UNAIDS, the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame will lead a Heads of State event on HIV and broader development issues at the United Nations General Assembly High Level meeting on AIDS in June.

"Extraordinary efforts are needed to achieve results in global health and development, in order to transform the lives of our citizens,” said President Kagame. “As leaders, we will need to be innovative in our approach to these defining issues of our time."

The announcement came following a meeting with the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé who was on an official visit to Rwanda to further collaboration in the response to HIV.

“President Kagame is a visionary and a highly respected world leader,” said Mr Sidibé. “He has been pivotal in turning Rwanda’s AIDS epidemic around. The experience and leadership he will bring to the High Level Meeting discussions in June will be instrumental in bringing AIDS out of isolation and greater country ownership.”

Since President Kagame took up leadership in 2000, HIV prevalence has almost halved and the number of people newly infected with HIV reduced by around 25%.

The Heads of State session will focus on areas such as integrating HIV into broader health and development issues and shared responsibility in responding to the epidemic. Major announcements will include a Pan-African vision for country ownership.

The special event will take place during the High Level Meeting on AIDS from 8-10 June 2011 where leaders will gather to shape the future of AIDS, health and development.