GENEVA/MUNICH, 22 July 2024—A new report released today by UNAIDS shows that the world is at a critical moment that will determine whether world leaders meet their commitment to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. The report, The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads, brings together new data and case studies which demonstrate that the decisions and policy choices taken by world leaders this year will decide the fate of millions of lives and whether the world’s deadliest pandemic is overcome.  

Whilst the end of AIDS is within our grasp, this decade, currently the world is off track. Globally, of the 39.9 million people living with HIV, 9.3 million, nearly a quarter, are not receiving life-saving treatment. As a consequence, a person dies from AIDS-related causes every minute.

Leaders pledged to reduce annual new infections to below 370 000 by 2025, but new HIV infections are still more than three times higher than that, at 1.3 million in 2023.  And now cuts in resourcing and a rising anti-rights push are endangering the progress that has been made.

“World leaders pledged to end the AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030, and they can uphold their promise, but only if they ensure that the HIV response has the resources it needs and that the human rights of everyone are protected,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. “Leaders can save millions of lives, prevent millions of new HIV infections, and ensure that everyone living with HIV can live healthy, full lives.”

The report finds that if leaders take the bold actions needed now to ensure sufficient and sustainable resourcing and protect everyone’s human rights, the number of people living with HIV, requiring life-long treatment, will settle at around 29 million by 2050 but if they take the wrong path, the number of people who will need life-long support will rise to 46 million (compared to 39.9 million in 2023). 

The report shows continued (although slower) progress in rolling out medicines to people living with HIV with 30.7 million people now on treatment, more than 3 in 4 people living with HIV. As recently as 2010 treatment coverage stood at just 47%. The expansion of people accessing treatment is a landmark public health achievement that has seen AIDS-related deaths halved since 2010—from 1.3 million to 630 000 in 2023.

However, the world is off track to meet the 2025 target of reducing AIDS-related deaths to below 250 000.

Although tremendous progress has been made in preventing new HIV infections which have fallen by 39% since 2010 globally, and by 59% in eastern and southern Africa, the report shows that new HIV infections are rising in three regions, the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and central Asia and Latin America, and gaps and inequalities persist.

“Countries are making enormous progress to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, however there have been many challenges that could slow our efforts,” said Dr Anthony Fauci, Former Scientific Advisor to the US President. “We must do everything we can to be continually vocal and proactive. Failure is not an option here. In fact, it is unthinkable. If we all work together, we shall meet our common goal. I for one will continue to work with all of my strength to make sure that we do indeed end the AIDS epidemic and I implore all of you to commit to the same.”

Gender inequality is exacerbating the risks faced by girls and women and driving the pandemic. HIV incidence among adolescent girls and young women is still extraordinarily high in parts of eastern and southern Africa and western and central Africa.

Because stigma and discrimination against marginalized communities create barriers to vital prevention and treatment services, key populations, including sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs, represent an increased proportion at (55%) of new infections globally compared to 2010 (45%).

The report demonstrates that HIV prevention and treatment services will only reach people if human rights are upheld, if unfair laws against women and against marginalized communities are scrapped, and if discrimination and violence are tackled head on.

UNAIDS calculations show that whilst 20% of HIV resources should be dedicated towards HIV prevention for populations most affected by HIV, just 2.6% of total HIV spending went towards interventions for key populations in 2023.

Around the world funding is shrinking, holding back progress and even leading to rising epidemics in certain regions. In 2023, total resources available for HIV (US$ 19.8 billion) dropped by 5% from 2022 and were US$ 9.5 billion short of the amount needed by 2025 (US$ 29.3 billion). Domestic funding in low- and middle-income countries—­which make up 59% of total resources for HIV—is being constrained by the debt crisis and fell for the fourth consecutive year, with a 6% decline from 2022 to 2023.

Increased resource mobilization is needed, especially in Asia and the Pacific—where the numbers of people living with HIV are projected to almost double by 2050—and in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa, regions with growing epidemics, but where funding for HIV has decreased significantly. Around half of the total resources needed by 2025, and 93% of the current HIV funding gap, are outside of sub-Saharan Africa.   

The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads shows that decisions taken this year will determine if global targets are met, AIDS is ended as a public health threat by 2030, and a sustainable HIV response is built.

“The fraying of solidarity between and within countries is putting progress in danger, but the path that ends AIDS is a path that has been proven, and is a path that leaders have promised to take. Whether leaders fulfill their pledge to end AIDS is a political and financial choice. The time to choose the right path is now,” said Ms Byanyima.

Video playlist

Report launch

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

GENEVA, 12 July 2024— UNAIDS welcomes the adoption, by consensus, of a critical resolution on human rights in the context of HIV and AIDS at the 56^th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The 2024 resolution 56/20 Human Rights in the Context of HIV and AIDS, recognizes the centrality of human rights to the HIV response. The resolution reaffirms that, “the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all is an essential element in the global response to the HIV epidemic and its sustainability.”

It also recognizes the importance of human rights and community leadership in the HIV response, ensuring access to available and affordable HIV prevention, testing and treatment services for all, without discrimination.  The resolution also calls on countries to tackle discriminatory attitudes and punitive laws and policies that prevent access to health services and to support community-led organizations as well as protect civic space.

This ground-breaking text includes the first unqualified recognition of sexual and reproductive health and rights in a UN resolution and calls on countries to scale up comprehensive education on sexual and reproductive health with information on, “sexuality and comprehensive HIV prevention, gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment, human rights, and physical, psychological and pubertal development, to enable them to build self-esteem and risk reduction skills and to empower them in their decision-making, communication and development of respectful relationships, in order to enable them to protect themselves from HIV infection.” .

Every week, 4000 adolescent girls and young women (aged 15–24 years) became infected with HIV worldwide. 3100 of these infections occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, also where 6 out of 7 new HIV infections in adolescents (aged 10–19 years) were among girls.

UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima said, “We would not be where we are today in the HIV response, with 29 million people on treatment and a 56% reduction in new HIV infections, without having human rights and communities at the center of the response. However, the status quo is not enough. All stakeholders need to scale up action to respect, protect and fulfil human rights in the HIV response if we are to end inequalities and end AIDS for everyone.”

Human Rights Council members expressed concern that key populations face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, stigma, violence and abuse. This affects their access to clinics and/or peer-led drop-in centers and called on member states to take action to ensure access to non-stigmatizing health services free from discrimination and legal barriers.

The resolution recognizes the importance of the Global AIDS Strategy’s societal enabler targets and calls on countries to take action to remove punitive legal and policy frameworks, and end stigma. This also includes   addressing gender-based violence and inequalities, as well as changing gender stereotypes and negative social norms.

The societal enabler targets, outlined in both the 2021 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS and the Global AIDS Strategy, 2021-2026, commit countries to the following targets: that by 2025, less than 10% of people living with HIV and key populations experience stigma and discrimination, less than 10% experience gender-based inequalities and violence and less than 10% of countries have punitive laws and policies.

Progress towards the 2025 milestone has been mixed, with many countries failing to make significant progress required to be on track to meet these targets and other human rights goals.

This resolution is an important commitment by countries to re-double their efforts to ensure human rights are at the center of a sustainable HIV response.

Going forward the resolution calls on OHCHR and UNAIDS, in collaboration with other stakeholders to hold a panel at the 58^th session of the Human Rights Council in 2025 to discuss the realization of human rights in sustaining and increasing the gains made in the HIV response. The session will include recommendations to countries and will be followed by a report on sustainability and human rights to be presented at the 60^th HRC session.

In 2025, countries are set to develop a new Global AIDS Strategy that will take the world to the 2030 deadline to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, which includes ending AIDS as a global health threat by 2030.

UNAIDS commends the leadership of Brazil and the other members of the core group, Colombia, Portugal and Thailand, for continuing to lead the resolution on HIV at the Human Rights Council and their significant success in bringing consensus back to this relevant resolution.

More information here: OHCHR | 56th regular session of the Human Rights Council: Resolutions, decisions and President’s statements

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

BEIJING, 15 July 2024 – The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and China signed two new Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) to advance joint strategic efforts to end AIDS in China and globally.

The first agreement was signed on 10 July by Wang Hesheng, Vice Minister of the National Health Commission and Administrator of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration (NDCPA) and Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, in Beijing. UNAIDS and China have agreed to deepen their collaboration to reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, within the context of China’s Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The agreement acknowledges China’s commitment to take a leadership role in the global HIV response including mobilizing partners and supporting efforts to end AIDS in middle- and lower-income countries. 

Mr Wang thanked UNAIDS’ for technical support and guidance around China’s HIV response, particularly in formulating HIV response plans and strategies, monitoring and assessment, as well as UNAIDS’ data collection and analysis.

“We expect to continue and further our cooperation with UNAIDS with this MOU,” he said. “The first steps will be to boost communication and coordination, and actively participate in global health governance.”

According to the agreement, NDCPA will make an annual contribution of USD$1 million to UNAIDS from 2025 to 2029, totaling USD$5 million, which includes increased core funding.

The other agreement signed in Beijing on 13 July with the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) addresses critical global development issues to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which includes promoting health and ending AIDS globally, especially in other developing countries in Africa and Asia Pacific.

Luo Zhaohui, Chairman of the CIDCA recognizes UNAIDS’ leadership in the global HIV response and encouraged UNAIDS to apply for more Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund (GDF) to address the HIV epidemic.

“Let’s work together to improve people’s health especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.” he said. "HIV is a new area for CIDCA but UNAIDS has a lot of experience so there is huge prospect to have more cooperation.”

As part of this agreement, UNAIDS and CIDCA will fund projects in developing partner countries through policy coordination, community engagement, capacity building and technical insight.

Since its founding in 2019, the CIDCA has provided steady financial support to UN agencies and developing member states. As highlighted at the annual Steering Committee of UNSDCF, 13 UN agencies mobilized more than US$ 100 million in South-South funding, predominantly from CIDCA, which assisted 85 partner countries in the areas of COVID response and resilience, social inclusion, agriculture, climate and energy efforts. Earlier this year, UNAIDS received the first GDF to support Iran’s upscaling of rapid HIV testing. UNAIDS is the second UN entity to sign a MOU with the CIDCA.

UNAIDS looks forward to deepening cooperation with China especially in South-South Cooperation and China-Africa cooperation in the areas of local drug production as well as supporting partner countries.

Ms Byanyima said, “Global South solidarity is the bedrock of the HIV response. It is only by standing together that we can end AIDS by 2030 and I welcome steps towards a deeper partnership building China and African countries.”

UNAIDS will also closely work with the African Union, the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Medicine Agency.   

Ms Byanyima’s week-long mission to China is her first to the country since she became Executive Director of UNAIDS.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

GENEVA, 10 July 2024— UNAIDS has welcomed the release of Gilead Sciences’ trial results on the injectable long-acting HIV medicine Lenacapavir for HIV prevention. The result “provides hope of accelerating efforts to end AIDS”, UNAIDS says, “but only if Gilead ensures that all people who need it can have access to this game-changing medicine.”

The recent trial of the medicine among cis-gender women in Uganda and South Africa was so successful that it was halted early. Twice-yearly injections of Lenacapavir showed overwhelming efficacy for preventing HIV infections compared to standard oral preventative HIV medicines, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Additional trials are ongoing in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Thailand and the United States.

UNAIDS has welcomed the “exciting development,” and urged the company to allow generic production of Lenacapavir to all low- and middle-income countries by negotiating voluntary licensing agreements through the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). The MPP is a UN-backed programme with extensive experience negotiating generics agreements between originators and generic pharmaceutical companies.

Gilead has not yet announced its plans for low and middle-income countries. However, UNAIDS is concerned that Gilead’s latest statement regarding its access strategy for low and middle-income countries mentions only “high incidence countries and resource limited countries” and makes no specific mention of upper-middle-income countries or the Medicines Patent Pool. Upper middle-income countries account for 41% of new HIV infections and 37% of all people living with HIV. These countries are home to millions who cannot afford the prices Gilead charges high-income countries.

“The success of Gilead’s recent Lenacapavir trial is an exciting development. While we still await regulatory approvals, normative guidance and results from the other ongoing trials, this news offers hope that we can enable everyone who would benefit, including especially the most marginalised communities, to have access to the help they need. Enabling equitable global access to new technologies can help get the world on track to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "However, it is concerning that Gilead’s latest announcement seems to mention neither upper-middle income countries, where people cannot afford anything like Lenacapavir’s current $42,250 price tag, nor a commitment to work with the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool. Without these safeguards, it cannot be assured that this game-changing medicine will reach all those who need it."

Notes

Data in this press release comes from UNAIDS 2023 Epidemiological estimates (aidsinfo.unaids.org)

The UNAIDS Executive Director joined more than 300 experts and activists calling for a generic version of Lenacapavir to be licensed to all low and middle-income countries through the MPP, in a letter coordinated by the People’s Medicines Alliance: https://peoplesmedicines.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Gilead-Open-Letter_May-2024.pdf

The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition provides an overview of the Lenacapavir for PrEP trials: https://avac.org/resource/infographic/an-overview-of-lenacapavir-for-prep-trials/ 

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

GENEVA, 27 June 2024—At the 54^th meeting of UNAIDS’ Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) which concluded today in Geneva, Switzerland, governments, civil society and United Nations agencies united in a shared commitment to accelerate progress to meet the 2025 AIDS targets and sustain the gains of the global HIV response toward 2030 and beyond.   

In her opening remarks to the meeting, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima, highlighted the urgency of accelerating progress to meet the 2030 target of ending AIDS as a public health threat. “The world has six years to reduce new HIV infection rates, expand antiretroviral treatment, and reduce AIDS-related deaths, but only 18 months to reach the 2025 targets which will determine whether or not countries will be able to end their pandemics by 2030.”

She warned that there was ‘nothing sustainable about an expanding pandemic’ and called on members to join UNAIDS in ‘throwing everything we can’ at HIV prevention, making medicines and health technologies for HIV prevention and treatment equitable, affordable and accessible, and building stronger health systems’.

“We have a choice,” said Ms Byanyima. “We can accelerate now, drive rates down, and succeed. Or we can get distracted, focus only on what we’ve gained so far, and miss the opportunity to end AIDS. We must accelerate in order to sustain.”

She noted that sustainability also requires progress on widening fiscal space and addressing indebtedness of low- and middle-income countries, protecting human rights and gender equality, and called on all partners and allies to embrace a ‘bold vision of sustainability—one capable of ending the AIDS pandemic.’

Ms Byanyima emphasised the funding constraints which are hampering progress in the AIDS response highlighting the US$ 8.5 billion shortfall in funding for HIV. In 2022, US$ 20.8 billion was available for HIV funding in low- and middle-income countries whereas the estimated need by 2025 is US$ 29.3 billion. She called on all donors to ensure that the Joint Programme is fully funded to the agreed minimum levels of US$ 160 million for 2024.

On the opening day of the meeting Germany announced that it would be increasing its funding to UNAIDS. “Germany has decided to increase its contribution to UNAIDS in 2024 by € 2 million, from € 4.75 million in 2023 to € 6.75 million. We trust that this decision shall contribute to the minimum budget requirements of US$ 160 million to ensure that UNAIDS can adequately implement its workplan and budget,” said Binod Mahanty, Senior Policy Advisor, Federal Ministry of Health of Germany.

The Board reviewed the performance of the Joint Programme and appreciated the wide scope and in-depth contribution of UNAIDS to the global AIDS response at the global, regional and country levels.

The critical role of communities in continuing to lead the way in responding to HIV was highlighted as central to sustainability of the HIV response, which was the focus of the thematic segment on the final day: Sustaining the gains of the global HIV response to 2030 and beyond.

Ms Byanyima said, “To end AIDS, the foundation must be people living with HIV, civil society and communities. They are indispensable and non-negotiable for ending the pandemic, sustaining the response and ensuring accountability for all.

Florence Riako Anam, Co-Executive Director of the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), gave a powerful keynote address during the thematic session, she said, “People living with HIV will be here in 2031. For us, the sustainability of the HIV response is a journey of transformation and not a destination with an end date.” Other keynote speakers included H.E. Edwin Dikoloti, Minister of Health of Botswana and the Former President of the Republic of Chile Michelle Bachelet.

Ahead of the PCB, building on its longstanding partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, UNAIDS signed a new strategic framework for cooperation and collaboration to end AIDS. Joining the PCB discussions the Director of the Global Fund, Peter Sands said, “Optimizing HIV and primary health care integration requires well-coordinated partnerships between governments, private sector companies, international organizations, and non-government organizations.”

John Nkengasong, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and head of PEPFAR, said that gains were fragile and need to be sustained. "2030 is critical because at that point the global community either says ‘we have done our best and we don’t know what else to do’ or do we say, ‘YES! we can get to the finish line’...2030 is a mountaintop moment.” He also called for UNAIDS to be fully funded to continue its life-saving work.

The Board meeting provided an opportunity for UNAIDS to announce a new high-level panel on a resilient and fit-for-purpose UNAIDS Joint Programme. The Panel will consider the evolution of the pandemic and the global response as well as the evolving country needs within the overall context of the Joint Programme’s mandate.

This week also saw the release of a new report by on Drug Use, Harm Reduction and the Right to Health, demonstrating the public health necessity of moving away from punitive approaches to people who use drugs – a step towards ensuring access to health care for marginalized communities.

The 54^th PCB was chaired by Kenya, represented by Harry Kimtai, Principal Secretary, State Department for Medical Services, Nairobi, with Brazil serving as the Vice-Chair and Netherlands as Rapporteur. The Report to the Board by the UNAIDS Executive Director, and the reports for each agenda item and the PCB’s decisions can be found at: 54^th UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board.

The 55^th meeting of the PCB will take place 10-12 December 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

GENEVA, 26 June 2024—UNAIDS welcomes the recent report by Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health, which was presented to the 56^th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The report, on Drug Use, Harm Reduction and the Right to Health, demonstrates the public health necessity of moving away from punitive approaches to people who use drugs.

Notable, in particular, are three recommendations of the Special Rapporteur’s report that are critical to ending AIDS as a public health threat:

1. Decriminalization of the possession of drugs for personal use.
2. Ensuring the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of harm reduction services for people who use drugs.
3. Ensuring that peer-led initiatives have the necessary political and policy support and sufficient and stable resourcing.

Currently, many people who inject drugs continue to be left behind by the global HIV response. The risk of acquiring HIV is 14 times higher than it is for the adult population generally. In contrast, countries which have successfully scaled up harm reduction services have seen significant declines in HIV infections among people who use drugs.

Harm reduction services need to be accessible and acceptable to all who use them. Currently, whilst women who use drugs have a higher prevalence of HIV than men who use drugs, harm reduction services are still often not designed with women’s particular requirements in mind. As the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health’s report recommends to states: “Design harm reduction services so that they provide suitable environments for women who use drugs, including by providing integrated sexual and reproductive health care, information and services, and childcare”.

Law reform is essential because the evidence shows that even when services are available and appropriate, punitive laws obstruct their use. Criminalization of drug use is associated with needle sharing and avoidance of harm reduction programmes, and increased risk of HIV.

Community leadership in programme design is vital for programme effectiveness. As UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima noted today at the special side event with Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng: “Barriers to accessing services can only be overcome if the communities living with, affected by and vulnerable to HIV are supported to lead. This includes communities of people who use drugs, sex workers, gay men and other men who have sex with men, transgender people and people living with HIV. We will continue to leave people behind if we do not support communities in the lead in both service delivery and law reform.”

Global and national approaches to drug policies are starting to change, and this excellent report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health will help accelerate this small but important and growing wave of changes. As this report notes, the FRESH project, for example, is engaging transgender women in harm reduction programming, with UNAIDS support. Kenya is one of the countries which has scaled up services, and currently has more than 10 public opioid agonist therapy programmes and 35 drop-in centres with needle-syringe programmes, as well as take-home naloxone, pre-exposure prophylaxis and HIV self-testing services. This year, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs adopted, for the first time, a resolution recognizing the need for harm reduction.

Punitive approaches have hurt public health, including the HIV response. Evidence-based approaches will help enable the world to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. UNAIDS pays tribute to Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, and stands with communities as they issue a call to leaders worldwide: “Support, don’t punish”.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

GENEVA, 24 June 2024— UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, and Executive Director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund), Peter Sands, signed a new strategic framework for cooperation and collaboration to end AIDS (2024 –2028). The agreement renews the organizations’ longstanding partnership and aligns ongoing collaboration with the most recent United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030.

“The longstanding partnership between UNAIDS and the Global Fund has been instrumental in supporting many millions of people living with or vulnerable to HIV to enjoy better health and well-being through improved access to essential services,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. “We at UNAIDS are excited to continue building our collaboration with the Global Fund as we head toward our common goal of ending AIDS.”

The new strategic framework puts people and communities at the centre and aims to unite countries, communities and partners across and beyond the HIV response to take prioritized actions to accelerate progress towards the vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

“Our strong collaboration, especially at country level, makes a huge difference in the fight against AIDS,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Our counterparts at UNAIDS play a crucial role on the ground: they help put communities living with and affected by HIV at the center of the response and ensure that rights-based approaches are widely adopted.”

The Global Fund Strategy (2023–2028) Fighting Pandemics and Building a Healthier and More Equitable World is fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and UNAIDS’ Global AIDS Strategy (2021–2026) End Inequalities, End AIDS, which guides the global AIDS response. It calls on all actors to scale up and sustain global and domestic investments to achieve the strategy’s ambitious targets and commitments for 2025 as well as put the world on course to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

Collaboration under the new agreement will focus on reducing the inequalities that drive the AIDS epidemic and closing the HIV prevention and treatment gaps that are preventing progress towards ending AIDS. It will also prioritize people who are not yet accessing life-saving HIV services.

The common approach supports a renewed focus on primary prevention, addressing structural drivers of HIV infection and AIDS-related deaths, and challenging inequities and human rights and gender-related barriers to services including stigma, discrimination and criminalization. It leverages new HIV prevention and treatment modalities, precision public health approaches, as well as support synergies between HIV services and related areas of health. In addition, the framework continues longstanding support to strengthen countries’ capacity to measure their epidemics and monitor their responses, and act on the data to drive results. There will also be a push for countries to map out the longer-term sustainability of the HIV response through stronger health systems, better-integrated services for HIV, and more streamlined donor contributions.

The Global Fund

The Global Fund is a worldwide partnership to defeat HIV, TB and malaria and ensure a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all. They raise and invest more than US$5 billion a year to fight the deadliest infectious diseases, challenge the injustice that fuels them, and strengthen health systems and pandemic preparedness in more than 100 of the hardest hit countries. They unite world leaders, communities, civil society, health workers and the private sector to find solutions that have the most impact, and they take them to scale worldwide. Since 2002, the Global Fund partnership has saved 59 million lives. Learn more at The Global Fund.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

SALVADOR, BRAZIL, 6 June 2024—At the G20 preparatory meeting in Brazil, Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Winnie Byanyima, today urged governments to support a new G20 Alliance, proposed by the Brazilian government, to enable life-saving medicines to be produced in every part of the world. Co-Chair of the Global Council on Inequality, AIDS, and Pandemics Sir Michael Marmot also called on G20 delegates to address the social determinants of pandemics, such as education and human rights, as a concrete part of the G20’s pandemic preparedness efforts.

The medicines initiative aims to create a global alliance of local and regional manufacturers of drugs, vaccines and other health technologies and unite a diversified network of local and regional producers to ensure an adequate supply of medicines and technologies for everyone, everywhere.

Ms Byanyima called on the G20 to ensure that the alliance takes a bold approach that strengthens efforts to fight dengue and other neglected diseases, improves global defences against future pandemics, and accelerates access to the latest technologies against HIV.

“Focusing together on neglected diseases and the major killers of vulnerable people is not only strategic, it can deliver during future pandemics,” said Ms Byanyima. “We can be thankful that, for all its devastation, COVID-19 responded to a vaccine, unlike HIV. There is no reason to believe the next pandemic will be like COVID-19.  We need to build capacity for vaccines and treatment.”

The responses to many diseases that impact vulnerable populations – from Ebola to Mpox to HIV – would benefit greatly from this initiative, Ms Byanyima told governments today.

“The alliance can supercharge the HIV response. It can supercharge the production pipeline for innovations,” said Ms Byanyima. “An alliance could also build capacity where it is not. The majority of people living with HIV, who get up every day and take that pill, live in Africa. But few of those drugs are actually made in African countries.”

“Brazil’s leadership and experience in this area has inspired this global effort. And we need the support of the whole G20 to make it a success.”

The agenda of the G20 meeting on health is helping to push global health policy towards tackling the systemic inequalities that drive ill-health.  UNAIDS is coordinating a Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics that is gathering evidence on how inequalities deepen and prolong pandemics, including HIV and COVID-19. That evidence is being shared with policymakers at the G20 and other international forums.

On Monday, world-renowned expert Sir Michael Marmot gave a keynote address the G20 meeting on the potential of focusing concretely on the social determinants to strengthen pandemic preparedness, predict the severity of future pandemics, and  improve the efficacy of responses.

“Improving health leads to a better economy. And the way to improve health is not just to invest in healthcare, but in the social determinants of health,” Professor Marmot said. “For example, in Botswana, there is clear evidence that the longer young people remain in education, the lower the rates of HIV.”

Addressing social determinants, building manufacturing capacity, and enabling people everywhere to access the whole range of HIV prevention and treatment options, including the latest long-acting technologies, is vital for ensuring the end of AIDS as a public health threat. The G20 initiatives would play a key role in achieving that objective in a sustainable way, while also contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and supporting efforts to quickly respond to the next pandemic.

Notes for editors

Brazil's main proposal for the G20 Health Working Group is to establish the creation of an Alliance for Regional Production and Innovation. This initiative aims to establish a network that brings together key actors, including countries, academia, private sector, and international organizations, for research and development and production of vaccines, medicines, diagnostics, and strategic supplies to combat diseases with strong social determinants and that mainly affect vulnerable populations, such as dengue, malaria, tuberculosis, Chagas disease, and leprosy. For more information on the G20 Health Working Group, see the G20 website: https://www.g20.org/en/tracks/sherpa-track/health

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.