Press Release
UNAIDS to host Google+ Hangout ahead of World AIDS Day 2012
23 November 2012 23 November 2012GENEVA, 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.
Press Release
CEOs Call on Countries to Lift Travel Restrictions for People Living with HIV
22 July 2012 22 July 2012CEOs from the world’s leading companies, including Levi Strauss & Co., The Coca-Cola Company, Johnson & Johnson, Aetna, H&M and more, call on 46 countries to repeal HIV-related travel restrictions
WASHINGTON (22 July 2012) – Prominent CEOs from the world’s leading companies, including Levi Strauss & Co., The Coca-Cola Company, Johnson & Johnson, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Virgin Unite, called today on 46 countries to lift travel restrictions for HIV-positive people.
More than 20 CEOs from leading companies have signed a pledge to oppose HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay and residence, saying such laws and policies are not only discriminatory, they are bad for business.
CEOs from the following companies have joined the pledge: Access Bank Plc, Aetna, Anglo American plc, BD, BET Networks, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, The Coca-Cola Company, Gap Inc., Getty Images, Gilead Sciences, Inc., H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB, HEINEKEN NV, Hub One International Company Ltd., Johnson & Johnson, Kenneth Cole Productions, Levi Strauss & Co., Merck & Co., Mylan, National Basketball Association (NBA), Nordstrom, Inc, OraSure Technologies, Inc., Vestergaard Frandsen, Virgin Unite, and the former Chairman of MTVN International.
The pledge was launched opening day of the International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, where 30,000 people from 200 countries are meeting from July 22-27. The world’s largest AIDS conference, it is taking place in the United States for the first time in 22 years because in 2010 President Obama lifted the US travel ban against people living with HIV, the same year thatChina ended its travel ban.
Levi Strauss & Co.’s CEO Chip Bergh was the first to sign. "HIV-related travel restrictions not only hurt individuals, they also hurt businesses,” Bergh said. “In today’s competitive landscape where global business travel is essential, we need to be able to send our talent and skills where they’re needed. We call on countries with these restrictions to rescind them immediately."
The pledge is an initiative of UNAIDS in partnership with GBCHealth, which is mobilizing the corporate signatures. Formerly called the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, GBCHealth is a coalition of companies that address global health challenges.
“Travel restrictions for people living with HIV are blatant discrimination,” said Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Unite. “Everyone should have a chance to travel freely. Treatment has allowed people with HIV to live fully productive lives and these laws and policies are downright archaic. I urge governments around the world to repeal their bans and encourage business leaders to join me in taking a stand."
Most HIV-related travel restrictions were imposed by governments in the early days of the epidemic when ignorance and fear surrounded the transmission of HIV and treatment did not exist. Since then we’ve learned that such measures do not protect public health and that there is no economic justification for them, especially as antiretroviral therapy now enables people living with HIV to be fully productive employees.
“There is no evidence that these restrictions protect public health,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “They are discriminatory and violate international human rights standards. People living with HIV should have equal access to opportunity and freedom of movement in today’s globalized world.”
UNAIDS counts 46 countries, territories and areas that have some form of restriction on entry, stay or residence based on the HIV-status of those seeking to enter or remain. Some countries deny travel for short-term stays, such as business trips or conferences; and some deny longer- term stays or residence, such as work-related moves, migration, study abroad programs and diplomatic and consular postings.
Five countries have a complete bar on the entry and stay of people with HIV for any reason or any length of time. An additional five countries require that a person show that he/she is HIV- negative even for short stays. Twenty countries deport individuals once their HIV infection is discovered. Varying forms of restrictions exist in other countries.
“These outdated laws and policies make no sense in today’s globalized world, where work- related travel is routine for corporations,” said Michael Schreiber, Managing Director of GBCHealth. “Companies need to send their employees overseas, regardless of their HIV status.”
Many countries have lifted their travel restrictions, including most recently, Namibia, Ukraine, Armenia, Fiji and the Republic of Moldova.
UNAIDS and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) will co-host today a satellite session at the International AIDS Conference on the latest developments in efforts to end travel restrictions and uphold equal freedom of movement for people living with HIV.
The CEO campaign is just beginning with a goal of obtaining more than 100 signatures by World AIDS Day 2012 on December 1st.
“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
Contact
UNAIDS GenevaSophie Barton-Knott
tel. +41 22 791 1697
bartonknotts@unaids.org
GBCHealth
Eve Heyn
tel. 646 358 6237 or 212 584 1651
eheyn@gbchealth.org
Press Release
Donor nation support for HIV stands firm but investments remain at 2008 levels
18 July 2012 18 July 2012U.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.
Contact
UNAIDS DCSophie Barton-Knott
tel. +1 202 735 4605 or +41 79 514 6896
bartonknotts@unaids.org
Kaiser Family Foundation
Erissa Scalera
tel. +1 202 347 5270
escalera@kff.org