Michel Sidibé and Annie Lennox at a gender and HIV event in New York in 2010. Credit: UNAIDS/B. Hamilton

Annie Lennox, international singer and UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, has been awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE), an honour conferred by Queen Elizabeth II. The announcement was made on 31 December as part of the 2011 New Year Honours list.

The honour recognizes Ms Lennox for her commitment and dedication to the global AIDS response and supporting development goals to end poverty.

Since becoming a UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador in 2010, Ms Lennox has advocated for the greater inclusion of women in national HIV programmes as well as ending violence against women and girls.

“On behalf of the UNAIDS family, I congratulate Ms Lennox on receiving this prestigious award,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “Ms Lennox is a tireless advocate for the voiceless and serves as a role model for millions of people around the world.”

Below is an interview with Ms Lennox that was first published in UNAIDS OUTLOOK

What has inspired you to be such a passionate advocate?
Several years ago I was given the opportunity to visit people and places that have been devastated by the AIDS pandemic, and I started to understand that women and children are on the actual frontline of this issue. The scale of wipe-out is simply massive, yet the subject is more than often off the Western media’s radar. As a woman and mother, I feel compelled to speak out, and try to raise awareness in the best way I can, to try to use my platform to do so.

As UNAIDS newest Goodwill Ambassador, what are your goals?
HIV is a complex issue, with many different facets that need to be addressed. Until there is a vaccine or a cure, the solutions are not straightforward. Up to this point in time my focus has been mainly on South Africa, a country with one of the highest HIV prevalences and where approximately one in three pregnant women are HIV-positive.

With the launch of the national strategic plan, which aims to halve the infection rate and double the roll-out of treatment, I’m hoping to see some kind of improvement; however, with the economic turndown, and the capping of donor budgets, I’m very concerned that these goals will not be reached, and additionally concerned as to what the coming future will look like, all over sub-Saharan Africa. My key objective lies with women and children, particularly with respect to access to life-saving treatment, which ought to be a fundamental human right, but tragically for millions of people is out of reach.

I will take advice from UNAIDS and try to utilize my resources and platform to keep sending out that message and do whatever is in my power to make a difference.

What can we do to move the AIDS response forward?
Good question! I ask myself that every single day. I think the only answer is to stay committed, and not give way to despair.

So, we would like to ask you a few lighter questions...

Where did you live as a child?
I spent my first eight years living with my parents in a two-roomed tenement flat in Aberdeen in the north-east of Scotland, then we moved into one of the first high-rise council blocks to be built in the city, which felt very modern and luxurious at the time, because we had a ‘proper’ bathroom, with a bath inside the flat, hot running water from the tap, a telephone and my own bedroom!

How do you relax?
I go to bed! The best place to be when I need to recharge and unwind!

What is your favourite food?
I love all kinds of food. Japanese and Italian particularly.

Who is your hero?
Nelson Mandela.

What is your favourite piece of music?
That’s an impossible question to answer really, because I love music in all its infinite forms. My taste is definitely eclectic. Perhaps the best way to answer this is to say that I love soul music. Go figure!

What is your favorite book?
Anything with pictures and a good cover!

What is your favorite film?
This is Spinal Tap.

What is your happiest memory?
Delivering both my daughters safely into the world.

What motivates you?
As a mother and woman I empathize and identify with my gender, especially with women in developing countries, who have so little in terms of emancipation, empowerment, human rights, access to education, medical treatment, reproductive rights, etc. I feel so grateful to have received these kinds of privileges in my life, and realizing that it is absolutely not a given for two thirds of the world’s poorest people (women) I want to contribute and use my platform and resources to try to make a difference.

What human quality do you most admire?
Kindness.

What do you most value in your friends?
Whatever it is that drew us together in the first place. Rapport is almost indefinable and certainly unquantifiable.

If you could be granted one wish in life, what would you ask for?
To heal the planet of all its violent destruction and madness. Well, you did ask!

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Fully enlightened.

Where is your favourite place?
My bedroom.

What is your motto?
I don’t have one... never joined the girl guides!

As the world enters into the 30^th year of the AIDS epidemic, UNAIDS will work to position the HIV response in a new global environment. Ten years after the United Nations Special Session on HIV/AIDS and the landmark adoption of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, member states are now preparing for the 2011 High Level Meeting on AIDS to review and renew future commitments for the AIDS response.

UNAIDS will be guided by the new UNAIDS strategy 2011–2015 , which aims to advance global progress in achieving country set targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and to halt and reverse the spread of HIV and contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development goals by 2015.

“This strategy was developed through a highly inclusive and open process—reflecting the needs and opportunities ahead of us,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “It is about fundamentally transforming the global AIDS response.”

Adopted by the Programme Committee Board in December 2010, the strategy will also serve as reference in the lead up to the UN High Level Meeting on AIDS.

“The High Level Meeting will be a major milestone in the history of the AIDS response. Only by working together to set our future course can we accelerate greater results for people,” added Mr Sidibé.

The strategy will be underpinned by a new unified budget and accountability framework. The framework will operationalize the strategy, mobilize and allocate resources for its implementation, measure progress and report on results.

2010 has been a landmark year in the AIDS response. In November UNAIDS reported that the AIDS epidemic had been halted and that the world is beginning to reverse the spread of HIV. In its flagship report, the 2010 UNAIDS Report on the global AIDS epidemic, UNAIDS reported that the rate of new HIV infections had been reduced by nearly 20% in the past 10 years, that AIDS related deaths had been reduced by nearly 20% in the last five years and that the total number of people living with HIV had stabilised.

Investments made to date in the AIDS response were seen to be bearing fruit as the rate of new infections stabilised or decreased by more than 25% in at least 56 countries around the world, including 34 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the area which continues to be most affected by the epidemic. In addition, more than 5 million people were estimated to be receiving antiretroviral treatment––a scale up of 30% in just one year. 

However, 2010 was also a year in which for the first time resources for the AIDS response did not increase, with donor disbursements lower in 2009 than in 2008. This disappointing news came at a time when demand is continuing to outstrip supply in the AIDS response. For every one person who starts antiretroviral treatment a further two become infected with the virus.

At the XVIII International AIDS Conference which took place in Vienna in June, the 20,000 participants from 193 countries rallied behind UNAIDS’ call for a Prevention revolution and the Treatment 2.0 initiative which will help to ensure a cohesive and resource-maximizing AIDS response.

World leaders gathered at the United Nations for the MDG Summit in September and called for a new model of partnership to strengthen the AIDS response and achieve broader health and development outcomes.

Major developments were brought to light in 2010 in the field of scientific research. These included the CAPRISA study which found a microbicide gel to be 39% effective in reducing a woman’s risk of becoming infected with HIV during sex and the IPREX study which found that a pill taken once daily reduces the risk of HIV infection by an average of 43.8% for HIV-negative men, and transgender women, who have sex with men.

In 2010, UNAIDS’ board endorsed a new vision of “Zero new infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.” The board also adopted the UNAIDS strategy 2011–2015. The intent of the strategy is to revolutionize HIV prevention, catalyse the next phase of treatment, care and support, and advance human rights and gender equality.

• Download PDF for 2010 highlights

Mr Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director (left) and Dr Luis Sambo, WHO Regional Director for Africa, at the meeting “Optimizing Resource Use and Alternative Health Funding Mechanisms: Prospects for AIDS Funding” held in Dakar, Senegal, on 16 December.

Ministers of Health and Finance from West and Central Africa joined representatives from civil society, the private sector and the United Nations for a discussion on financing and sustaining the AIDS response in a resource-constrained environment. Participants in the meeting, co-hosted by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), reflected on the impact of the global financial crisis, risk management, alternative funding sources, and optimizing the use of available resources.

According to UNAIDS estimates, international donors and national governments together mobilized US$ 15.9 billion for the global AIDS response in 2009. However, the gap between investment need and resource availability is widening—in 2009 alone, there was an estimated shortfall of US $10 billion for the global AIDS response.

“Gains in the AIDS response are fragile. Resources for AIDS must be predictable and sustainable in the long term,” said Mr Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director, addressing participants at the meeting. “Funding for AIDS is a shared responsibility,” he added, calling on both international donors and national governments to increase their investments in the AIDS response.

Nearly 90% of AIDS spending in low-income countries comes from international sources. A new Domestic Investment Priority Index developed by UNAIDS shows that 13 countries in West and Central Africa spend less than their capacity, commensurate to their disease burden and availability of government resources.

Investments in the AIDS response have yielded results: Between 2001 and 2009, for example, 10 countries in West and Central Africa reduced new HIV infections by more then 25%. In that same period, seven countries in the region stabilized the rate of new HIV infections.

To sustain these gains, meeting participants underscored the importance of consolidating HIV programmes and supporting long-term funding approaches that went beyond crisis management. Accountability around resource allocation would be critical, they noted.

South Africa has the world's largest population of people living with HIV; an estimated 5.6 million people in the country are living with HIV, representing nearly one sixth of the global disease burden. Credit: UNAIDS

South African Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has announced that South Africa has successfully negotiated a range of price reductions for antiretroviral treatment in a bid to increase access to treatment for people living with HIV.

“It is my pleasure to announce the massive reduction in the prices of antiretroviral drugs which has resulted in the 53.1% reduction in the cost of the total tender,” said Dr Motsoaledi. “South Africa can now afford to treat twice as many people on ARVs compared to that which was previously budgeted.”

In a statement released on 14 December, the Health Minister announced that since World AIDS Day 2009, almost 5 million South Africans had been tested for HIV as part of the HIV Counselling and Testing campaign which was launched by President Zuma in April.

The campaign aims to test 15 million people for HIV by the year 2011, up from 2.5 million in 2009 – a six-fold increase in just two years. Of the 5 million people tested since the launch, over 900 000 were found to be HIV positive.

UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé attended the launch in April and called for reductions in the price of antiretroviral drugs which were at least 25-30% higher than average international prices and posed a key challenge in South Africa’s efforts to expand treatment.

“This is a significant breakthrough for South Africa’s response to the epidemic,” said Mr Sidibé. “More people are finding out their status as testing is scaled up which is resulting in more people coming forward to access treatment. These price reductions are essential to ensuring that all people in need have timely access to the lifesaving medication.”

South Africa funds more than two thirds of its AIDS response. In 2010, South African leaders committed $1 billion US dollars to the AIDS response – a 30% increase over the previous year.

South Africa has the world's largest population of people living with HIV; an estimated 5.6 million people in the country are living with HIV, representing nearly one sixth of the global disease burden. Approximately 18% of adults in South Africa are infected with HIV.

Mr Michel Sidibé UNAIDS Executive Director delivers his report to the Programme Coordinating Board. 5 December, 2010. Credit: UNAIDS/F. Chironi

UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, delivered his report to the 27th Meeting of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB). In his report, Mr Sidibé updated the Board on the Joint Programme’s activities since its last meeting in June 2010. He also spoke on recent developments in the AIDS response, the ongoing impact of the global recession, and efforts to make UNAIDS a more effective and efficient organization.

Download the Executive Director's report to the PCB

Map by www.trendsmap.com

UNAIDS teamed up with MTV Staying Alive Campaign to put HIV prevention on the global agenda through social media. Over a six week period in the lead up to World AIDS day the ‘#PreventionRevolution’ campaign inspired thousands of online conversations on the need to revitalize interest in HIV prevention.

Under the banner “More than 7000 new HIV infections every day is unacceptable. We need a Prevention Revolution”, the key word or hashtag #PreventionRevolution became one of the most popular on the social media site Twitter during World AIDS Day.

Based on a network approach, where the idea is to mobilize influencers—people who have many connections in a given social network—the prevention revolution community started reaching out to celebrities as well as friends to share the message. UNAIDS in collaboration with partners mobilized people both online and off line, and with support from the United Nations in New York and Cosponsors UNHCR, UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank, UNESCO and UNFPA, thousands of people worldwide joined the conversations.

A series of videos that were produced for the campaign, embedded below, reached over 120,000 views on YouTube.

On World AIDS Day, using the hashtag #PreventionRevolution, people shared personal stories, encouraged each other to use condoms, get tested and educated themselves about HIV. As one person on Twitter put it: “When was your last test? Go get tested! Join the prevention revolution” while another tweeted: “For me it’s every day World AIDS Day—A prevention revolution? It starts at home. Take a stake in the fight!”

Organizations including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ONE, Oxfam, UN, UNHCR and celebrities Annie Lennox, Craig David, Bianca Gonzalez and the band 30 Seconds to Mars together sent out the message that an HIV prevention revolution is needed to almost 3 million people on World AIDS Day.

Key partner MTV Staying Alive also conducted live interviews via Twitter under the Prevention Revolution and MTV Get Tested banners with musicians Peter Wentz, Travis McCoy and the group Good Charlotte who together have over 3.5 million followers on Twitter.

The campaigns also owes its success to individuals who have 20, 50, 100, or 200 followers of Twitter and Facebook who asked their friends to take part in the call for a prevention revolution. The social media blog Mashable featured the campaign in their social good section and subsequently asked their 2 million followers on Twitter to “Start a #PreventionRevolution this World AIDS Day.”

As the world woke up on 2 December, the conversation was still going, but the message had changed: “World AIDS Day is over – the epidemic is not! We still need a Prevention Revolution.” UNAIDS will now explore ways that this movement can be built upon and leveraged in the coming months.

Photo from the PCB held in Geneva, December 2010. Credit: UNAIDS

The 27^th meeting of UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) will open in Geneva on 6 December 2010.

Ahead of the meeting, The Netherlands, current PCB chair, hosted a field visit for a delegation from the board composed of Member State participants from Mauritania, Iran, Thailand, Poland, and El Salvador, a non-governmental organization from the Europe region, and Cosponsors UNDP and UNICEF.

During the three-day visit which concludes today, the delegation met officials from the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs to hear how the country’s far-reaching policies are developed and implemented. They discussed experiences directly with non-governmental organizations, and visited programmes on the ground including community services that support sex workers and a facility providing harm reduction services for people who inject drugs. A meeting with the Multi-Party Initiative on HIV/AIDS enabled participants to see a broad-political approach in action.

This visit follows a PCB trip to Viet Nam in 2009 and El Salvador in earlier this year. Country visits by a PCB delegation help to orient and inform discussions in the board meeting itself.

A key item on the PCB meeting agenda will be the receipt for endorsement of the draft UNAIDS Strategy for the period 2011-2015. The board will also receive a progress report on implementation of the Second Independent Evaluation of UNAIDS as well as a report of the Task Force on the completion of its work related to the principles and processes for draft decisions and decision making in the PCB.

Next week’s board meeting will be addressed by Dr Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Co-Chair of the UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention and Nobel Prize laureate for Medicine in 2008 for her role in the discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The Executive Director will also present his report.

 “Food and nutrition security and HIV: how to ensure food and nutrition security are integral parts of HIV programming,” is the title of the thematic session which will take place on 8 December.

For more information on the board including all background documents visit the PCB web page.

From left Meskerem Grunitzky, Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for West and Central Africa, Dr. Ndoye, Executive Secretary of the National AIDS Council of Senegal and Cheikh Tidiane Tall, Executive Director of AfriCASO. Credit: UNAIDS.

During the civil society consultation on universal access and the Millennium Development Goals with the theme "Sustain the results – strengthen links and interactions," the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the African Council of AIDS Service Organizations (AfriCASO) signed a memorandum of understanding on 3 December in Dakar. 

The agreement formalizes the longstanding partnership aimed at ensuring effective and quality involvement of African civil society organizations in the promotion of universal access and achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Africa. The memorandum of understanding also extends the collaboration between the parties at the institutional level.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was presented with the UNAIDS leadership award by Mr Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2010. Brasilia, Brazil. Credit: UNAIDS/Martino

World AIDS Day was held on 1 December. Here are some photos from across the globe capturing the sprit of Universal Access and Human Rights – the theme of this year’s World AIDS Day.