UNAIDS welcomes the issuance of Resolution 881 of 2023 by the Ministry of Health of Colombia, which initiates the administrative procedure to evaluate the existence of reasons of public interest for issuing a compulsory license for dolutegravir (DTG)-based regimens. According to the ministerial resolution, the impact of this measure could mean a significant reduction of more than 80% of DTG’s price.

Dolutegravir (DTG) is an antiretroviral integrase inhibitor, recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a first-line treatment option for people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Regarding viral suppression and disease reduction, treatments incorporating DTG-based regimens have demonstrated greater adherence due to their lower incidence of adverse events while presenting enhanced effectiveness, safety, and reduced likelihood of resistance development.

Compulsory licensing is a provision in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS Agreement”), that enables governments to supply its citizens with generic versions of patented treatments either through domestic production or imports, ensuring drug prices are affordable. WTO Inter-ministerial 2001 Doha Declaration reaffirmed the rights of member states to make use of all flexibilities in the agreement to protect public health, including compulsory licenses, “and the freedom to determine the grounds upon which such licenses are granted.” More recently, in the 2021 Political Declaration of the United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting on AIDS, countries have committed to make use of TRIPS flexibilities “specifically geared to promoting access to medicines.”

"This resolution is a step forward to provide equal and sustainable access to best HIV treatment options for all people living with HIV in Colombia, nationals and migrants. This action shows the government’s commitment to close the treatment gap with assured quality affordable essential medicines which are easy to take and very well tolerated.”, says Andrea Boccardi, UNAIDS Director for the Andean Countries (Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Colombia. "The government issued national guidelines in 2021, in line with WHO recommendations, but until now high prices of DTG have remained an obstacle to make it widely accessible to people living with HIV in Colombia."

The Colombian League for the Fight against AIDS and the IFARMA Foundation also celebrated the decision from the Colombian government. Both institutions participated on behalf of civil society in the updating of the Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) based on scientific evidence for the care of HIV/AIDS infection in adults, pregnant women and adolescents.

"The decision validates past initiatives of civil society in Colombia to achieve greater coverage of simplified treatments with fewer adverse effects at the lowest possible price, while at the same time it will reinvigorate the efforts of community-based organizations in education and promotion of adherence to ARVs, recognizing that structural barriers are factors that facilitate or hinder adherence to antiretroviral treatments", says Jorge Pacheco, Director of the Colombian League for the Fight against AIDS.

“Through this measure Colombia is taking an important step to guarantee people’s access to the most appropriate medication for them in line with international recommendations and commitments”, says Luisa Cabal, UNAIDS Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. "Timely access to effective HIV treatment can save lives, improve health outcomes, enhance the quality of life, and contribute to the overall well-being of individuals living with HIV. This measure shows commitment to the global effort to combat inequalities in access to health."

UNAIDS commends and supports the Ministry of Health for its proactive approach to pursuing public interest and urges all stakeholders to collaborate in implementing Resolution 881 of 2023. 

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, 13 June 2023—The Executive Director of UNAIDS Winnie Byanyima has been presented with the prestigious Amsterdam Dinner Award 2023 for her activism and work to end stigma and discrimination around HIV. The annual Amsterdam Dinner, initiated in 1992, is the Netherlands largest fundraising event for HIV and has raised millions of euros to support HIV projects around the world.

Delivering remarks on behalf of Liesje Schreinemacher, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Loiza Lamers said, “The situation in Uganda makes clear once again that the struggle for equal rights is far from over and proof that the world needs more people like her and more than ever. I am proud that the Netherlands is her ally in this fight. Being who you are and loving who you love should never be a crime.”

“We are grateful that the Netherlands stands strong on LGBTIQ rights and the rights of women and girls and that you are our steadfast ally in this fight,” said Ms Byanyima. 

This year’s event shone a spotlight on work for women by women and highlighted the disproportionate impact HIV is having on women and girls. Around the world a young woman aged between 15 and 24 becomes infected with HIV every two minutes and in sub-Saharan Africa young women and girls are 3 times more likely to become infected with HIV than their male peers. 

Ms Byanyima is a fierce advocate for the rights of women and girls as well as for the rights of key populations most affected by HIV.  “I share this honour with thousands of passionate, fearless activists around the world who daily fight stigma and discrimination and defend the right to health of every human being. I share it with my UNAIDS colleagues,” said Ms Byanyima.

The event held on 10 June in Amsterdam raised 1.3 million euros for projects for women living with HIV in Mozambique and the Netherlands.

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 launching group to generate evidence on the inequalities driving pandemics and advocate for the adoption of multisectoral approaches to strengthen the response to AIDS and other pandemics  

BRASILIA/GENEVA, 6 June 2023—Brazil is hosting the announcement of the new Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics chaired by The First Lady of Namibia, Monica Geingos, the Director of the University College London Institute for Health Equity, Sir Michael Marmot and the Nobel prize winning economist, Joseph E. Stiglitz. Brazil’s Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, is a founding member.

“I am delighted to host the announcement of the Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics. It is time to convert lessons learned into action by reducing the inequalities driving today’s health crises and strengthening pandemic preparedness for the future,” said Ms Trindade, “Brazil is determined to play its part by making the case for increased collaboration and evidence-based policymaking to build more resilient health systems around the world.”
 

Social and economic inequalities within countries and between them are exacerbating and prolonging pandemics and amplifying their impact amongst the poorest and the most vulnerable. The same intersecting inequalities that drive HIV, COVID-19, MPox and other diseases are leaving countries and communities at risk of future outbreaks and pandemics. But experience shows that there are actions at the global, regional and national levels that can build pandemic responses that reduce rather than exacerbate inequality.

The work of the Global Council will harness essential evidence for policymakers and elevate political attention to the need for action to end inequalities that fuel AIDS and other pandemics. Crucially, it will encourage and support frontline communities to advocate for the policy shifts necessary to fight current pandemics and better prepare for tomorrow’s outbreaks.

“The AIDS response is one of the best examples of how communities experiencing intersecting inequalities can unite to overcome them and save millions of lives,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima who is a member of the Global Council and is in Brazil for the announcement. “A broad movement of people living with and affected by HIV has brought down the price of medicines and diagnostics, strengthened national health responses, enabled the rise of a strong network of community-led organizations and secured the removal of punitive discriminatory laws in many countries. But evidence-based policies and approaches need to be applied everywhere and for everyone and sadly that’s not the case right now.” 

Gender-based inequities endanger the health of women around the world. For example, in countries including Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Liberia HIV prevalence for young women is more than 5 times more than young men of the same age—reflecting, in part, economic and education inequality.

“Gender inequality provides fuel to pandemics like AIDS and COVID-19” said the First Lady of Namibia, Monica Geingos. “It increases the vulnerability of women and girls to deadly viruses by limiting access to knowledge, financial resources, and life-choices and undermines their ability to protect themselves and their families. We have to re-imagine pandemic responses that can reduce inequality rather than exacerbate it.”

“Inequalities in access to health and other essential services are largely the result of deliberate policy choices,” said Joseph Stiglitz. “To fight future pandemics, we must learn the lessons of the HIV response and adopt inequality-busting approaches to make the world a healthier, fairer and safer place for everyone.”

Successes and failures in the HIV response provide valuable lessons on how the world can deal with future pandemics. For example, gay men are more likely to be living with HIV. But laws and policies drive the size of the gap. In Malaysia where gay men are criminalized and arrested gay men are 72 times more likely to be infected than other adults; but in Thailand where same-sex relations are legal and community pandemic response is strong, gay men are only 12 times more likely. Viruses cross population groups. These contribute to why Thailand, with lower inequality, is approaching epidemic control while Malaysia is losing ground in the fight against AIDS.

Meanwhile, the issue of inequality extends beyond HIV to other pandemics. Countries with higher income inequality, for example, have experienced greater COVID-19 mortality. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, wealthy countries spent billions of dollars on responses but almost half of developing countries were forced to cut health spending, undermining the capacity to fight global pandemics.  Several countries in Africa continue reporting significant numbers of MPox deaths during the pandemic, yet the vaccines being used in high-income countries are not available.        

Even within countries that have made good progress against HIV, some communities have struggled to benefit from the staggering pace of medical advances. In Brazil, HIV infections are falling dramatically among the white population as access to treatment is widened and new prevention tools such as PrEP are rolled out but HIV infections among the black population are still on the rise.

“Evidence-based strategies to address the social determinants of health are crucial not only for improved health outcomes for the individual but also for building stronger economies and fairer societies,” said Sir Michael Marmot, from Brasilia. “Health is a good marker of how well a society is doing overall. Health equity tells us about societal inequalities.”

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, 1 June 2023—As the world comes together to celebrate Pride Month, UNAIDS stands in solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) communities around the globe. Pride Month provides an opportunity to celebrate the resilience, diversity, and achievements of LGBTQI individuals, while also reflecting on the challenges they continue to face. This momentous occasion serves as a reminder of our collective commitment to human rights, equality, and the urgent need to decriminalize same-sex relationships.

Cleiton Euzebio, Senior Advisor for Communities and Key Populations, UNAIDS said, “As a gay man, and as an activist for social justice for all, I am so proud to work for the UN’s Joint Programme to end AIDS. The UN is standing with communities, supporting them in leading the HIV response, confronting stigma, and building societies where every person is valued. This month and every month, may everyone feel pride in who they are.”

Thanks in large part to efforts led by key populations, the world has seen substantial progress in the HIV response. The end of AIDS is possible. However, inequalities stand in the way. Discrimination, violence, and stigma against LGBTQI people persist in many parts of the world, limiting access to essential services, including HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support.

Criminalization of same-sex relationships remains a significant barrier to achieving social justice and equality for LGBTQI individuals, and to ensuring health for all. Laws that criminalize consensual same-sex activity perpetuate stigma, contribute to violence and discrimination, and obstruct access to vital healthcare services. UNAIDS calls on all governments to urgently repeal discriminatory laws and policies, and to work towards creating an enabling legal and social environment that respects and protects the rights of LGBTQI people.

The decriminalization of same-sex relationships is a crucial step in our collective efforts to end the AIDS pandemic. When marginalized communities are criminalized or stigmatized, their vulnerability to HIV infection increases, and their access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services is obstructed.

Significant gains that have been won in advancing LGBTQI rights in many parts of the world, including the decriminalization of same-sex relationships in several countries—from Angola to Singapore to Barbados. However other countries are imposing harsher criminal laws on same sex relationships. Decriminalizing homosexuality is essential to ensuring the end of AIDS.

UNAIDS will be taking part in the Geneva Pride march on 10th June. Pride Month is a vital reminder of the need for governments, civil society organizations, and individuals to join together for the protection and promotion of human rights for all, irrespective of sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. Together, we can build a world that upholds equality, justice, and dignity for everyone.

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.

Released ahead of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia – 17 May 2023

GENEVA, 15 May 2023—Around the world, 67 countries still criminalise same sex relations, with 10 imposing the death penalty. 20 countries criminalise gender diversity. Such laws hurt the public health of everyone, costing lives. Public health and human rights go hand in hand.

“The importance of decriminalising homosexuality and gender diversity cannot be underestimated,” said Christine Stegling, Deputy Executive Director, Policy, Advocacy and Knowledge, UNAIDS. “Decriminalising will save lives and is a crucial step towards equality, dignity, and health for all.”

Across all cultures, sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression are diverse. LGBTQI+ people are part of every society in every country since time immemorial, yet LGBTQI+ people continue to be marginalised and excluded—be it legally, culturally, socially or a combination of all.

Criminalisation, along with pervasive discrimination and violence, obstructs LGBTQI+ people from accessing life-saving services. In a growing number of cases, health service providers are also experiencing being harassed by vigilantes or police for providing life-saving services to LGBTQI+ people.

UNAIDS reports that in countries where same sex relations are criminalised, HIV prevalence is five times higher among gay men and men who have sex with men than in countries where same sex relations are not criminalised. Where there have been recent prosecutions, this increases to 12 times higher.

Recognizing that criminal laws have a detrimental impact on the HIV response, United Nations member states at the UN General Assembly committed to ambitious targets in the 2021 Political Declaration on HIV to remove criminal laws that are undermining the HIV response and leaving key populations behind. Recognizing decriminalisation as a critical element in the HIV response, countries made a commitment that by 2025, less than 10% of countries would have punitive legal and policy environments that affect the HIV response.

There has been a positive wave of progress. In the past year Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis, Singapore, Barbados and the Cook Islands have repealed old colonial laws which had criminalised same-sex relations. Kuwait’s court overturned a law that had criminalised “imitating the opposite sex”.

Brazil is amongst the countries driving forward progress in advancing the human rights of LGBTQI+ people. The Minister of Health and the Minister of Human Rights will announce that the country will be joining the Global Partnership for Action to Eliminate All Forms of HIV-related Stigma and Discrimination during an event on 17 May. The event will focus on access to care and justice for trans and gender-diverse communities.

However, running counter to the wave of progress is a renewed, well-funded, well-organised international drive to sow prejudice and push discriminatory and harmful new anti-homosexuality legislation and anti-trans legislation.

If enacted into law, this legislation will have extremely damaging consequences for public health, obstructing LGBTQI + people from accessing health services, and obstructing health workers from providing, life-saving services including services to prevent and treat HIV. It is vital for public health that this harmful push be stopped.

On International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, UNAIDS is calling on all countries to remove punitive laws and tackle prejudices against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. A more just, equitable and kind world is a healthier one, for everyone.

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.

Harm reduction policies and practices help people who are using drugs to stay alive and protect them from HIV and Hepatitis C

Released ahead of International Harm Reduction Day - 7 May 2023

GENEVA, 5 May 2023—Many prison systems are struggling to cope, with overcrowding, inadequate resources, limited access to healthcare and other support services, violence and drug use. In 2021, the estimated numbers of people in prisons increased by 24% since the previous year to an estimated 10.8 million people, increasing the strain on already overstretched prison systems.   

Drug use is prevalent in prisons. UNAIDS Cosponsor, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), estimates that in some countries up to 50% of people in prisons use or inject drugs. Unsafe drug injecting practices are a major risk factor for the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C due to limited access to harm reduction services, including condoms, clean needles and syringes, and a lack of comprehensive drug treatment programs, particularly opioid agonist therapy.

People in prison are 7.2 times more likely to be living with HIV than adults in the general population. UNAIDS reports that HIV prevalence among people in prisons increased by 13% since 2017, reaching 4.3% in 2021. Although data are limited, it is thought that around one in four of the total prison population has hepatitis C.

“Access to healthcare, including harm reduction services, is a fundamental human right, and no one should be denied that right because they are incarcerated,” said Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS Regional Director for Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “Prisons are too often ignored in countries' efforts to respond to HIV. A multisectoral, multifaceted approach is urgently needed to save lives, which includes access to clean needles and syringes, effective treatment for dependence on opioid drugs and reducing stigma and discrimination.”

Both drug use and HIV infection are more prevalent among women in prison than among imprisoned men. In particular, women who use drugs and sex workers are overrepresented in prisons. Highlighting the urgent need to scale up the implementation of community-led harm reduction services for women who use drugs and women in prison. 

Ms Ghada Waly, Executive Director of UNODC, said, “It is time to put compassion at the heart of our responses. To take a more serious look at de-penalization and alternatives to incarceration for minor drug offenses, focusing instead on treating and rehabilitating. To use a gender-sensitive lens when looking at women and girls who use drugs, and to ensure that they have equal access to treatment. To reach out to young people, who are using drugs more than ever before, understand their vulnerabilities to substance abuse, and help them be part of the solution. To stand with marginalized and vulnerable people, including people in prisons who are underserved by treatment programmes, and people who inject drugs, who are far more likely to be living with HIV, yet far less likely to access life-saving services”.

Among the countries reporting on prisons to UNAIDS in 2019, just 6 of 104 countries had needle and syringe programmes in at least one prison; only 20 of 102 countries had opioid substitution therapy programmes in at least one prison, 37 of 99 countries had condoms and lubricants in some prisons.

UNAIDS, UNODC, and WHO have long supported expanding harm reduction services to all prisons. However, according to Harm Reduction International, only 59 countries globally provide opioid agonist therapy in prisons.

Some countries have made huge progress in recent years. Despite the challenges faced by the influx of refugees and the repercussions of the war in Ukraine, Moldova, (which has an HIV prevalence of 3.2% in its prisons, compared to 0.4% among the general population) has committed significantly more resources into its prison systems.

In the early 2000’s few of its prisons provided harm reduction services. Today all of the country’s 17 penitentiaries provide harm reduction services including, methadone (an opioid agonist therapy), access to psychiatrists, doctors and treatment programmes, needle and syringe exchange and HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care.

Svetlana Plamadeala, UNAIDS Country Director in Moldova said, “It’s about putting people front and center, treating them as equals and taking on a solid, public health approach, grounded in human rights and evidence.”

UNAIDS, UNODC, UNFPA, WHO, ILO and UNDP recommend 15 comprehensive and essential interventions to save lives and ensure effective HIV programming in prisons. These include HIV prevention, testing and treatment, condoms, lubricant, opioid agonist therapy and post-exposure prophylaxis. However, this is only part of the solution. UNAIDS also recommends that countries amend their laws to decriminalize the possession of drugs for personal use.

UNAIDS has set ambitious targets for 2025 which include: 95% of people in prisons and other closed settings who know their HIV status, 95% who know their status are on treatment; and 95% on treatment are virally suppressed; 90% of prisoners used condoms at last sexual activity with a non-regular partner; 90% of prisoners who inject drugs used sterile needles and syringes at last injection; and that 100% of prisoners have regular access to appropriate health system or community-led services.

UNAIDS advocates that communities take an active role in planning, providing and monitoring HIV services. However, this is not always facilitated in prison settings. Without community engagement it will be impossible to reach the global AIDS targets.

For more information on Moldova’s work on HIV in prisons please read Moldova expands harm reduction services to all prisons and watch https://youtu.be/JQYtnsiJKs0

Fact sheet: UNAIDS Human rights fact sheet on HIV in prisons

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.

BANGKOK, 15 April 2023—UNAIDS applauds today’s decision by Cook Islands lawmakers to remove laws prohibiting consensual sexual acts between men from the Crimes Act. By decriminalising sex between same-sex partners, the Pacific nation joins a global movement toward affirming the human rights to non-discrimination and privacy.

“Cook Islands’ latest move is part of a wave of global progress around removing laws that harm. It will inspire countries across the Pacific, Asia and the world to follow suit. Decriminalise, save lives," said UNAIDS Asia Pacific Regional Director, Eamonn Murphy.

Criminalisation of same-sex relations undermines the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Punitive laws reinforce stigma and discrimination against LGBT people, undermining their access to the rights, remedies and opportunities available to other people. Such laws also obstruct access to vital services, including sexual and reproductive healthcare.

"This decision by Cook Islands will save lives,” said Mr Murphy. “The abolition of punitive and discriminatory colonial laws across the world is essential for public health, including for ensuring the end of AIDS.”

Bi-partisan support for the Crimes (Sexual Offences) Amendment Bill demonstrates that policy-makers, civil society and communities can dialogue to develop laws that create more just and equitable societies. 

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.

ADDIS ABABA, 20 February 2023—African leaders and partners have joined together at a high-level event on the side-lines of the 36^th Session of the African Union to commit to a set of actions to boost progress towards ending AIDS. The event, Health Financing and Sustaining Action to End AIDS and Related Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases, was co-hosted by the African Union, NEPAD, UNAIDS and PEPFAR.

During the event, heads of state and government adopted a declaration which includes commitments to take personal responsibility and provide active leadership in the AIDS response, champion science and mobilize domestic political and financial support.

African Union Development Agency – (AUDA-NEPAD) Chief Executive Officer Nardos Bekele-Thomas gave the opening remarks, stating that this was the right time to reflect on previous commitments, implementations, and what has worked and what has not. “The COVID-19 pandemic presented essential lessons that we should use to shape the future of our health systems, the African Continent spearheaded collective actions to respond better. Furthermore, we saw the private sector coming together to work with the Governments to provide services to the people that needed them.”

The commitments come at a critical time because despite unprecedented progress, AIDS in Africa is far from over. The massive impacts of the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and HIV have exposed huge weaknesses in health systems across Africa and the continent is not on track to achieve an AIDS-free Africa by 2030.

“The coming into force of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) Treaty is an important milestone for the Continent. Aligned and coordinated regulatory systems will open up the continental market for pharmaceuticals and enable our manufacturers to leverage the advantages of the ACFTA. The AUDA-NEPAD will continue taking technical leadership in the operationalisation of the AMA which will bring us a step closer in our fight against AIDS” said Nardos Bekele-Thomas.

Africa has been disproportionately affected by the AIDS pandemic with 67% of people living with HIV living on the African continent. The spread of the disease has affected every dimension of African society.

"This event is timely as it will allow us to take stock of the progress made and challenges remaining and to consider a way to end AIDS by 2030," stated H.E. Amb. Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, African Union Commission. "A roadmap that will include achieving the 95-95-95 targets, access to medicines and diagnostics, reducing new infections, diversified and sustainable financing, while closing the equity gap. Let me reaffirm that whenever our leaders take bold initiatives and actions, significant progress has always been made. I hope there will be an Extraordinary Summit dedicated to taking concrete steps towards an AIDS-free Africa by 2030," she concluded.

United in efforts to end AIDS, Africa, supported by partners including UNAIDS, PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, has achieved remarkable results. New HIV infections have been reduced by 60% since the peak in 1996 and in some countries by as much as 95%, AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 72% since the peak in 2004, and in 2021, 88% of people living with HIV in Africa knew their HIV status of whom 89% were accessing antiretroviral treatment.

However, for the first time in more than two decades, global progress against AIDS is faltering. In Africa, six out of seven new HIV infections among adolescents aged 15-19 years were among girls. Women and girls accounted 62% of all new HIV infections in 2021 and only 50% of children living with HIV received the lifesaving treatment they need.

During the event leaders committed to create a conducive structural, legal, regulatory, and policy environment that addresses persistent HIV-related equity gaps, promote gender equality, respect human rights, and eliminate discrimination and stigma against people living with HIV.

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy Ambassador Dr John Nkengasong, who oversees PEPFAR said, “When HIV/AIDS is over, establishing regional manufacturing on the Continent of Africa will be our legacy for fighting infectious disease across the Continent and globally.”

The declaration noted that weak health systems are continuing to hamper progress, including inadequate human resources for health, weak drug and commodity supply chains, insufficient quality control, inadequate integration of HIV services with other health and social services. A failure to build the capacity, fund and include community organizations as critical and valued partners in the response to HIV is also preventing accelerated progress.

Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director sees universal health care as key. “Universal Health Coverage is another opportunity for African self-reliance, creating national insurance schemes where resources are collected and insurance is rolled out for all those who cannot afford it,” she said. “This must include HIV services. People living with HIV are citizens like any other.”

There was also a deep concern that a significant share of HIV-related programmes were primarily managed, implemented, and financed by external donors rather than governments, and that less than 10% of the 55 African Union member states have met their pledge under the Abuja declaration to allocate 15% of the annual budget to the improvement of the health sector. In the new declaration, leaders committed to implement the Abuja 15% target on domestic financing for health, while transitioning away from dependence on partners’ funding.

Leaders noted with appreciation the Outline of the Roadmap to 2030: ‘sustaining the AIDS response, strengthening health systems and ensuring health security’; and its six pillars and requested the Commission, AUDA-NEPAD to develop a fully costed Roadmap to 2030 and to submit to the Assembly at its next session.

It also invited the Assembly, 10 years after the Abuja+12 to hold a Special Session on Ending AIDS, preventable Maternal deaths and Health Systems strengthening by 2030 no later than July 2024; and called on partners, especially PEPFAR, UNAIDS, The Global Fund, The African Private Sector and others, to support the implementation of this Declaration and Roadmap to 2030.

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.

WASHINGTON DC, 12 April 2023 — The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today designated the Global Health Policy and Politics Initiative at Georgetown as a United Nations Collaborating Center to support and advance policy and laws impacting HIV/AIDS with the overarching goal of addressing the inequalities driving the pandemic.

Bridging the Georgetown School of Health and the O’Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law, the Global Health Policy and Politics Initiative leverages scholarship and technical strengths of policy and law experts embedded across Georgetown University. Matthew Kavanagh, PhD, director of the Global Health Policy and Politics Initiative at the O’Neill Institute, and assistant professor of global health in the School of Health, will spearhead the Collaborating Center.

“Legal and political forces continue to shape not only AIDS but all of the pandemics of our time. With Prof. Kavanagh’s leadership, this new Collaborating Center relationship will help build on the work he did at UNAIDS over the last year and a half and deepen our joint efforts to build the law and policy environment needed to end AIDS,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, during a visit to Georgetown on April 12.

From September 2021 to January 2023, Kavanagh served as UNAIDS’ Interim Deputy Executive Director and special advisor to Byanyima in creating a new policy, advocacy, and knowledge branch at UNAIDS. Kavanagh stood up the structures to achieve the ambitious new Global AIDS Strategy focused on closing the inequalities underlying the continuing AIDS pandemic.

“As a Collaborating Center we look forward to working alongside United Nations colleagues from across the Joint Programme to explore more deeply the political determinants of health  and help inform the development of laws and policies that can help end the HIV/AIDS pandemic and build resilience for future pandemics,” said Kavanagh. “Alongside my global health colleagues at the O’Neill Institute, School of Health, and through Georgetown’s Global Health Institute, we will be able to amplify our collective work to further advance the effective use of law and policy in response to global public health challenges, including HIV.”

Work of the Global Health Policy & Politics Initiative includes the HIV Policy Lab, a collaborative effort between Georgetown University, UNAIDS, and the Global Network of People Living with HIV, to document, track, and ultimately improve HIV-related policy environments around the world as well as work on community-led monitoring and social science research on the political determinants of health.  It was founded at the O’Neill Institute, one of the world’s premier health law and policy institutes that believes that the law is a fundamental tool for solving critical health problems around the world.

“We are thrilled to partner with UNAIDS to launch this innovative Collaborating Center,” said Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, faculty director of the O’Neill Institute, which is also a designated WHO Collaborating Center. “For the past 15 years, the O’Neill Institute’s mission has been to fight for health and justice by advancing laws and policies to tackle critical health challenges worldwide. AIDS changed the world and showed the power of social mobilization. Under the extraordinary leadership of Matt Kavanagh and working with the School of Health, the Center will make a major impact on global public health and justice. I'm proud we are working in deep partnership with UNAIDS.”

“This collaboration reflects our commitment to health equity and presents new interdisciplinary opportunities for students and faculty to advance knowledge and inform policy at the nexus of inequality, law, policy, and HIV,” said Christopher J. King, PhD, dean of the School of Health, a home for scholars and students to work collaboratively across disciplines to address human health and wellbeing from various perspectives. “We are also fortunate to work alongside dedicated faculty members in Georgetown’s Global Health Institute who bring to bear significant scholarship and technical strengths in many aspects of work to eliminate HIV/AIDS.”

The agreement establishing the Collaborating Center, signed earlier today, provides a framework for inter-institutional dialogue and cooperation. In the coming months, the institutions will work to stand up a set of inequality-focused activities, develop formal, regular bilateral consultative meetings, and collaborate on sharing data and political analysis in the years ahead.

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.