Ahead of the UN High-level Meeting on Millennium Development Goals, UNAIDS calls on all countries to review progress and barriers for achieving national targets for universal access. 

Gaborone/Geneva, 18 February 2010 – UNAIDS is calling for an international effort to renew commitment for countries to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. Countries are urged to undertake an open and inclusive consultation process—bringing together governments, development partners, civil society organizations, networks of people living with HIV and community groups to review the progress made in reaching country targets for universal access. UNAIDS will support countries and regional bodies in convening these reviews.

The call to action was made by UNAIDS Executive Director Mr Michel Sidibé while on an official visit to Botswana.

“Universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support is about achieving equity. This is a groundbreaking global movement that is saving millions of lives,” said Mr Sidibé. “However progress has been uneven so now we need to take stock of what’s working and what is not and to link future national progress in AIDS to the Millennium Development Goals.”

UNAIDS has lauded Botswana in its progress towards achieving its universal access targets. Despite having one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, the country has been able to provide antiretroviral treatment to more than 80% of people in need. It has also made significant strides in preventing mother to child transmission of HIV, achieving over 93% coverage in 2009. Botswana was one of the first countries in Africa to adopt universal access targets.
 
“Our success has been possible due to strong commitment on part of the government, development partners and civil society to collectively set ambitious targets and overcome bottlenecks,” said Lesego Motsumi, Botswana’s Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration. “In this regard we welcome the UNAIDS call to review our progress made in achieving universal access to guide us in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.”

The universal access movement was launched in 2006 when UN member states signed a political declaration to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. Its aim is to ensure that people everywhere have access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010. Countries affirmed their commitments by setting ambitious national targets. However progress towards these targets has varied—with some countries exceeding some of their targets but not reaching others.

"It is now time for people living with HIV, community groups and our governments to sit down together and talk honestly about where we are and where we need to go to change the course of the epidemic," said David Ngele, a representative of the Botswana Network of People living with HIV.

The country and regional level reviews, which will take place in all regions of the world, will utilize the data collected for the 2010 country progress reports as the basis to identify barriers and strategies to meet their targets in 2010 and beyond. UNAIDS will convene an international advisory team to analyze the review reports and make recommendations on how to redouble progress towards universal access.

UNAIDS is committed to ensure that regional bodies for political, social and economic cooperation are engaged in supporting this process, which will take place over the course of 2010. “In Africa, this process will enable countries across the continent to measure their progress against the commitments made at the African Union in Brazzaville in 1996 to reach universal access by 2010,” said Mr Sidibé.

The 2010 reviews will provide a forum to hold partners accountable as well as celebrate achievements. In addition, implementers and policy makers can jointly chart out new strategies to remove programme implementation barriers. These consultations will provide an opportunity to analyze existing approaches to HIV prevention, identifying gaps and priorities. The process should catalyze a prevention revolution that aims for zero new HIV infections including the elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission.  It will also help countries re-adjust their plans on access to HIV treatment based on the new treatment guidelines and begin thinking about treatment 2.0 ─ a new generation of treatment options that are sustainable.

The ongoing economic crisis and the ensuing cuts in national budgets and international aid investments have exposed the vulnerabilities of national AIDS programmes. The reviews will include an assessment of current AIDS spending patterns and propose new investment options that are aligned to local epidemic trends, and increase efficiencies.
Outcomes of the review are expected to result in the revision of national strategic frameworks, rejuvenating national AIDS responses. These reviews will provide countries with an impetus to accelerate progress towards achieving national universal access targets as a means to realizing the Millennium Development Goals.

With scale-up of programme to national level, 16,000 child HIV infections could be averted

Nairobi, 11 January 2010 – Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, and Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, visited one of the Millennium Villages in Sauri (western Kenya) to witness first-hand the progress that has been made in fighting poverty, boosting agricultural productivity, increasing access to health care and education, and creating an enabling environment for communities to build and sustain economic growth. Their visit focused particularly on efforts to virtually eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission and was part of an official five-day visit to Kenya.

UNAIDS and the Millennium Village project joined forces in September 2009 to strengthen prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services at the village level with the aim of creating "MTCT-free zones". In the Millennium Villages, PMTCT services are integrated within the maternal-child health package and a continuum of care is offered to the mother from the antenatal period through delivery and the postnatal period. Levels of HIV testing among pregnant women in the Millennium Village sites have increased from 10% at baseline to over 60% in three years. The UNAIDS-MVP partnership will further improve on these gains by decreasing the incidence of HIV among women, meeting needs for modern contraceptives and blocking transmission from mothers to their babies.

“UNAIDS brings unrivaled global expertise, leadership, and detailed strategies to the fight against HIV/AIDS, including PMTCT," said Sachs. "The MVP brings the power of integrated rural development, including primary health systems, to the fight against poverty, hunger, and disease. By teaming up, UNAIDS and MVP will design and implement a powerful system to bring MTCT to near zero, and do so in a way that can be utilized in other parts of Africa and the world. I am profoundly grateful to Michel Sidibé and his colleagues at UNAIDS for this unique partnership, and know how much my colleagues throughout the MVP are looking forward to learning from and working together with UNAIDS.”

In 2008, 390,000 infants in sub-Saharan Africa became infected with HIV from their mothers. “AIDS has become the leading cause of the death among infants and young children in much of sub-Saharan Africa,” said Michel Sidibé. “We have seen that it is possible to virtually eliminate infant HIV infections in high-income countries through HIV testing of pregnant women, contraception, and the use of antiretroviral drugs during and after delivery. Now we must apply the knowledge and tools to create an AIDS-free generation in Africa and the rest of the world. The move towards universal prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission requires translating scientific evidence into routine practice. With a concerted effort, we can fully curb the mother-to-child transmission of HIV and bear witness as an HIV-free generation is born in Africa and the world,” said Sidibé.

The Millennium Villages Project (MVP), a partnership between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), The Earth Institute at Columbia University, Millennium Promise, and local governments, provides a new approach to fighting poverty. Now covering approximately 500,000 people and growing, the project is showing the development community worldwide that an integrated package of development interventions, supported by a modest financial investment-about $110 per person annually over five to ten years-will be instrumental to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Improving child survival and reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV remains a key focus of this effort.

As a result of the MVP, there are now six health centers in Sauri, where between 60-70% of people live on less than US$1 per day. Health throughout the Sauri village cluster has improved greatly since the project was set up in 2005 with a reduction in malaria cases, significant improvements in maternal and child health, and increased access to HIV testing and treatment.

The partnership between UNAIDS and MVP focuses specifically on achieving Millennium Development Goal 4 (reduce child mortality), Goal 5 (improve maternal health), and Goal 6 (combat HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other diseases) by 2015 by decreasing the incidence of HIV among women, meeting couple's needs for modern contraceptives and blocking transmission from mothers to their babies.

Michel Sidibé, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, and Abdou Diouf, the Secretary-General of La Francophonie, at the signing ceremony, 15 December, 2009.
Credit: F. Nebinger

Paris, 15 December 2009 - This Tuesday, 15 December 2009, Michel Sidibé, the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and Abdou Diouf, the Secretary-General of La Francophonie, signed a Framework Agreement on Cooperation between their respective organizations.

At the signing of this Joint Declaration, which coincides with the 25th Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie in Paris, Secretary-General Abdou Diouf expressed his satisfaction: « Our sense of purpose has been strengthened by the new challenges before us, as emphasized by our joint advocacy for the noble cause of AIDS control in the French-speaking world. We have a duty of solidarity to seek ways to invigorate and strengthen ties between La Francophonie and UNAIDS, which plays such a crucial role in this area ».

According to Michel Sidibé, « Today the international community needs to take the fight to AIDS. Thanks to this Agreement, the expertise of countries in La Francophonie can be put to more effective use. The cooperation forged in this area will enable us to develop initiatives and specific partnerships ».

Focusing on institutional dialogue between governments, partners, stakeholders in the field and civil society, IOF and UNAIDS will thus strengthen their collaboration for the benefit of the peoples of the French-speaking world, specifically the most vulnerable. AIDS response aims to ensure universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support. This approach mainstreams the human rights perspective and enhances solidarity, particularly in respect of women and victims of crises and conflicts, which is precisely where the expertise of La Francophonie can make a difference.

The main areas of cooperation, which have been identified with the Operating agencies of La Francophonie, could thus be embodied in new tailor-made agreements built around the themes of democracy and human rights, including legislative aspects of HIV, and education and research, in conjunction with the University Agency of La Francophonie (AUF) and the Senghor University of Alexandria. The International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF) will act as the partner for all city- and community-based activities, and TV5MONDE will handle publicity and awareness-raising.

It should be recalled that UNAIDS, as an official partner, conducted an HIV awareness-raising programme at the Francophonie Games in Beirut this autumn. In addition, back in 2000, the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (APF) established a parliamentary network for AIDS control in Africa.

For more information, visit www.francophonie.org and http://www.unaids.org/fr/  

Red Ribbon Award - supporting community organisations to respond to the AIDS epidemic

1 December 2009 –– On this year’s World AIDS Day the UNAIDS family and the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) are announcing a global call for nominations for the 2010 Red Ribbon Award. The Award honours community-based organisations for their contributions in responding to the AIDS epidemic.
 
The call has been made on World AIDS Day as people around the world come together in global solidarity for people living with HIV. This year’s theme is Human Rights and Universal Access which has been chosen to address the critical need to protect human rights and ensure universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
“I am pleased by the emphasis this year on upholding human rights,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “Previous Red Ribbon honorees are an example to us all on how to act with dignity in the face of adversity. The work of community-based organizations will be more effective if not hampered by discrimination against people living with HIV and populations most at risk, including sex workers, drug users and men who have sex with men.”

The biennial award, which will be presented at next summer’s International AIDS Conference in Vienna, will be awarded to 25 organisations which have shown outstanding community leadership and action on AIDS.

“This prestigious award draws attention to the exceptional work of community organizations all over the world working at the forefront of the response to the epidemic,” said Mr. Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). “I look forward to hearing more about the outstanding work these groups are doing,” he added.

The Red Ribbon Award aims to provide a global platform for communities touched by HIV. All 25 awardees will receive a monetary prize of US$ 5,000 and five of the awardees will receive special recognition and an additional US$ 15,000 award. The five award categories for outstanding community leadership and action on AIDS are:

• Ensure that that people living with HIV receive treatment
• Support HIV prevention, treatment and care programmes for people who use drugs
• Remove punitive policies and laws, stigma and discrimination that block effective AIDS responses and marginalize key populations (men who have sex with men, transgender, sex workers and people in prisons)
• Stop violence against women and girls and promote gender equality
• Enhance social support for those affected by HIV, including orphans and vulnerable children

UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador Naomi Watts, attending a World AIDS Day event in New York said. “I am proud to be part of this initiative. The award winners are small organizations, with limited resources at their disposal, yet they do outstanding work that will now be recognized globally. The efforts of these community organizations may seem like they create tiny sparks. Together, however, these sparks provide a vibrant light”. 

The Red Ribbon Award is supported by the entire UNAIDS family and the organisers of the XVIII International AIDS Conference where representatives from the 25 winning organizations will anchor an innovative community dialogue space to discuss their priorities, highlight their challenges, and engage with global leaders.

“Building a robust response to HIV is essential for advancing the Millennium Development Goals. Community-based organizations play a vital role in this response – helping to empower women and girls, tackle poverty and stigma, and improve community health,” said United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark. “The Red Ribbon Award presents a unique opportunity to support the work of local organizations, whose efforts and successes will determine our ability to reverse the tide of the HIV epidemic and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.”

Winning a Red Ribbon Award is highly coveted by community organizations around the world, because the recognition it brings often leads to other awards, more visibility, more funding and other types of additional support.

“This is more than an award programme,” said Daphne Gondwe from the Coalition of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi, a 2008 winner. “Ultimately, the Red Ribbon Award aims to support creative and sustainable ways to provide care, treatment and support to people living with HIV in our communities.”

Nominations will be accepted from 1 December 2009 through 28 February 2010. Information can be found on www.redribbonaward.org  or by contacting redribbonaward@undp.org. All community-based organisations working to halt and reverse the spread of HIV are encouraged to apply.

NEW YORK, 19 November 2009 – A special edition issue of UNICEF's flagship The State of the World's Children report, tracking the impact of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the challenges that remain, was released today on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Convention’s adoption by the UN General Assembly.

“The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most ratified human rights treaty in human history,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. “It has transformed the way children are viewed and treated throughout the world.”

The Convention has 193 ratifications, the process by which countries decide to be bound by the articles of an international treaty. It articulates a set of universal children’s rights, such as the right to an identity, a name and a nationality, the right to an education, and rights to the highest possible standards of health and protection from abuse and exploitation.

These rights are based on four core principles – non-discrimination; the best interest of the child as primary consideration in matters that affect them; rights to life, survival and development, and respect for the views of children.

The Convention also identifies the obligation of governments to do all they can to deliver these rights, and acknowledges the special role of parents in their children’s upbringing.

The State of the World’s Children report describes the timeless relevance of the Convention.

More than seventy countries have incorporated children’s codes into national legislation based on the Convention’s provisions, and awareness and advocacy on child protection issues have increased markedly since the Convention was opened for signature 20 years ago.

Considerable progress has been made through the past twenty years:

1. The annual number of deaths of children under five years of age has fallen from around 12.5 million in 1990 to an estimated 8.8 million in 2008, representing a 28 per cent decline in the rate of under five mortality;
2. Between 1990 and 2006, 1.6 billion people world-wide gained access to improved water sources;
3. Globally, around 84 per cent of primary-school-age children are in class today and the gender gap in primary school enrolment is narrowing;
4. Children are no longer the missing face of the HIV and AIDS pandemic;
5. Important steps have been taken to help protect children from serving as soldiers or trafficked into prostitution or domestic servitude; and
6. The age of children getting married is rising in some countries and the number of girls subjected to genital cutting is gradually falling.

But children’s rights are still far from assured, according to UNICEF.

“It is unacceptable that children are still dying from preventable causes, like pneumonia, malaria, measles and malnutrition,” said Veneman. “Many of the world’s children will never see the inside of a school room, and millions lack protection against violence, abuse, exploitation, discrimination and neglect.”

The rights of girls still require special attention. The majority of children who do not attend primary school are girls, and girls are more likely to suffer sexual violence, to be trafficked or to be forced into child marriage. In many regions they are less likely to receive essential healthcare.

The report includes special expert essays from public and private sector representatives, alongside examples of the child rights situation in a range of countries.

Many of the expert essays offer advice on the role the Convention can have, in an increasingly populous, urbanized and environmentally challenged world, over the next 20 years and beyond. The report also provides a range of suggestions that could ensure the protection of children’s rights continues to advance.

More than 160 events are taking place worldwide commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Convention. The special edition of The State of the World’s Children is part of UNICEF’s contribution to those commemorations, which also includes jointly hosting, with civil society and government partners, a global commemoration and panel discussion to be held at the United Nations Headquarters on the 20th of November.

“The big challenge of the next 20 years is to firmly position the best interests of children at the heart of all human activity,” said Veneman. “It is our collective responsibility to ensure every child’s rights to survival, development, protection and participation."

More on the CRC

About UNICEF

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.

Attention editors and broadcasters: Multi media packages including photos and b-roll will be available starting from 16th of November at www.thenewsmarket.com/unicef

For further information, embargoed copy of the report, interviews with experts, please contact:

Rebecca Fordham, UNICEF Media, 1 212 326 7162,
rfordham@unicef.org  

Kate Donovan, UNICEF Media, 1 212 326 7452,
kdonovan@unicef.org  

U.S. and European philanthropic funding for HIV/AIDS has decreased among most funders since 2006.

New York, N.Y. and Brussels, 17 November 2009 – Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA) and the European HIV/AIDS Funders Group (EFG) released new reports today documenting that HIV/AIDS-related philanthropy in 2008 totaled $618 million among U.S.-based philanthropies and €91 million ($134 million) among European-based philanthropies.

While total HIV/AIDS philanthropy funding among U.S.-based funders increased in 2008 over 2007 by approximately $63 million (11%), this is only due to an increase in funding by the world’s largest private foundation engaged in AIDS work, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Without funding from the Gates Foundation, estimated expenditures by U.S.-based philanthropies remained flat from 2006 to 2007 and decreased slightly (by approximately 3%) from 2007 to 2008. The reports show that total funding for HIV/AIDS by European-based philanthropies was lower in 2008 compared with 2007 by approximately €1.7 million (1%), and total funding has decreased by approximately €5 million (7%) since 2006.

“Private philanthropic donations make a significant contribution to the AIDS response, notably in supporting critical research and for HIV prevention and treatment programmes for key populations and people at higher risk of infection,” said Paul De Lay, Deputy Executive Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). “However, we are still facing tremendous challenges and the continued commitment and support from philanthropic donors is essential for an effective response to the epidemic.”

The reports are released amidst growing attention on the now vulnerable global financial response to the AIDS epidemic. FCAA and EFG, joined by UNAIDS, commend the vital and momentous work of HIV/AIDS funders in 2008, but express concerns about the decrease in total funding among European funders and U.S. funders other than the Gates Foundation since 2006.

Current economic and epidemiological realities demand greater resources for HIV/AIDS, not acceptance of stable levels, and more effective uses of the resources at hand. “Funders should be creative and committed in their efforts to increase HIV funding and to sharpen the focus and impact of their existing HIV/AIDS programs,” said Astrid Bonfield, EFG Chair, “to sustain the momentum made and ensure support to people living with and affected by HIV, even in tougher financial times.”

While the recent global economic crisis has meant that increasing or even maintaining a stable level of HIV financing through 2008 has been a challenge for some funders, the needs of individuals and communities affected by HIV/AIDS have not levelled off since 2006; they continue to grow. The economic downturn has exacerbated the situation as it disproportionately impacts poorer countries, home to the vast majority of the tens of millions of people affected by HIV/AIDS.

“Private philanthropic funders have a unique opportunity to fund populations and issues that governments and other donors are reluctant to prioritize because they are too specific or controversial,” said John Barnes, newly appointed Executive Director of FCAA. “These are the programs that are more vulnerable to public budget cuts because they have less political support.”

Other key findings include:

1. In both the U.S. and Europe, HIV/AIDS-related philanthropic funding remained concentrated among a relatively small number of funders in 2008. In the U.S. the top 10 funders (ranked by total expenditures) accounted for 82% of all HIV/AIDS-related expenditures, and 84% of all expenditures amongst the top 10 funders in Europe.
2. The majority of funding by both U.S. and European-based philanthropies in 2008 was directed to addressing the epidemic outside of these regions (84% of all U.S. and 63% of all European HIV/AIDS philanthropic expenditures).
3. Projections by U.S.-based funders for 2009 suggest that HIV/AIDS-related funding will decrease, with 42% of funders forecasting anticipated decreases for 2009, and only 15% of funders expected their funding to increase in 2009. Among European-based funders, projections suggest that HIV/AIDS-related philanthropy funding levels may increase, with 60% of funders forecasting anticipated increases for 2009.

UNAIDS, FCAA and EFG emphasize that philanthropy has a critical role to play in the AIDS response on the basis of flexibility, ability to innovate and take risks, and political independence.

The FCAA and EFG annual resource tracking reports intend to inform stakeholders about the overall distribution and trends of U.S. and European HIV/AIDS philanthropic funding, to facilitate greater co-ordination and transparency among funders and encourage expanded philanthropic support for HIV work.

About FCAA

Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA) was founded in 1987 with the goal of mobilizing philanthropic leadership, ideas and resources - domestically and internationally - to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic and its social and economic consequences. FCAA is the only U.S.-based organization comprised of and for private philanthropic institutions engaged in the response to HIV/AIDS.

About EFG

The European HIV/AIDS Funders Group (EFG) is a knowledge-based network dedicated to strengthening European philanthropy in the field of HIV/AIDS. The group aims to mobilize philanthropic leadership and resources to address the global HIV/AIDS pandemic and its social and economic consequences and to promote an enabling environment for strategic, creative and independent giving in this field.

About UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) brings 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. The Cosponsors include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank. Contributing to achieving global commitments to universal access to comprehensive interventions for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support is the number one priority for UNAIDS. Visit the UNAIDS website at www.unaids.org  

GENEVA/New York, 21 September 2009 – The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the Millennium Villages Project are entering into a partnership in a bid to eliminate the transmission of HIV from mothers to their children in Africa. The agreement is being signed at a ceremony in New York today in the presence of leading figures from the business world and prominent African leaders including two heads of state.

The aim of the partnership is to help local governments create “Mother to child transmission-free zones” in 14 ‘Millennium Villages’ across ten African countries. The new initiative will use the existing infrastructure, human capacity and technical resources in the villages, to help rapidly expand family- and community-centered heath services to stop new HIV infections among children.

The ceremony is being held under the auspices of President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal. President Wade said, “I salute this partnership to help protect mothers and their children from HIV. This initiative will mobilize resources and generate political will to save young lives, leading to a generation of African children born free of HIV.”

Also speaking at the ceremony will be Dr. Lydia Mungherera, a Ugandan HIV prevention activist representing the organizations HIV+ and TASO. Participating in a panel discussion at the event will be: the Executive Director of UNICEF, Ms Ann M. Veneman, the Minister of State of Mali, Mr. Abou Sow; the South African Minister of Health Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi; and Ambassador Eric Goosby, MD, the United States Global AIDS Coordinator.

The majority of children born with HIV each year are in sub-Saharan Africa, where services to prevent mother-to-child transmission in the region remain uneven. Less than half of pregnant women living with HIV receive antiretroviral prophylaxis—essential to preventing newborns from contracting the virus.
 
“In the whole of Western Europe, there were fewer than 100 mother-to-child transmissions in 2007, whereas in sub-Saharan Africa, there were some 370,000,”said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “We have a major opportunity now to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Africa and save thousands of lives each year.”

Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, said, “We will work with national and multilateral partners to develop and promote safe, appropriate, and effective models that can be implemented across sub-Saharan Africa. Creating these zones free of mother-to-child transmission of HIV will inform national policies and enable the transfer of these practices for implementation wherever newborns are at risk for HIV.”

In high income countries, transmission of HIV to children has fallen from 25% to between 1% and 5% in recent years as HIV testing and counselling of pregnant women, the use of antiretroviral drugs during and after delivery, and safe infant feeding has become common practice.

Recent evidence from Africa suggest that practical, locally appropriate and cost-effective clinical regimens can reduce HIV transmission from mothers to their children from current rates which are at around 30%-35% to as low as 1%-2%.

The Millennium Villages are a collaborative project of the Earth Institute, the Millennium Promise organization, the United Nations Development Program, and an array of local governments. They operate a model primary health system and include education, nutrition and economic development. The primary health systems include; free services at the point of care; trained professional community health workers; a network of adequately staffed primary clinics; access to a mobile communication network and emergency transport services to facilitate referrals; and a local referral hospital to support second-tier care. The system houses a monitoring and evaluation platform that can readily assess the adequacy, uptake and impact of HIV testing and counseling and family centered HIV prevention services.

The initiative will bring together a multi-sectoral and science-based development and primary health care strategy, drawing on UNAIDS’ expertise in community and family centered prevention of mother to child transmission and greater involvement of people living with HIV, to help local governments create “transmission-free zones” in the Millennium Village sites. This initiative is part of the UNAIDS Secretariat and its Cosponsors’ business plan to keep children free from HIV, and will help accelerate progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

The ten countries that are home to the 14 Millennium Villages are Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda. The Villages, located in disadvantaged rural areas, are home to approximately 500,000 people.

The partnership signing ceremony is taking place during the Second Annual Millennium Promise Partners’ Meeting, bringing together business leaders from around the world and foundation heads dedicated to mobilizing support for the Millennium Villages and achievement of the MDGs. 

South Africa captain Graeme Smith encourages youngsters to be aware and take responsibility to reduce the spread of HIV

Johannesburg, 17 September 2009 - Some of the world’s best-known cricketers will appear in the latest THINK WISE public service announcements, which have been released today (Thursday 17 September) ahead of the start of the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 in South Africa.

The campaign features messages and information to raise awareness about HIV which the organisers hope will make a positive impact on the lives of young people across the world and help to prevent new HIV infections.

Around 10 million people living with HIV are from Test playing countries. This accounts for more than a quarter of all the people across the world who are HIV-positive. South Africa is the country most affected with some 5.7 million people living with the disease. According to the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa nearly 9% of young people aged 15-24 are living with HIV in the country.

HIV prevalence in young people does appear to be declining in South Africa, however, concerns remain regarding multiple and concurrent partnerships and intergenerational relationships that contribute to infections among the young.

South Africa captain, Graeme Smith, who is also a THINK WISE champion, believes it is very important to address the issues of HIV in his country. He said:

“HIV is a worrying issue in South Africa but we all have the responsibility to make the right decisions and take the right steps forward. Through my role as a THINK WISE champion I hope to do my bit to raise awareness and reduce the stigma associated with HIV to help the country move forward.”

These sentiments were shared by Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka captain and fellow THINK WISE champion, who said:

“This is a disease - it doesn't make you a social outcast. People who live with HIV should not have to sit on the side and be a victim of ignorance. The stigma around HIV today is very sad and I think we have a long way to go to eradicate it, but we must start somewhere and the THINK WISE initiative is a great stepping stone.”

The two captains are joined by Virender Sehwag of India, Australia’s Nathan Bracken and England women’s cricketer Isa Guha, a member of this year’s ICC Women’s World Cup and ICC World Twenty 20 winning sides, in championing HIV awareness around major cricket events. This leg of the campaign builds on the launch of THINK WISE at the ICC World Twenty 2009 and will aim to confront a lack of education and awareness about HIV and the stigma associated with the virus.

Five public service announcements (PSAs) featuring the THINK WISE champions will be shown during the tournament on big screens at grounds, on the official event website (iccevents.yahoo.com) as well as by broadcasters across the globe. The PSAs show some of the champions meeting young people in South Africa and teaching them about how they can ‘THINK WISE’.

The THINK WISE initiative builds on a long-term partnership between the ICC, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), UNICEF and the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI) that for more than five years has reached out to the cricketing community to work together to respond to global AIDS crisis.

By working with some of the game’s top players, the THINK WISE partnership aims to:

1. Raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic within the cricket community
2. Address stigma and discrimination surrounding the disease and experienced by people living with and affected by HIV
3. Encourage informed decision making and safe behaviours to continue to prevent new infections through targeted information and outreach.

The THINK WISE partnership seeks to educate cricket players, coaches, commentators, broadcasters, volunteers and spectators about the AIDS epidemic, particularly around prevention, and deliver these messages at major ICC events and through broadcast which reaches an audience in 184 territories.

In support of people living with HIV, players and match officials will wear red ribbons, the universal symbol of support for people affected by the disease, in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2009.

The THINK WISE partnership will also be arranging a visit during the tournament for some of the champions to visit a local project which helps to educate youngsters about the virus.

To find out more details about the THINK WISE partnership and to view the public service announcements go to website.

Notes to editors

Broadcasters interested in downloading the THINK WISE Public Service Announcements can access these at www.nuview.tv. (Broadcasters can contact Ben Cummings, ben.cummings@icc-cricket.com, +971 50 640 8759 for further guidance on the downloads).

The THINK WISE champions are

1. Nathan Bracken, Australia
2. Isa Guha, England
3. Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka
4. Virender Sehwag, India
5. Graeme Smith, South Africa

The ICC has been working with UNAIDS since 2003 to respond to HIV in cricket-playing countries. In 2006, we both joined with UNICEF in the prominent partnership which supports the “Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS” campaign.

In 2007, the ICC also began working with the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI) to deliver messages to a regional and global broadcast audience, working alongside the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership (CBMP) on HIV/AIDS and the African Broadcast Media Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (ABMP).

A series of activities have been delivered at major events including the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, the ICC World Twenty20 2007 and the ICC World Twenty20 2009. This has included leading cricketers visiting local community projects and players wearing red ribbons to show their support for people living with HIV.

UNAIDS

UNAIDS is an innovative joint venture of the United Nations, bringing together the efforts and resources of the UNAIDS Secretariat and 10 UN system organisations in the AIDS response. The secretariat headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland with staff on the ground in more than 80 countries. The co-sponsors include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank. Contributing to achieving global commitments to universal access to comprehensive interventions for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support is the number one priority for UNAIDS. Visit the UNAIDS website at www.unaids.org.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

UNICEF is on the ground in more than 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. Visit the UNICEF website at www.unicef.org.

Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI)

Launched in 2004 by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in coordination with the Kaiser Family Foundation and UNAIDS, the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI) mobilizes leading media companies around the world to leverage their vast resources to address AIDS. Through large-scale regional coalitions of media in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Eastern Europe – a network that includes more than 300 media companies – the GMAI leverages the communication power of mass media to get out information about HIV and challenge stigma related to the disease. Visit the GMAI website at www.thegmai.org.

Bali, 11 August 2009 – An estimated 50 million women in Asia are at risk of becoming infected with HIV from their intimate partners. Evidence from many Asian countries indicates that these women are either married or in long-term relationships with men who engage in high-risk sexual behaviours. These findings are published in a new report by UNAIDS, its Cosponsors and civil society partners entitled HIV Transmission in Intimate Partner Relationships in Asia, being released today at the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific in Bali.

The HIV epidemics in Asia vary between countries in the region, but are fuelled by unprotected paid sex, the sharing of contaminated injecting equipment by injecting drug users, and unprotected sex among men who have sex with men. Men who buy sex constitute the largest infected population group – and most of them are either married or will get married. This puts a significant number of women, often perceived as ‘low-risk’ because they only have sex with their husbands or long-term partners, at risk of HIV infection.

It is estimated that more than 90% of the 1.7 million women living with HIV in Asia became infected from their husbands or partners while in long-term relationships. By 2008, women constituted 35% of all adult HIV infections in Asia, up from 17% in 1990.

“HIV prevention programmes focused on the female partners of men with high-risk behaviours still have not found a place in national HIV plans and priorities in Asian countries” said Dr Prasada Rao, Director, UNAIDS Regional Support Team Asia and the Pacific, speaking at the launch of the report. “Integration of reproductive health programmes with AIDS programmes and the delivery of joint services to rural and semi-urban women are the key to reducing HIV transmission among intimate partners.”

In Cambodia, India and Thailand, the largest number of new HIV infections occur among married women. In Indonesia, where HIV was initially concentrated among drug users, the virus is now spreading quickly into sex work networks, including long-term partners and sex workers. Research from several Asian countries indicates that between 15% and 65% of women experience physical and/or sexual violence in intimate partner relationships, placing them at increased risk of HIV infection. According to studies in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, women exposed to intimate partner violence from husbands infected with HIV through unprotected sex with multiple partners were seven times more likely to acquire HIV compared to women not exposed to violence and whose husband did not have sex with multiple partners.

The strong patriarchal culture in Asian countries severely limits a woman’s ability to negotiate sex in intimate partner relationships, according to the report. While there is a societal toleration of extramarital sex and multiple partners for men, women are generally expected to refrain sex until marriage and remain monogamous thereafter.

“Discrimination and violence against women and girls, endemic to our social fabric, are both the cause and consequence of AIDS,” said Dr Jean D’Cunha, Regional Director, UNIFEM South Asia. “Striking at the root of gender inequalities and striving to transform male behaviours are key to effectively addressing the pandemic.”

The report also indicates that the female partners of migrant workers have been shown to be at increased risk of HIV infection when the latter return from working in countries with high HIV prevalence. A study in Viet Nam showed that married migrant workers reported having commercial sex partners and low condom use.

To prevent HIV transmission among intimate partner relationships, the report outlines four key recommendations:

1. HIV prevention interventions must be scaled-up for men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, and clients of female sex workers and should emphasize the importance of protecting their regular female partners.
2. Structural interventions should be initiated to address the needs of vulnerable women and their male sexual partners. This includes expanding reproductive health programmes to include services for male sexual health.
3. HIV prevention interventions among mobile populations and migrants must be scaled-up and include components to protect intimate partners.
4. Operational research must be conducted to obtain a better understanding of the dynamics of HIV transmission among intimate partners.

“The work that has been started around prevention of HIV transmission in intimate partner relationships is incredibly important because it means a new way of doing our work,” said Vince Crisostomo, Regional Coordinator, Seven Sisters (Coalition of Asia Pacific Regional Networks on HIV/AIDS). “The ultimate goal is the empowerment of women and it shows that the responsibility is on both sides.”

UNAIDS, its Cosponsors, including UNDP and UNFPA, and partners are organizing a symposium today at the conference to address HIV and intimate partner transmission. The aim is to take stock of evidence showing the increasing vulnerability of women to HIV transmission from their intimate partners and address critical policy and programme challenges.
 

AMSTERDAM / BALI / GENEVA / LONDON / NEW YORK, 11 August 2009 – People living with HIV and their advocates today launched a groundbreaking guidance package, “Advancing the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Human Rights of People Living with HIV”. Now, policy makers, programme managers, health professionals, donors and advocates have an important tool to better support the sexual and reproductive health and rights of people living with HIV.

With input from networks of people with HIV worldwide, the Guidance Package explains what global stakeholders in the areas of advocacy, health systems, policy making and law can do to support and advance the sexual and reproductive health of people living with HIV, and why these issues matter.

Working together legislators, the law courts, government ministries, international organizations, donors, community- and faith-based organizations, and people living with HIV can provide services and legal support that will contribute to improved sexual and reproductive health for everyone.

“From a public health perspective, decision-makers and service providers must recognize that people living with HIV do enter into relationships, have sex, and bear children,” says Dr Kevin Moody, International Coordinator and CEO of GNP+. “Ensuring that we can enjoy these normal aspects of a productive and fulfilling life is key to maintaining our own health, and that of our partners and families.”

For a person living with HIV, dealing with sex means dealing with difficult issues at vulnerable moments and in vulnerable settings. People living with HIV are expected to disclose their HIV status before engaging in sexual relations – in some countries it is even a legal obligation, even though this may lead to gender-based violence.

In order to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), sexual and reproductive health must be addressed adequately and a supportive legal framework is essential. “Stigma, discrimination and punitive laws prevent people living with HIV from accessing services and making informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive futures,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “This Guidance Package will help to ensure that the human rights of all people living with HIV, irrespective of their lifestyles, are respected and that they obtain access to the services and information they need to protect themselves and their loved ones.”

Advancing the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Human Rights of People Living with HIV is the outcome of a comprehensive, two-year process of research and analysis led by the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW) and Young Positives in collaboration with EngenderHealth, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Consultations were held in Addis Ababa (March 2006), Amsterdam (December 2007) and at LIVING 2008: The Positive Leadership Summit (August 2008) prior to the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, as well as through an interactive internet discussion forum.