President of the Republic of Gabon to contribute to efforts in finding effective solutions to HIV and announces support to refocusing efforts on AIDS as a priority issue during UN High Level Meeting on AIDS

Geneva, 4 April 2011— The Gabonese President, Mr Ali Bongo Ondimba, has announced his commitment to play a key role in efforts to scale-up the AIDS response at the High Level Meeting on AIDS, taking place at the UN in New York from 8-10 June.

“It is a critical time in the AIDS response and more important than ever that we put the focus back onto HIV,” said President Ali Bongo Ondimba. “It is irresponsible to think that AIDS is under control when 10 million people are in need of treatment and more than 7000 people are becoming infected with HIV every day.”   

In recent years, Gabon has made real progress in its HIV response, new HIV infections have reduced by more than 25% since 2001 and access to antiretroviral therapy has increased.

During a meeting with UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, President Ali Bongo Ondima expressed his support to the AIDS response and his willingness to bring discussions on HIV to the forefront of the June 2011 UN Security Council meeting, the month that Gabon takes over as President.     

“HIV remains one of the major concerns of our time, and must stay at the very top of political agendas,” said Mr Sidibé. “President Ali Bongo Ondimba’s commitment and leadership on HIV are commendable and his engagement in the June meeting will play a major role in securing the future of the response.”

President Ali Bongo Ondimba also expressed his interest in engaging in a special Heads of State session, hosted by the President of Rwanda, which will take place during the High Level Meeting on AIDS. The session will unite leaders in shaping the future of AIDS, health and development.

UNAIDS, UNDP and WHO encourage countries to use the flexibilities as set out in the TRIPS agreement to lower costs and improve access to HIV treatment

GENEVA, 15 March 2011—The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are deeply concerned about the long-term sustainability of access to affordable HIV treatment.

In a new policy brief launched today, UNAIDS, UNDP and WHO urge countries, where appropriate, to use the intellectual property and trade flexibilities set out in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS agreement and public health, in order to reduce the price of HIV medicines and expand access to people most in need.

“We are seriously concerned about the future of HIV treatment programmes,” said Paul De Lay, Deputy Executive Director, Programme, UNAIDS. “Only about one third of people in need have access to treatment. In the current economic climate even sustaining that over the long-term will be a challenge. Countries must use all the means at their disposal, including the TRIPS flexibilities, to ensure sustainability and the significant scale up of HIV services to reach people most in need.” 

At the end of 2009, nearly 15 million people were estimated to be in need of antiretroviral treatment for HIV and 5.2 million people had access to the life-saving therapy.  

Over the last 10 years the annual cost of a first-line antiretroviral regimen for low-income countries decreased by almost 99%––from more than US$ 10 000 per person in 2000 to less than US$ 116 for the least expensive WHO-recommended first-line regimen in 2010. However, prices are still too high for many low- and middle-income countries, especially for second-line regimens.

"Millions of people in developing countries now depend on a steady supply of affordable first-line treatment for HIV. If their treatment is interrupted, which can lead to drug resistance, these patients will have to switch to a second-line regimen. That can be at least six times more expensive than the first-line regimen," said Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, Director of WHO's HIV/AIDS Department. "Making full use of trade flexibilities and other cost reduction strategies for quality medicines is now more important than ever."

The challenge is further exacerbated by an uncertain economic climate. In 2009, funding for HIV was lower than in 2008. This is putting current treatment programmes under increased strain because of reduced budgets and competing priorities. In addition, proposed bilateral and regional free trade agreements could limit the ability of developing countries to use the TRIPS flexibilities. Governments in both developed and developing countries should ensure that any free trade agreements comply with the Principles of the Doha Declaration. 

Jeffrey O’Malley, Director of UNDP’s HIV Practice said, “Using TRIPS flexibilities will allow countries to issue compulsory licences and to use other mechanisms provided by the TRIPS Agreement and Doha Declaration to obtain access to affordable generic antiretroviral medicines. This means a country could produce generic medicines at a lower cost or, if it does not have manufacturing capacity, import lower-cost, generic medicines from another country.”

Brazil issued a compulsory license for efavirenz through the TRIPS flexibilities which brought the price down by more than two-thirds, from US$ 1.60 per dose to US$ 0.45 for the generic version. Such price differences have enormous implications for the ability of national authorities and other service providers to deliver antiretroviral treatment to people in need.

Despite the opportunities provided by the TRIPS flexibilities, many countries have yet to amend their laws to incorporate them. UNAIDS, UNDP and WHO will continue to support countries, on their request, to increase access to treatment and provide technical assistance to implement the TRIPS flexibilities to scale up access to antiretroviral medicine.

UNAIDS and WHO launched the Treatment 2.0 initiative in 2010 to accelerate access to cheaper, more effective and tolerable drug combinations and diagnostics. Efforts must be maintained to spur much-needed innovation in developing new medicines and to support new intellectual property approaches. Incorporating and using the available TRIPS flexibilities will also be key to expanding access to HIV treatment in the coming years.

Bangkok, 16 February 2011—Thirty years after the first cases of HIV were diagnosed, 90 percent of countries in the Asia-Pacific region still have laws and practices that obstruct the rights of people living with HIV and those at higher risk of HIV exposure.

As part of a global drive to remove barriers to progress in the AIDS response, policymakers and community advocates will join experts from the Global Commission on HIV and the Law in Bangkok on 17 February for the first in a series of regional dialogues to be held across the world.

The Global Commission on HIV and the Law is an independent body comprising some of the world’s most respected legal, human rights and HIV leaders.  At this week’s dialogue, approximately 150 participants from 22 countries will discuss and debate region-wide experiences of restrictive and enabling legal and social environments faced by key populations in the Asia-Pacific region, including people living with HIV.

According to UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, “The law and its application can have a profound impact on the lives of people, especially those who are marginalized and disempowered.  The law is a powerful instrument to challenge stigma, promote public health, and protect human rights. We have much to learn from the positive and negative experiences in this region on the interactions between the law, legislative reform, law enforcement practices, and public health responses.”

Across the region, legislation and law enforcement often lag behind national HIV policies, with the result that the reach and effectiveness of HIV prevention, treatment and care programmes are undermined. For example, 19 countries still criminalize same-sex relations and 29 countries criminalize some aspect of sex work. Many countries in the region enforce compulsory detention for people who use drugs and in some cases (eleven countries in Asia) issue the death penalty for drug offences.

“In the Asia-Pacific region, and across the world, there are too many examples of countries with laws, policies and practices that punish, rather than protect, people in need of HIV services. Where the law does not advance justice, it stalls progress,” said Mr. Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), who will participate in the Commission’s dialogue in Bangkok. “Advancing human rights and gender equity would not only be a triumph for the AIDS response, but for human development as a whole.”

Responding on behalf of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, the Hon. Michael Kirby, Commissioner and Co-Chair of the Commission’s Technical Advisory Group stated “the effectiveness of the HIV response will depend not just on the scale up of HIV prevention, treatment and care, but on whether the legal and social environment support or hinder programmes for those who are most vulnerable. This requires bold and effective legal and policy measures to reach out to vulnerable communities and individuals at risk.”

The Regional Dialogue, hosted by the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, is jointly organized by UNDP and UNAIDS in partnership with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission on Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). In mid-2010, ESCAP’s Member States passed Resolution 66/10 in which countries committed to address policy and legal barriers to effective HIV responses.

“I am proud that, in our region, we have had such strong showing of collective will to handle these difficult issues,” said Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP. “In adopting Resolution 66/10, our Member States highlighted the urgency of ensuring universal access to comprehensive prevention programmes, treatment, care and support. A major step towards achieving these goals is to foster an equitable and just legal and policy environment, with particular regard for key populations.

Note to editors:

The Global Commission on HIV and the Law was launched in June 2010 by UNDP on behalf of the UNAIDS family to provide global leadership on HIV-related legal and human rights issues by analysing what is known about the interactions between the legal environments, human rights and HIV; fostering evidence-informed public dialogue on the need for rights-based law and policy in the context of HIV; and identifying clear and actionable recommendations with a concrete plan for follow-up.  (www.hivlawcommission.org)

The members of the Commission are: former President of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil, Commission Chair), Justice Edwin Cameron (South Africa), Ms. Ana Helena Chacón-Echeverría (Costa Rica), Mr. Charles Chauvel (New Zealand), Dr. Shereen El Feki (Egypt, Commission Vice-Chair), Ms. Bience Gawanas (Namibia), Dame Carol Kidu (Papua New Guinea), the Honourable Michael Kirby (Australia), the Honourable Barbara Lee (United States), Mr. Stephen Lewis (Canada), His Excellency Mr. Festus Mogae (Botswana), Mr. JVR Prasada Rao (India), Professor Sylvia Tamale (Uganda), Mr. Jon Ungphakorn (Thailand) and Professor Miriam Were (Kenya).

Geneva, 21 January 2011—The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) today signed a new cooperation agreement to overcome HIV-related challenges faced by many migrants.

The agreement seeks to integrate human rights and the needs of migrants and mobile populations into national and regional HIV responses and ensure universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. 

“Healthy migrants contribute significantly to achieving healthy economies,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “States and other actors in the AIDS response have a fundamental duty to ensure the safety and well-being of migrants—this must include access to HIV services.”

Under the new agreement, IOM and UNAIDS will also focus on enhancing social protection for migrants affected by HIV; stopping violence against migrant women and girls and removing punitive laws, policies, practices, stigma and discrimination related to HIV and population mobility that block effective responses to AIDS.

"Government and civil society are becoming increasingly concerned about the potential vulnerability of migrants to HIV infection. By strengthening our partnership and pooling our respective expertise on HIV and migrants, our two organizations can address this critical issue more effectively," said IOM Director General William Lacy Swing.

In addition UNAIDS and IOM will work on strengthening technical support to help governments, regional institutions and civil society reduce vulnerability to HIV among mobile and migrant populations. The two organizations will also continue cooperation on research to deepen the understanding of HIV and population mobility.

IOM and UNAIDS have a long-standing partnership, formalized in a 1999 Cooperation Framework which was updated in 2002. This is now replaced by today’s new agreement. IOM’s HIV and population mobility programme not only complements the work of UNAIDS globally, but the Organization is also part of the UN Joint Team on HIV/AIDS at the country level.  

UNAIDS is committed to improving access to HIV services for migrants and has included mobility in its Strategy 2011-2015 which states that HIV responses must create space to involve marginalized and disempowered people, such as migrants.

HIV projects are a significant part of IOM’s work, comprising the second largest area of migrant health projects implemented after health assessments. They are part of IOM’s broader efforts to ensure migrant access to health services regardless of migration status, throughout the migration process.

GENEVA, 29 December 2010—The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) congratulates Mr Bertrand Audoin on his recent appointment as Executive Director of the International AIDS Society (IAS) an association of HIV professionals with more than 19,000 members from some 190 countries working at all levels of the global response to AIDS. 

Mr Audoin will be joining the IAS from Paris, where he was the Director General of Sidaction, a leading French HIV non-governmental organization, where he was responsible for the roll out of public funds to Sidaction’s programmes in France and more than 30 low and middle-income countries around the world.

UNAIDS welcomes Mr Audoin who brings proven leadership and long experience of working on diverse HIV issues to the IAS.

Mr Bertrand will take up the position on 1 February 2011. More details on the announcement can be found at: http://www.iasociety.org/Default.aspx?pageId=99

JEDDAH, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 12 December 2010—The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for collaboration on a range of AIDS programmes in sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. The MoU was signed between IDB Group President Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali and UNAIDS Executive Director Mr Michel Sidibé at IDB headquarters in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Through this partnership, IDB and UNAIDS will collaborate on maximizing available resources and sharing information on HIV prevention and control measures. The two agencies will also pay special attention to measures aimed at preventing HIV transmission from mother to child. According to UNAIDS estimates, 1.4 million HIV-positive pregnant women live in low- and middle-income countries. In 2009 alone, there were an estimated 370 000 new HIV infections among children worldwide.

At the signing ceremony, Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali underlined the emphasis IDB Group has attached to the promotion of health services and the support it has lent to the development of health sector activities and hygiene infrastructure since its inception more than three decades ago. “Promoting health and eventually human development in IDB member countries and Muslim communities in non-member countries around the world constitute a major thrust of the IDB Group’s Vision 2020,” Dr Ali reiterated.

“The Islamic Development Bank’s investment in promoting the global fight against AIDS is welcome at a time when resources for HIV program are flat-lining,” said Mr. Michel Sidibé, after signing the memorandum. “Together, we will strive towards slowing down the spread of HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths.”

The Board also approved measures for greater internal efficiency and effectiveness and examined issues such as gender-sensitivity of AIDS responses, 'AIDS, security and humanitarian responses' and 'food and nutrition security and HIV'. 

GENEVA, 8 December 2010—The governing body of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Programme Coordinating Board (PCB), has adopted a new UNAIDS strategy to advance global progress in achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services and to halt and reverse the spread of HIV.

The strategy, for the period 2011-2015, was endorsed during the 27th Board meeting, which took place in Geneva from 6-8 December. The AIDS response is a long term investment and the strategy aims to revolutionize HIV prevention, catalyse the next phase of treatment, care and support, and advance human rights and gender equality.

Priority areas highlighted in the strategy include: stopping new HIV infections; integrating the AIDS response into other health and development efforts; setting goals to end stigma and discrimination; promoting new and innovative partnerships; and focusing on accountability and country ownership of national responses.

In his report to the Board, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé said: “Now more than ever, the AIDS response must deliver value for money. This strategy has been designed to produce high-quality, high value results far into the future.”

The UNAIDS strategy is a roadmap for the Joint Programme with concrete goals marking milestones on the path to achieving UNAIDS’ vision of “Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.”

The strategy will also be used as a reference in the lead up to the High Level Meeting on HIV in June 2011. United Nations Member States will come together next year to review progress made since the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and commit to actions in taking the response forward.

In putting the strategy into operation, UNAIDS will focus on value for money in the effective and efficient delivery of business practices. It will also ensure that resources are focused for results and guided by the Unified Budget and Accountability Framework.

At the PCB meeting, Board members strongly supported the decision to move to a single administrative system for the UNAIDS Secretariat. It encouraged ongoing efforts to use the most effective administrative policies and to minimize administrative costs by seeking the most cost-effective provision of services. 

During the meeting, the Board was presented with a comprehensive report on UNAIDS’ activities in relation to gender and HIV. This included a review of the action framework and implementation of UNAIDS’ operational plan for women and girls. The links between sexual and reproductive health and HIV were also covered.

Dr Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Co-Chair of the UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention and Nobel Prize laureate for Medicine in 2008 for her role in the discovery of HIV, addressed the PCB as its keynote speaker. The Board also held a thematic session, led by UNAIDS Cosponsor the World Food Programme, focused on food and nutrition security and HIV.

More than 300 participants and observers from UN Member States, international organizations, civil society and non-governmental organizations attended the meeting, which was chaired by the Netherlands with El Salvador acting as vice chair and Japan as rapporteur. In 2011, El Salvador will assume the role of chair, and the Board elected Poland as vice chair and Egypt as rapporteur.

The UNAIDS Executive Director’s report to the Board, the decisions, recommendations and conclusions, and an overview of all documents presented at the 27th PCB can be found at: http://www.unaids.org/en/AboutUNAIDS/Governance/27_PCB_Meeting.asp

BRASILIA, 1 December 2010—Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was awarded today the 2010 “UNAIDS Award for Leadership” in recognition of his contribution to social and economic development as well as the AIDS response.

The award, presented on World AIDS Day by UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, recognizes the key role that Mr da Silva has played in building social justice, reducing poverty and accelerating the country’s progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

“President Lula is a leader whose bold action on AIDS has changed lives around the world,” said Mr Sidibé, at the award ceremony in Brasilia. “He is a partner to developing nations, stands up against discrimination and a remover of barriers.”

Upon receiving the award, Mr da Silva said, “I am very happy to have had the opportunity to advance the Millennium Development Goals and to have helped other countries to do so. The fact that our efforts are being recognized means a lot to me. I would like to share this award with all those who have contributed to reaching these goals."

The “UNAIDS Award for Leadership” recognizes a person or an organization that has made a major and lasting contribution to restoring dignity and improving people’s lives. UNAIDS recognizes the key role leadership plays in creating an environment for positive social change and for accelerating progress in the AIDS response, health and development. The award includes a citation and a medal.

UNAIDS award citation
The citation reads as follows: “President Lula’s commitment to the idea that economic development must come with social sustainability created powerful partnerships inside Brazil and throughout the world particularly focusing on South-to-South cooperation. His search for equity significantly advanced Brazil’s economy and accelerated the country’s progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.”

About the medal
Renowned British artist David Poston designed the award, which is carved from lime wood and plated with gold. This original work of art embodies the rippling of water and its far-reaching effect—a symbolic link to leadership and its catalytic role in the AIDS response.

Members of the UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention unite on World AIDS Day to mobilize leaders for reducing new HIV infections

GENEVA, 1 December 2010—On the occasion of World AIDS Day 2010, the UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention has released a Declaration calling on world leaders to accelerate the decline in new HIV infections and spark a prevention revolution.

The Declaration was released by the co-chairs of the HIV prevention Commission, Professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, on behalf of the 19 members of the Commission.  

“It is more important than ever before to work on HIV prevention because scientists have developed an array of effective tools which if implemented could reverse the AIDS epidemic,” said Professor Barré-Sinoussi. “It is unacceptable that many countries have not made these life-saving HIV prevention tools widely available.”

A new UNAIDS report has shown that 56 countries have either stabilized or achieved significant declines in rates of new HIV infections. However, the High Level Commission finds that ebbing financial investments, lack of political commitment and ineffective prevention priorities are challenging this progress.

“HIV prevention activism is indispensible to overcome the epidemic,” said Archbishop Tutu. “Communities must receive the support and encouragement they need to mobilize against the epidemic with courage and fearless commitment.”

The UNAIDS High Level Commission on HIV Prevention was established in July 2010 and is composed of political, business, civil society and philanthropic leaders. The members have been tasked with building conviction among their peers that success in HIV prevention is possible with their support. The launch of the Declaration begins their campaign of global engagement.

The Declaration calls for a prevention revolution and features four key elements: rapid scale-up of successful prevention tactics; routinely measuring new HIV infections; assessing the commitment of political, business and non-governmental leaders to HIV prevention based on data; and protecting human rights to overcome inequities and reduce the threat posed by HIV to specific populations.

“I welcome this declaration made by the High Level Commissioners on HIV prevention,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “With their support we can move towards a world with zero new HIV infections.”

Members of the commission will participate in a series of World AIDS Day activities on 1 December to reinforce the HIV prevention message. Three members will join the UNAIDS Executive Director in Brazil to take part in World AIDS Day activities in Brasilia alongside Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

NEW YORK, 30 November 2010 - Achieving an AIDS-free generation is possible if the international community steps up efforts to provide universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, and social protection, according to “Children and AIDS: Fifth Stocktaking Report 2010,” which was released today in New York. Attaining this goal, however, depends on reaching the most marginalized members of society.

While children in general have benefited enormously from the substantial progress made in the AIDS responses, there are millions of women and children who have fallen through the cracks due to inequities rooted in gender, economic status, geographical location, education level and social status. Lifting these barriers is crucial to universal access to knowledge, care, protection, and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) for all women and children.

“To achieve an AIDS-free generation we need to do more to reach the hardest hit communities.  Every day, nearly 1000 babies in sub-Sarahan Africa are infected with HIV through mother to child transmission,” said Anthony Lake, UNICEF’s Executive Director.  “Our Fifth Stocktaking Report on Children and AIDS highlights innovations like the Mother Baby Pack that can bring life-saving ARV treatment to more mothers and their babies than ever before,” said Lake.

The World Health Organization (WHO) revised its guidelines earlier this year, to ensure quality PMTCT services for HIV-positive pregnant women and their infants. In low- and middle-income countries, 53 per cent of pregnant women living with HIV received antiretrovirals (ARVs) to prevent mother-to-child transmission in 2009, compared to 45 per cent in 2008.   One of the most significant increases occurred in Eastern and Southern Africa, where the proportion jumped ten percentage points, from 58 in 2008 to 68 per cent in 2009.

“We have strong evidence that elimination of mother-to-child transmission is achievable," said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO’s Director-General. “Achieving the goal will require much better prevention among women and mothers in the first place.”

AIDS is still one of the leading causes of death among women of reproductive age globally and a major cause of maternal mortality in countries with generalized epidemics. In sub-Saharan Africa, 9 per cent of maternal mortality is attributable to HIV and AIDS.

“Around 370,000 children are born with HIV each year. Each one of these infections is preventable,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director, UNAIDS. “We have to stop mothers from dying and babies from becoming infected with HIV. That is why I have called for the virtual elimination of mother to child transmission by 2015.”

WHO also issued new ARV guidelines for treating infants and children, paving the way for many more children with HIV to be eligible for immediate antiretroviral treatment (ART).

In low and middle-income countries, the number of children under the age of 15 who received treatment rose from 275,300 in 2008 to 356,400 in 2009. This increase means that  28 per cent of the 1.27 million children estimated to be in need of ART receive it.

Infants are particularly vulnerable to the effects of HIV, which has lent an urgency to the global campaign for early infant diagnosis.  While the availability of early infant diagnosis services has increased dramatically in many countries, global coverage still remains low, at only 6 per cent in 2009. Without treatment, about half of the infants infected with HIV die before their second birthday.

In most parts of the world, new HIV infections are steadily falling or stabilizing. In 2001, an estimated 5.7 million young people aged 15–24 were living with HIV. At the end of 2009, that number fell to 5 million. However, in nine countries – all of them in southern Africa – at least 1 in 20 young people is living with HIV.

Young women still shoulder the greater burden of infection, and in many countries women face their greatest risk of infection before age 25. Worldwide, more than 60 per cent of all young people living with HIV are female. In sub-Saharan Africa, that figure is nearly 70 per cent.

“We need to address gender inequalities, including those that place women and girls at disproportionate risk to HIV and other adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes” said Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO. “While we are encouraged by a decline in HIV incidence among young people of more than 25 per cent in 15 key countries in sub-Saharan Africa between 2001 and 2009, we must do everything possible to sustain and increase such positive trends in order to achieve Universal Access to prevention, treatment, care and support.”

Adolescents are still becoming infected with HIV because they have neither the knowledge nor the access to services to protect themselves. Attaining an AIDS-free generation means erasing the inequities that fuel the epidemic and protecting those who continue to fall through the cracks.  Social protection initiatives – including cash transfers and efforts to promote access to services – play an important role in breaking the cycle of vulnerability. The report also emphasizes the importance of tailoring education programmes to target the most vulnerable youths – those who are out of school – with information about HIV prevention.

"We must increase investments in young people’s education and health, including sexual and reproductive health, to prevent HIV infections and advance social protection," said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. “Reaching marginalized young people, including vulnerable adolescent girls and those who are not in school, must remain a priority"