Display on iconic “Bird’s Nest” highlights China’s commitment to the AIDS response

Beijing, 30 November 2008 – Chinese AIDS authorities, with the support of UNAIDS, today unveiled three giant red ribbons on the iconic National Stadium - colloquially known as ‘the Bird’s Nest’ - to mark World AIDS Day. The display illustrates China’s commitment to the AIDS response and in particular, to the fight against stigma and discrimination.

“The AIDS epidemic is not over anywhere. The AIDS ribbons on the Bird’s Nest symbolize the worldwide impact of the epidemic and the need for a unified global response,” said Dr. Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director.

The red ribbon is the international symbol of AIDS awareness and is being worn by increasing numbers of people around the world to demonstrate their care and concern about AIDS issues. The ribbon is also a symbol of hope and offers symbolic support for those living with and affected by HIV and for those who have lost friends, family members and loved ones to AIDS.

Stigma and discrimination not only impact the lives of people living with HIV negatively, but also prevents people from talking openly about AIDS, which potentially places them and others at greater risk of HIV infection. People are also less likely to come forward to be tested and will hence not benefit from available treatment if they fear discrimination.

Research shows that there remain significant levels of stigma and discrimination among the general public in China. A recently published survey report presenting the results of a survey of more than 6000 respondents in six Chinese cities showed that:

1. 30% of the respondents think children living with HIV should not be allowed to study at the same schools as children not living with HIV.
2. Nearly 65% of the respondents would be unwilling to live in the same household with an HIV+ person and 48% of interviewees would be unwilling to eat with a person living with HIV.

 “Stigma and discrimination are major obstacles in an effective response to AIDS. We need to engage all sectors of society in China to combat these issues and work together to stop the disease,” said Chen Zhu, Chinese Minister of Health.

Globally there are approximately 33 million people living with HIV. The latest estimates show that approximately 700,000 people are living with HIV in China, with approximately 50,000 new infections occurring in 2007. There were an estimated 20,000 AIDS related deaths in 2007. Sexual transmission is currently the most common way of HIV infection in China.

“Efforts such as these are essential in keeping the momentum in the AIDS response. I commend the Chinese government for illustrating their leadership in such an inspirational manner,” said Dr Piot. 

Geneva, 26 September 2008 – It is with profound sadness that UNAIDS mourns the death of Jan-Olof Morfeldt, executive director of Noak’s Ark, a Swedish AIDS organization active in prevention and providing care and support for people living with HIV.

Jan-Olof passed away on 22 September 2008 after a short battle with cancer.

A pioneer in Sweden’s work around HIV, Jan-Olof was one of the founders of Noah’s Ark – Sweden’s first organization dedicated to AIDS – and devoted tremendous energy to reaching out to people living with HIV. He took a particular interest in exploring the links between AIDS and issues such as human rights and social and economic development.

Jan-Olof was an invaluable partner to UNAIDS. He will be remembered for his efforts to increase awareness of AIDS and for speaking out on the rights of people living with HIV, not only in Sweden but globally.

Joint press release by GAVI Alliance, UNAIDS, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, UNICEF

MDGs still within reach but stronger focus on the most marginalized will be required
 
NEW YORK, 23 September 2008 – Significant progress towards reducing child and maternal mortality is being made but to meet the Millennium Development Goals 4,5,6, strategies aimed at reaching the world’s most inaccessible, marginalized and vulnerable populations will be required, health leaders said today.

Ethiopia’s Minister of Health and the heads of four leading global health organisations, the GAVI Alliance, UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and UNICEF said that immunisation coverage, large-scale campaigns to prevent malaria and access to AIDS and malaria treatments have improved in developing countries thanks to more resources, new partnerships and technologies, stable, long-term donor support and improved coordination among health actors.

Ethiopia’s Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed his country’s strong commitment to achieving the MDGs and stated that “Ethiopia is on track to meet MDG 4” but must rely on strong donor support for its national health plan to continue its progress. 

Increasing immunisation rates are recognised as essential to achieving MDG 4, a two-thirds reduction in childhood mortality by 2015, the experts said. Polio teeters on the edge of eradication; measles, a major killer of children in the poorest countries, has been dramatically reduced; malaria deaths have been cut by half in parts of Africa due to a concerted effort and expanded access and use of insecticide-treated bed nets; and the deadly Hib disease, a leading cause of meningitis, has been virtually eliminated in some parts of Africa. Last year, nearly one million more people were receiving antiretroviral therapy than in 2006, and today some three million people living with HIV are now on treatment globally – two million in sub-Saharan Africa.

Over the past eight years, global investments to fight malaria have increased ten-fold and AIDS investment eight-fold. The Global Fund alone has financed programmes worth US$11.4 billion since its creation in 2002. This unprecedented increase in resources is already showing encouraging results in reducing mortality and morbidity.

GAVI, a public-private alliance of major global health players has achieved success in delivering essential childhood vaccines in the developing world. Since its creation in 2000, GAVI’s support has prevented 2.9 million future deaths and protected 36.8 million additional children with basic vaccines. Immunisation rates have increased to more than 70% in many countries.

“Many more people are living longer and healthier lives today thanks to increased access to HIV treatment. This could not have happened without substantial financial investments and improved health systems,” said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS. “The challenge now is to sustain these gains and to ensure more equitable access for people who have been marginalized.” 

“Recent statistics show that under-five mortality continued to decline in 2007,” said Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director UNICEF.  “Continued success in measles and tetanus immunization rates, distribution of insecticide-treated nets (ITN), and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV should maintain this positive trend.”

Even with these improvements, the experts agreed that to reach the MDGs and achieve equitable distribution of public health across social, gender, ethnic and geographic levels will be more complex and costly.

“However successful we have been so far, we still face major challenges in ensuring vaccines reach the most vulnerable children.  It’s getting harder; the distances are getting greater and, in the areas we need to reach, the health systems are weakest. We must determine the best strategies with which to reach those girls and boys who are still missing out on immunisation,” said the GAVI Alliance’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Julian Lob-Levyt.

 “The progress in fighting malaria alone can reduce child mortality enough to reach the MDG 4 target,” Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, the Executive Director of the Global Fund said. “However, the great progress we have seen recently must be consolidated into lasting, sustainable progress in mother and child healthcare.” 

Pointing to the lessons learned through the AIDS response, Dr. Piot said: “Involving civil society and ensuring a rights-based approach can help strengthen health systems and deliver results to the people.”

The experts also argued that development should be led by national priorities and a country’s long-term plans.
“Altering business-as-usual and embracing a country-driven approach should be a core principle for development agencies, donor organisations and civil society organisations worldwide,” said Lob-Levyt.

For more information, contact:

Jeffrey Rowland, GAVI Alliance
+41 79 240 4559
jrowland@gavialliance.org

Edward Mishaud, UNAIDS
+41 22 791 5587  
mishaude@unaids.org

Jon Lidén, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
+41 22 791 1723
jon.liden@theglobalfund.org

Brian Hansford, UNICEF
+1 212 326 7269
bhansford@unicef.org

The GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) is a public-private partnership of major stakeholders in immunisation. It includes developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry in both industrialised and developing countries, research and technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other philanthropists.

UNAIDS is an innovative joint venture of the United Nations, bringing together the efforts and resources of the UNAIDS Secretariat and ten UN system organizations in the AIDS response. The Secretariat headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland—with staff on the ground in more than 80 countries. Coherent action on AIDS by the UN system is coordinated in countries through UN theme groups, and joint programmes on AIDS. UNAIDS’ Cosponsors include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank. Visit the UNAIDS Web site at www.unaids.org

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is a unique global public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases.
To date, the Global Fund has committed US$ 11.4 billion to more than 550 programs in 136 countries to support aggressive interventions against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Programs supported by the Global Fund have provided AIDS treatment for 1.75 million people, TB treatment for 3.9 million people, and by distributing 59 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria worldwide. The Global Fund provides a quarter of all international financing for AIDS globally and two-thirds of funding for TB and malaria.

UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

GENEVA, 23 November 2012—In the lead up to World AIDS Day 2012, three passionate advocates for an HIV-free generation will come together in UNAIDS’ first Google+ Hangout to talk about how the world is moving towards zero new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive.

On 27 November at 2:30 pm GMT (London), 9:30 am ET (New York), Annie Lennox, UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador, Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director, and Florence Ngobeni, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Ambassador, will share their insight on the global effort to end new HIV infections among children in the next 1000 days.

The Hangout will be broadcast live on UNAIDS’ Google+ page.

Viewers can submit questions to the three panellists via Twitter, using the hashtag #ZeroHIV and by posting on UNAIDS’ Facebook and Google+ pages.

“The private sector can influence these governments to do the right thing,” Schreiber said. “We call on CEOs to show your leadership by joining the pledge to end discrimination of people with HIV.”

 

See countries, fact sheets and up-to-date list of CEOs

 

Below are CEOs who have signed as of 19 July, 2012:

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Group Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank Plc

Mark Bertolini, Chairman, CEO and President, Aetna

Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive, Anglo American plc

Vincent A. Forlenza, Chairman of the Board, CEO and President, BD

Debra Lee, Chairman & CEO, BET Networks

Lamberto Andreotti, CEO, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Muhtar Kent, Chairman of the Board and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company

Glenn K. Murphy, Chairman and CEO, Gap Inc.

Jonathan D. Klein, CEO and Co-Founder, Getty Images

John C. Martin, PhD, Chairman and CEO, Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Karl-Johan Persson, CEO, H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB

Jean-François van Boxmeer, Chairman of the Executive Board/CEO, HEINEKEN NV

Bong Yong Dam, CEO, Hub One International Company Ltd.

Alex Gorsky, CEO, Johnson & Johnson

Kenneth Cole, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Kenneth Cole Productions

Chip Bergh, President & CEO, Levi Strauss & Co.

Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman, President & CEO, Merck & Co.

Heather Bresch, CEO, Mylan

David J. Stern, Commissioner, National Basketball Association (NBA)

Blake Nordstrom, President, Nordstrom, Inc.

Douglas A. Michels, President & CEO, OraSure Technologies, Inc.

Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, CEO, Vestergaard Frandsen

Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Unite

William H. Roedy, AIDS Activist and former Chairman, MTVN International

U.S. continues to account for more than half of all donor government investments

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 18, 2012— Donor nation funding in 2011 for HIV in low- and middle-income countries returned to prior levels after a drop in 2010, but has been roughly flat since the recession hit world economies in 2008, according to an annual funding analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

The study found that donor governments disbursed US$ 7.6 billion in 2011 for the AIDS response in low- and middle-income countries. Overall donor government support for AIDS has been flat since 2008, which marked the end of rapid increases in donor disbursements of more than six-fold over the 2002 to 2008 period.

“International investments still account for two thirds of funding for HIV in Africa, the continent most affected by the epidemic,” said Paul De Lay, Deputy Executive Director, Programme at UNAIDS. “Although more and more countries are increasing domestic investments for HIV, investments from donor governments remain an essential resource.”

“The benefits of early detection and treatment have never been more clear, but countries have never been more challenged to provide needed resources. This is a critical time to keep the focus on the HIV epidemic,” said Drew Altman, Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO.

The two largest donor governments – the United States and United Kingdom – reported funding increases. The United States, the largest donor nation, reported a US$785 million increase in disbursements over 2010, but only returned to 2009 levels after reporting a delay in disbursements as the reason for last year’s decline. Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway and Sweden maintained or slightly increased their support, while Ireland, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands decreased funding.  

In 2011, the United States accounted for more than half (59.2%) of total donor government disbursements, followed by the United Kingdom (12.8%), France (5.4%), the Netherlands (4.2%), Germany (4.0%) and Denmark (2.5%).

When considering what constitutes a donor’s “fair share” – which this report assesses by looking at donor resources standardized by the size of government economies – Denmark provided the highest amount of resources for AIDS in 2011, followed by the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Ireland and Sweden. The United States was sixth.

According to the latest estimates from UNAIDS, 34.2 (31.8 million to 35.9 million) people were living with HIV at the end of 2011. Nearly 35 million have died from AIDS-related causes since AIDS was first reported 31 years ago.

The new report provides that latest data available on donor funding based on data provided by governments, and were collected and analyzed by researchers as part of a collaborative effort between the Kaiser Family Foundation and UNAIDS.

The full analysis is available online at http://www.kff.org/hivaids/7347.cfm.

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 to maximize results for the AIDS response. Learn more at unaids.org and connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Kaiser Family Foundation
The Kaiser Family Foundation, a leader in health policy analysis, health journalism and communication, is dedicated to filling the need for trusted, independent information on the major health issues of the day. The Foundation is a non-profit private operating foundation, based in Menlo Park, CA with an office and conference center in Washington, D.C.