UNAIDS’ new panel will convene a series of scientific consultations to ensure that the best scientific evidence is used to inform the global response to HIV

GENEVA, 3 June 2013—The Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Michel Sidibé today announced the appointment of South African scientist, Professor Salim S. Abdool Karim as Chair of the newly established UNAIDS Scientific Expert Panel. Mr Sidibe made the announcement in Durban, South Africa during his opening address at a UNAIDS Scientific Symposium on the implications of the “Mississippi baby” for public health programmes on mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

The panel will advise UNAIDS on major new scientific discoveries, as well as gaps and strategic needs in AIDS research and on how UNAIDS can adjust its policies to address these needs and shape the AIDS response.

“In the thirty years since HIV was identified, the progress made by science has been extraordinary and its benefits have been felt far beyond those directly affected by HIV,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé. “To reach the end of the AIDS epidemic, we need to continue to embrace science and innovation and I am delighted that Professor Karim has agreed to take on the leadership of our new UNAIDS scientific panel.”

Chaired by Professor Karim, Director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa––CAPRISA (a long-standing UNAIDS Collaborating Centre), the panel will provide strategic advice on the relevance of new research and findings and how they can be rapidly implemented to best effect to prevent new HIV infections and improve the lives of people living with HIV.

“Science has the power to illuminate the future path to defeating AIDS. I am humbled by this appointment and look forward to this new challenge,” said Professor Karim, an epidemiologist, who has conducted research on HIV epidemiology, pathogenesis, prevention and treatment over the past 25 years.  Professor Karim holds academic appointments at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa and at Columbia University in New York and is interim President of the South African Medical Research Council.

As part of its new mandate the panel will convene international scientific consultations on behalf of UNAIDS, the first of which is already underway in Durban South Africa. The topic of this first meeting is Scientific advances from the ‘Mississippi baby’: Implications for public health programmes on mother to child transmission of HIV. The doctor who cared for the Mississippi baby Dr Hannah Gay, from the University of Mississippi, is one of the invited experts who will present the case history. At the meeting experts will discuss ways to improve early diagnosis of HIV in new-born children and implications of starting them on antiretroviral therapy early.

“We in Mississippi are honoured to be able to share the findings on our baby with such an important group of leaders in the scientific community,” said Dr Hannah Gay, who treated the ‘Mississippi baby’ at the University of Mississippi Medical Centre. “We are hopeful that this contribution will lead to further knowledge that will save the hundreds of thousands of children born with HIV globally.”

The members of the UNAIDS Scientific Expert Panel will be announced in the coming weeks.

Malawi President Joyce Banda, African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Director Peter Piot to co-chair the new UNAIDS and Lancet Commission: From AIDS to Sustainable Health

ADDIS ABABA, 26 May 2013—The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and leading medical journal The Lancet have convened a new commission of political and health leaders to explore the post-2015 agenda of AIDS and global health.

The UNAIDS and Lancet Commission: From AIDS to Sustainable Health will be co-chaired by Malawi President Joyce Banda, African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Director Peter Piot.

“In just a decade, I have witnessed countries move from despair to the conviction that we can end this epidemic,” said President Joyce Banda. “This Commission can offer a way forward that allows us to accelerate our march towards the end of AIDS.”

Informed by a diverse group of HIV and health experts, young people, activists and political leaders, and drawing upon insights gained from online crowd-sourcing and engagement with constituencies, the Commission will deliberate on strategies to ensure that the vision of the AIDS movement—zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths—can be realized in the coming decades.

“Our work now must focus on how to bring the best minds and hearts together to end this epidemic.” said Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. “We have seen the devastation that AIDS has wrought—now let our humanity overcome it and lead us to a brighter future.”  

The Commission will also closely examine the new tenets for better global health results—including issues such as social equality for marginalised populations, empowering communities to demand better health services and accelerating access to affordable, quality medicines.  

 “As a new agenda for development is being shaped, it is time for serious thought on how the extraordinary lessons from the AIDS response can be brought to bear to transform global health,” said Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The Commission will have the opportunity to systematically reflect on evidence and make recommendations. Building on on-going consultations and the findings of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the recommendations will contribute to and seek to influence the deliberations of Member States. The Commission’s work will culminate in a report published by the Lancet in early 2014.

“In so many important ways, the AIDS movement created global health. Now, as the MDG era comes to a close, the AIDS movement once again has an opportunity to use its great success and influence to shape a new epoch of sustainable development. Our joint Commission with UNAIDS aims to set out possible futures for the AIDS epidemic and the role of the AIDS community in reinventing global health for the new and more complex challenges of the 21st century,” said Richard Horton, Editor in Chief of The Lancet.

The post-2015 agenda builds on the original eight Millennium Development Goals that Member States agreed to in 2000, of which Goal 6 is focused on the AIDS response. 

“Ending AIDS is a dream that is entirely possible,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “The AIDS response has brought the world together to create a vision of shared responsibility and global solidarity—we have the opportunity now to harness this momentum and build a sustainable future, a future without AIDS.”

The first meeting of the Commission will be hosted by President Banda in Lilongwe, Malawi on 28-29 June.

Champions for an HIV Free-Generation find new ways of mobilizing Africa’s leadership on AIDS

ADDIS ABABA, 26 May 2013—The Champions for an HIV free Generation, first launched in 2008 by His Excellency Festus Mogae, former president of the Republic of Botswana, have pledged to ramp up efforts to stop new HIV infections in children, end stigma and discrimination and expand effective HIV prevention and treatment programmes across Africa.

“We urge African leaders to continue to amplify their voices and be heard even more clearly now that we can see the possibility of an HIV free generation,” said His Excellency Festus Mogae, Chairperson of the Champions for an HIV Free Generation. “Complacency is beginning to set in, yet we are not yet out of the woods.”

The Champions, a group of former African presidents and other well-known African personalities, use their influence and experience to urge governments and partners to take greater action in scaling up evidence informed HIV programmes which have shown to be particularly effective in responding to HIV. Programmes include expanding access to antiretroviral therapy for pregnant women living with HIV which can reduce the risk of transmission to their children to below 5% and voluntary medical male circumcision which is up to 60% effective in reducing sexual transmission of HIV for men.

“The Champions for an HIV-Free Generation represent a priceless leadership initiative that inspires confidence towards the end of AIDS,” said Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director. “I salute these eminent leaders who leverage their experience and networks to amplify the continental aspirations for a better Africa – as encapsulated in the African Union Road Map on Shared Responsibility and Global Solidary for AIDS TB and Malaria.”

Whilst the Champions will continue to focus on HIV prevention and treatment they will also now look at a more strategic means of engaging with leaders across Africa. A new model will complement the successful multi-Champion country visits with a menu of other interventions such as single Champion country visits, one to one engagement with current African Presidents, strategic use of social and mass media and an expansion of the initiative to West Africa, with new West African Champions joining the initiative.

The African continent remains the region hardest hit by the HIV epidemic. One in every 20 Africans in the region is living with HIV. The Champions will accentuate efforts to ensure that the response to HIV in Africa is at the top of health and development agendas and that achieving a generation free from HIV becomes a viable reality.

Members of the Champions include Dr Kenneth D. Kaunda (first president of the Republic of Zambia); Joaquim A. Chissano, (former president of the Republic of Mozambique); Benjamin William Mkapa (former president of the United Republic of Tanzania); Dr Speciosa Wandira (former Vice-President of Uganda); His Grace Desmond Tutu, (Archbishop Emeritus South Africa and Nobel Laureate); Justice Edwin Cameron (South Africa Supreme Court of Appeal Judge); and Professor Miriam Were (former chairperson of the Kenya National AIDS Control Council).

Review first year’s progress toward implementing the African Union Roadmap

Addis Ababa, 26 May, 2013 - More than 12 African heads of state and other global leaders met today and reviewed progress toward implementing transformative reforms in the AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria responses and pledged to accelerate the pace of change (increase annual domestic funding for health care, particularly AIDS, TB and malaria services).  AIDS Watch Africa (AWA), an advocacy platform for African Heads of State on AIDS, TB and Malaria convened the meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the side-lines of the African Union summit celebrating 50 years of African Unity.

African leaders also reviewed progress made in implementing a Roadmap on Shared Responsibility and Global Solidarity for AIDS, TB and Malaria Response in Africa, which they adopted last July to chart a new course for the continent’s response to the three diseases.

“As leaders committed to a healthy continent, we must redouble our efforts to ensure universal access to HIV, TB and Malaria services in order to attain zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths, as well as the elimination of TB and Malaria.”, said H.E Ato Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, who is also the chair of the African Union and AIDS Watch Africa.

The African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, said that adopting new health financing measures will demonstrate Africa’s strong political commitment to the health and development of its people.

“Our continent is demonstrating strong political commitment and action by embracing transformative reforms to address AIDS, TB and malaria,” said Dr. Zuma “To achieve the MDG targets all Member States of the AU will need to develop sustainable investments plans which will shift the focus from reliance on external funding to innovative domestic resource mobilisation,” she said.

AIDS Watch Africa was founded at the Abuja Special Summit in 2001 to set the agenda for top-level leadership for the African AIDS response and in January 2012 its mandate was expanded to include TB and Malaria. The organisation took on responsibility for monitoring progress toward the three action pillars of the Roadmap, which include: (1) creating more diversified, balanced, and sustainable financing models; (2) expanding access to medicines through local production and regulatory harmonization; and (3) establishing strong leadership, governance, and oversight.

“I celebrate your progress – and I share your resolve to do even more,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “I urge you to continue investing in an AIDS-free Africa. This will improve the health, empowerment and human rights of your citizens.”

The recent success in responding to AIDS shows how Africa’s leaders are leading a wave of sustainable transformation in global health with African-sourced solutions.

“African leadership is the elusive magic bullet that has irrevocably changed the course of the three diseases and now can do even more,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “I am confident that African leadership can be the pathfinder to better global health.”

To advance toward the Roadmap’s first pillar, a number of countries have begun to implement innovative AIDS financing measures intended to reduce dependence on external funders.  Kenya and Zimbabwe now earmark a portion of domestic tax revenues for an AIDS Trust Fund, while countries including Benin, Congo, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Rwanda, and Uganda have established special HIV levies on mobile phone usage or airfares. Taking a different approach, South Africa reduced its spending on antiretroviral medications by 53% by reforming its tender process to increase competition among suppliers.

Dr. Mark Dybul, the Executive Director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, commended the Heads of State and Government saying that their leadership on the issue is yet another resolve to ensure that AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria can become diseases of the past.

“We have a moment of historic greatness, and if we all work together with a sense of shared responsibility and coordinated action, we will defeat these diseases,” he said.

Trans-continental partnerships have been established in the past year to improve the availability of affordable HIV treatment, a key goal of the second pillar of the Roadmap. These include the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa Business Plan, which will support the scale-up of local drug manufacturing, and the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization Programme, which will help regulate drug quality and delivery systems so that lives are not lost because treatments are unsafe or unavailable.

To improve leadership, governance, and oversight, the aim of the third pillar, a series of high-level meetings across the continent have been held over the past 12 months to reaffirm the urgency of the AIDS, TB and Malaria responses on the African agenda. Countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda and South Africa have also integrated HIV programming and oversight into their general health infrastructure, streamlining disease coordination and governance.

New UNAIDS report highlights progress in the AIDS response in Africa

GENEVA, 21 May 2013—As the African Union (AU) begins its 21st summit in Addis Ababa, celebrating 50 years of African unity, The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has released Update a new report on the AIDS response in Africa, documenting the remarkable recent progress against HIV on the continent.

The number of people in Africa receiving antiretroviral treatment increased from less than 1 million in 2005 to 7.1 million in 2012, with nearly 1 million added in the last year alone. AIDS-related deaths are also continuing to fall––reducing by 32% from 2005 to 2011 as are the numbers of new HIV infections which have fallen by 33% from 2001 to 2011. The report attributes this success to strong leadership and shared responsibility in Africa and among the global community. It also urges sustained commitment to ensure Africa achieves zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

“Africa has been relentless in its quest to turn the AIDS epidemic around,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “As we celebrate 50 years of African unity, let us also celebrate the achievements Africa has made in responding to HIV—and recommit to pushing forward so that future generations can grow up free from AIDS.”

Africa continues to be more affected by HIV than any other region of the world, accounting for 69% of people living with HIV globally. Despite positive trends, in 2011 there were still 1.8 million new HIV infections across the continent, and 1.2 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses.

African leadership

UNAIDS’ Update highlights key elements of the AIDS response in a number of African countries. South Africa, for example, is rapidly scaling up access to HIV treatment, with a 20% increase in the number of people receiving therapy from 2011-2012 alone. Sixteen countries—Botswana, Ghana, Gambia, Gabon, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, São ToMÉ and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—now ensure that more than three-quarters of pregnant women living with HIV receive antiretroviral medicine to prevent transmission to their child. 

The report also affirms that AU leadership is essential to reverse the epidemic.  Last year, African leaders adopted a Roadmap on Shared Responsibility and Global Solidarity for AIDS, TB and Malaria Response in Africa, which laid out a response plan to improve health governance, diversify financing, and accelerate access to affordable, high quality medicines. At the Summit, AIDS Watch Africa, a platform for advocacy and accountability for the responses to AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria founded by African leaders in 2001, will review progress in these broad areas and measure whether national, regional, continental and global stakeholders have met their commitments.

Global solidarity

At the AU Summit, in recognition of the role the international community has played, the African Union Commission, with NEPAD and UNAIDS, will launch the first thematic accountability report on the AU-G8 partnership, Delivering results towards ending AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa. A unique contribution to monitoring and driving further commitments by the AU and G8, the report calls on both AU member states and members of the G8 to exercise greater leadership, particularly around access to medicines, sustainable financing, human rights and gender equality.

The post-2015 agenda

In Update, Mr Sidibé emphasizes that sustained attention to the AIDS response post-2015 will enhance progress on other global health priorities. He also further lays the groundwork for the post-2015 agenda by identifying five lessons in the AIDS response that will improve the world’s approach to global health. He calls for focusing on people, not diseases; leveraging the strength of culture and communities; building strong, accountable global heath institutions; mobilizing both domestic and international financial commitments; and elevating health as a force for social transformation.

“These strategies have been fundamental to Africa’s success at halting and reversing the AIDS epidemic and will support the next 50 years of better health, across borders and across diseases,” said Mr Sidibé.

UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme, Luiz Loures (left) and Ambassador Faeqa Saeed Alsaleh, Assistant Secretary General and Head of social sector at the League of Arab States signing the Memorandum of Understanding on 20 May 2013.

GENEVA, 20 May 2013—The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) 20 May marking a new commitment to the HIV response in the Arab Region.  

Guided by the 2011 United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS and global and regional HIV related initiatives, the MoU promotes a set of practical and regionally owned solutions to expand HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services. The agreement calls for the development of an Arab AIDS Strategy, mobilizing political leadership and enhancing accountability among the different stakeholders.

The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and UNAIDS will work with relevant Arab Ministerial Councils at the League such as Health, Interior, Justice, Media, Youth and Sports, and Social Affairs as well as the Arab Parliament.

“Signing a joint MoU between the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and UNAIDS is a major step forward in our response to HIV,” said Dr Faeqa Said AlSaleh, Assistant Secretary General and Head of the Social Affairs Sector at the League of Arab States. “Through this strategic partnership with UNAIDS the League will work for an AIDS-free generation in the Arab Region.”  

The Arab Region has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the world. Between 2001 and 2011, the estimated number of people living with HIV in Arab countries increased from 170 000 to 230 000. The numbers of AIDS-related deaths and new HIV infections have also increased significantly. Between 2001 and 2011, there was a 32% increase in AIDS-related deaths —from 12 000 to 16 000. Recent studies suggest that concentrated epidemics are emerging among key populations at higher risk of HIV infection in many countries. Since 2001, the number of people newly infected with HIV in Arab countries has increased by more than 47%—from 19 000 to 28 000.

 “The Arab region is an inspiration to the world. We are seeing a younger generation find new avenues of influence and become agents of change,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibe. ”This agreement brings new momentum to the HIV response in the Arab Region and builds on a transformative leadership, new partnerships and innovative methods to scale up the HIV response.”

Currently undergoing the most profound wave of change in their modern history, people around the region have voiced demands for political and economic inclusion, increased opportunities and social mobility. A new relationship between state and society based on human rights, social justice, participation, and accountability is being forged. Within this dynamic movement, the MoU also calls for the meaningful involvement of civil society and people living with HIV as key players for accelerating HIV response in the region.

Failure to extend the transition period for least-developed countries to become fully compliant with the TRIPS Agreement could put millions of lives at risk

GENEVA, 26 February 2013—The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today launched a new Issue Brief TRIPS transition period extensions for least-developed countries. The Issue Brief outlines that failure to extend the transition period for least-developed countries to become fully compliant with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) could seriously impede access to lifesaving antiretroviral treatment and other essential medicines for people most in need.

Least-developed countries (LDCs) are home to some of the world’s most vulnerable people and bear considerable health burdens. In 2011, some 9.7 million of the 34 million people living with HIV worldwide, lived in LDCs. Of the people living with HIV in LDCs, 4.6 million were eligible for antiretroviral treatment in accordance with the 2010 World Health Organization HIV treatment guidelines, however only 2.5 million were receiving it.

In the 49 countries which are considered LDCs by the United Nations, non-communicable disease burdens are also rising much faster than in higher income countries. Data from low-income countries for instance suggests that cancer incidence is expected to rise by 82% from 2008 to 2030, whereas in high-income countries incidence is expected to rise at the much lower rate of 40%, in part due to widespread access to vaccines and medicines.

“Access to affordable HIV treatment and other essential medicines is vital if least-developed countries are to achieve the health-related and other Millennium Development Goals”, said Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator.

In the Issue Brief, UNAIDS and UNDP urge WTO Members to give urgent consideration to the continued special needs and requirements of LDCs in respect of their social and economic development.

“An extension would allow the world’s poorest nations to ensure sustained access to medicines, build up viable technology bases and manufacture or import the medicines they need,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

The TRIPS Agreement was introduced in 1995 as a means of protecting intellectual property rights on a global scale. Patent protection, however, has also proved to be one of the factors contributing to high costs of medicines, placing many essential treatments outside the reach of LDCs. In recognition of this, WTO Members retained important options and flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement. One of the flexibilities was that LDCs were granted an initial ten year transition period to become TRIPS compliant. Two extensions to this time period were granted. The general exception is due to expire on 31 July 2013. A proposal currently before the TRIPS Council, submitted on behalf of LDCs, requests a further extension to the general exemption from full TRIPS compliance for as long as a country remains an LDC.

The proposal is due to be discussed at the 5-6 March meeting of the TRIPS Council in Geneva, Switzerland. In the lead-up to and during discussions, UNAIDS and UNDP encourage all WTO Members to consider the full range of possible public health, economic and development benefits of such an extension.

The campaign aims to harness the power of football to raise awareness of HIV

JOHANNESBURG, 19 January 2013— The President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé and the President of the Confederation of African Football, Issa Hayatou launched the “Protect the Goal” initiative on January 19 at the opening ceremony of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations in Johannesburg.

The “Protect the Goal” campaign aims to raise awareness of HIV and mobilize young people to commit to HIV prevention. Globally, an estimated 4.6 million young people (15-24 years of age) are living with HIV. About 2 300 young people are infected with HIV each day. Many young people living with HIV, who are eligible for treatment lack access or do not know their HIV status. The “Protect the Goal” campaign also stresses the need for ensuring all the 15 million people eligible for life-saving antiretroviral treatment can access it by 2015.

“Accelerating large-scale efforts for HIV prevention and treatment is imperative in Africa,” said President Jacob Zuma. “With strong leadership from government and community support, South Africa is showing results and its commitment to ending AIDS.”

Earlier in January, the President of Ghana, John Mahama attended an event to send off the Ghana Black Stars National Football Team to the Africa Cup of Nations. During the event, President Mahama signed a pledge supporting the “Protect the Goal” campaign. The Captain of the Black Stars also signed and read out the pledge. As part of advocacy activities in the lead-up to the tournament, UNAIDS country offices were able to enlist the support of other national football federations to the Protect the Goal campaign. As a result, team captains from Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, and Niger signed the pledge to support the campaign. Other countries are expected to join the initiative during the three week-long Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

During the Africa Cup of Nations, UNAIDS is partnering with the Confederation of African Football, the South African Football Association and the Tobeka Madiba Zuma Foundation to implement the “Protect the Goal” initiative. During the campaign, UNAIDS and its partners will disseminate HIV prevention messages on large electronic screens to football fans in all stadiums where the Africa Cup of Nations football games are taking place. The captains of each of the 16 teams participating in the games will read a statement calling on players, football fans and young people to support the campaign. The “Protect the Goal” campaign will continue until the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

“Football appeals so much to young people and I am thrilled to have such a groundswell of support from the stars of African soccer,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé. “I know this is just the start of an astonishing campaign which will generate much enthusiasm among fans all the way to Brazil 2014.”

“We are extremely happy to support UNAIDS in their efforts to roll out this campaign across the continent,” said President of the Confederation of African Football, Issa Hayatou. ”Our teams are committed to an Africa where AIDS is no longer a threat.”

The 29^th edition of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations will last until 10 February, the day of the finale. It is the most prestigious football tournament on the continent and happens every two years. The sixteen teams participating in this year’s championship are: Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa (host), Togo, Tunisia, and Zambia.

Global leaders oppose policies as discriminatory and bad for business

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 28 November 2012—This World AIDS Day, Chief Executives (CEO’s) from some of the world’s largest companies are calling for an end to travel restrictions for people living with HIV. More than 40 CEOs have signed an unprecedented pledge urging the repeal of laws and policies in 45 countries that still deport, detain or deny entry to people solely because they are living with HIV.

The CEOs represent nearly 2 million employees in industries from banking to mining, travel to technology. They include companies like Johnson & Johnson, The Coca-Cola Company, Pfizer, Heineken, Merck, the National Basketball Association, Kenya Airways and Thomson Reuters.

“HIV travel restrictions are discriminatory and bad for business,” said Chip Bergh, President & CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. “Global business leaders are coming together to make sure we end these unreasonable restrictions.”

The CEO pledge is an initiative of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Levi Strauss & Co. and GBCHealth, a coalition of companies that address global health challenges.

“Restrictions on entry, stay and residence for people living with HIV are discriminatory and a violation of human rights,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Every individual should have equal access to freedom of movement. I urge all countries to remove all such restrictions based on HIV status.”

CEOs oppose HIV travel restrictions because they are discriminatory and because to succeed in today’s globalized economy, companies must be able to send their employees and best talent overseas, regardless of their HIV status.

“It’s time to send HIV travel restrictions packing,” said Kenneth Cole, CEO of Kenneth Cole Productions. “Using our collective might, I believe we can use our influence to eliminate these discriminatory practices."

The United States of America lifted its 22-year HIV travel ban in 2010. Other countries, including Armenia, China, Fiji, Moldova, Namibia and Ukraine, have also recently removed such restrictions. However, 45 countries still deny entry, stay, residence or work visas for people living with HIV. These countries include major hubs for international business.

“Travel restrictions on individuals with HIV are unnecessary and hinder the ability for individuals and companies to operate in a truly global workforce,” said Mark Bertolini, Chairman, CEO & President of Aetna.

Most HIV-travel restrictions were imposed by governments in the 1980s when less was known about the transmission of HIV, and treatment didn’t exist. Since then, we’ve learned how to effectively prevent, manage and treat HIV.

Travel restrictions vary in different countries and can include preventing people living with HIV from entering altogether or deporting foreigners once their HIV status is discovered. Restrictions also include denying work visas, prohibiting short-terms stays for business trips or conferences and blocking longer-term stays or residence for work relocations and study abroad programs.

The CEO call to end HIV-related travel restrictions, first launched at the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., comes on the eve of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s release of a blueprint that outlines the goals and objectives for the next phase of the United States’ effort to achieve an AIDS-Free Generation.    

“Eliminating HIV travel restrictions is a win-win,” said GBCHealth Managing Director and Co-President Michael Schreiber.  “It’s the right thing to do from a humanitarian perspective and the right thing to do from a business perspective.”

Participating CEOs:

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Group Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank Plc;  Mark Bertolini, Chairman, CEO and President, Aetna; Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive, Anglo American plc; Vincent A. Forlenza,  Chairman of the Board, CEO and President, BD; Debra Lee, Chairman & CEO, BET Networks;  Andy Burness, President, Burness Communications; Lamberto Andreotti, CEO, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Muhtar Kent, Chairman of the Board and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company;  Richard Edelman, President & CEO, Edelman;  Mark R. Kramer, Founder and Managing Director,  FSG;  Glenn K. Murphy, Chairman and CEO, Gap Inc.; Jonathan D. Klein, CEO and Co-Founder, Getty Images;  John C. Martin, PhD, Chairman and CEO, Gilead Sciences, Inc.;  Karl-Johan Persson, CEO, H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB;  Dr. Chris Kirubi, Chairman, Haco Tiger Brands;  Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, Chairman of the Executive Board/CEO, HEINEKEN NV;  Victor Y. Yuan, Chairman, Horizon Research and Consultancy Group;  Bong Yong Dam, CEO, Hub One International Company Ltd;  Jena Gardner, President & CEO, JG Black Book of Travel;  Alex Gorsky, Chief Executive Officer, Johnson & Johnson;  Kenneth Cole, CEO, Kenneth Cole Productions; Dr .Titus Naikuni, MD and CEO, Kenya Airways Ltd;  Chip Bergh, President & CEO, Levi Strauss & Co.;  Kaushik Shah, CEO/Director, Mabati Rolling Mills Ltd;  Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman and CEO, Merck;  Heather Bresch, CEO, Mylan; David J. Stern, Commissioner, National Basketball Association (NBA); Blake Nordstrom, President, Nordstrom, Inc.;  Ji Yong, General Manager, Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd; Douglas A. Michels, President & CEO, OraSure Technologies, Inc.; Ian C. Read, Chairman and CEO, Pfizer Inc.; Tzameret Fuerst, CEO, Prepex;  Bob Collymore, CEO, Safaricom; Hiromasa Yonekura, Chairman, Sumitomo Chemical;  Liam E. McGee, Chairman, President and CEO, The Hartford;  James C. Smith, CEO, Thomson Reuters; Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, CEO, Vestergaard Frandsen;  Philippe Dauman, President & CEO, Viacom; Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Unite;  Melissa Waggener Zorkin, CEO, President & Founder, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide;  Andy Payne, CEO, Wilderness Holdings Ltd;  David Sable, CEO, Y&R;  William H. Roedy, AIDS Activist and former Chairman, MTVN International

Most TB/HIV deaths can be averted if TB and HIV services work together more effectively and services are scaled up

GENEVA, 27 November 2012––Last week the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) reported that there has been a 13% reduction in tuberculosis (TB)-associated HIV deaths in the last two years. The reduction is due to a sharp increase in the numbers of people with HIV and TB co-infection accessing antiretroviral therapy (ART)––a 45% increase between 2009 and 2011.

Yet TB remains the leading cause of death among people living with HIV. UNAIDS and the Stop TB Partnership have signed a new agreement to accelerate action to achieve the 2015 goal of reducing deaths from TB among people living with HIV by 50%. 

“We are losing precious lives to TB––which is a preventable and curable disease, and it is in our power to change this. The world will never reach its goal of an AIDS-free generation without tackling TB. It is time to act now,” said Benedict Xaba, Minister of Health of Swaziland, which has the world’s highest rate of TB among people living with HIV.

People living with HIV are 20 to 30 times more likely to develop active TB than people without HIV infection.  An estimated 8.7 million people became ill with TB worldwide in 2011, among whom more than 1 million were living with HIV. Pregnant women and children are particularly at risk. If a pregnant woman living with HIV also has TB disease, the risk of death for the mother and child is higher and the risk of HIV transmission to the child more than doubles. In 2011, 430 000 out of 1.7 million AIDS-related deaths (25%) were caused by HIV-associated TB disease.

“TB/HIV is a deadly combination.  We can stop people from dying of HIV/TB co-infection through integration and simplification of HIV and TB services”, said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “The 2015 goals are clear­­­­—reduce TB deaths in people living with HIV by 50%––we can make this happen, but only if services are scaled up in countries through concerted and joint efforts.”

In 2011, at the United Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS, UN Member States set the target of halving TB/HIV deaths by 2015, which would lead to saving 600 000 lives. Three-quarters of TB/HIV deaths currently occur in just ten countries;  Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Intensifying efforts in these 10 countries would significantly accelerate progress in achieving the 2015 goal.

“TB is preventable and curable at low cost, yet we still have one in four AIDS-related deaths caused by TB, and this is outrageous. Countries have yet to fully implement the actions needed to address the co-epidemic,” said Dr Lucica Ditiu, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership. “Through a new agreement UNAIDS and the Stop TB Partnership have committed to a strong agenda of action, engaging new partners and assisting the most heavily affected countries as they integrate their HIV and TB services and build action plans.”

Preventing HIV/TB deaths

• In countries where HIV and TB are prevalent, testing for both should be provided to everyone.
• People living with HIV are far less likely to become ill with and die of TB if they begin antiretroviral therapy (ART) before their immune systems begin serious decline. All people who are eligible for ART should receive it as early as possible.
• In addition to earlier ART, people living with HIV should be protected against becoming ill with TB through a daily dose of the drug isoniazid.
• All people who test positive for HIV and are also found to have TB disease should start TB treatment immediately. After two weeks on TB treatment, they should begin ART, regardless of the status of their immune system.