Malawi President Joyce Banda, African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Director Peter Piot to co-chair the new UNAIDS and Lancet Commission: From AIDS to Sustainable Health

ADDIS ABABA, 26 May 2013—The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and leading medical journal The Lancet have convened a new commission of political and health leaders to explore the post-2015 agenda of AIDS and global health.

The UNAIDS and Lancet Commission: From AIDS to Sustainable Health will be co-chaired by Malawi President Joyce Banda, African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Director Peter Piot.

“In just a decade, I have witnessed countries move from despair to the conviction that we can end this epidemic,” said President Joyce Banda. “This Commission can offer a way forward that allows us to accelerate our march towards the end of AIDS.”

Informed by a diverse group of HIV and health experts, young people, activists and political leaders, and drawing upon insights gained from online crowd-sourcing and engagement with constituencies, the Commission will deliberate on strategies to ensure that the vision of the AIDS movement—zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths—can be realized in the coming decades.

“Our work now must focus on how to bring the best minds and hearts together to end this epidemic.” said Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. “We have seen the devastation that AIDS has wrought—now let our humanity overcome it and lead us to a brighter future.”  

The Commission will also closely examine the new tenets for better global health results—including issues such as social equality for marginalised populations, empowering communities to demand better health services and accelerating access to affordable, quality medicines.  

 “As a new agenda for development is being shaped, it is time for serious thought on how the extraordinary lessons from the AIDS response can be brought to bear to transform global health,” said Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The Commission will have the opportunity to systematically reflect on evidence and make recommendations. Building on on-going consultations and the findings of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the recommendations will contribute to and seek to influence the deliberations of Member States. The Commission’s work will culminate in a report published by the Lancet in early 2014.

“In so many important ways, the AIDS movement created global health. Now, as the MDG era comes to a close, the AIDS movement once again has an opportunity to use its great success and influence to shape a new epoch of sustainable development. Our joint Commission with UNAIDS aims to set out possible futures for the AIDS epidemic and the role of the AIDS community in reinventing global health for the new and more complex challenges of the 21st century,” said Richard Horton, Editor in Chief of The Lancet.

The post-2015 agenda builds on the original eight Millennium Development Goals that Member States agreed to in 2000, of which Goal 6 is focused on the AIDS response. 

“Ending AIDS is a dream that is entirely possible,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “The AIDS response has brought the world together to create a vision of shared responsibility and global solidarity—we have the opportunity now to harness this momentum and build a sustainable future, a future without AIDS.”

The first meeting of the Commission will be hosted by President Banda in Lilongwe, Malawi on 28-29 June.

Champions for an HIV Free-Generation find new ways of mobilizing Africa’s leadership on AIDS

ADDIS ABABA, 26 May 2013—The Champions for an HIV free Generation, first launched in 2008 by His Excellency Festus Mogae, former president of the Republic of Botswana, have pledged to ramp up efforts to stop new HIV infections in children, end stigma and discrimination and expand effective HIV prevention and treatment programmes across Africa.

“We urge African leaders to continue to amplify their voices and be heard even more clearly now that we can see the possibility of an HIV free generation,” said His Excellency Festus Mogae, Chairperson of the Champions for an HIV Free Generation. “Complacency is beginning to set in, yet we are not yet out of the woods.”

The Champions, a group of former African presidents and other well-known African personalities, use their influence and experience to urge governments and partners to take greater action in scaling up evidence informed HIV programmes which have shown to be particularly effective in responding to HIV. Programmes include expanding access to antiretroviral therapy for pregnant women living with HIV which can reduce the risk of transmission to their children to below 5% and voluntary medical male circumcision which is up to 60% effective in reducing sexual transmission of HIV for men.

“The Champions for an HIV-Free Generation represent a priceless leadership initiative that inspires confidence towards the end of AIDS,” said Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director. “I salute these eminent leaders who leverage their experience and networks to amplify the continental aspirations for a better Africa – as encapsulated in the African Union Road Map on Shared Responsibility and Global Solidary for AIDS TB and Malaria.”

Whilst the Champions will continue to focus on HIV prevention and treatment they will also now look at a more strategic means of engaging with leaders across Africa. A new model will complement the successful multi-Champion country visits with a menu of other interventions such as single Champion country visits, one to one engagement with current African Presidents, strategic use of social and mass media and an expansion of the initiative to West Africa, with new West African Champions joining the initiative.

The African continent remains the region hardest hit by the HIV epidemic. One in every 20 Africans in the region is living with HIV. The Champions will accentuate efforts to ensure that the response to HIV in Africa is at the top of health and development agendas and that achieving a generation free from HIV becomes a viable reality.

Members of the Champions include Dr Kenneth D. Kaunda (first president of the Republic of Zambia); Joaquim A. Chissano, (former president of the Republic of Mozambique); Benjamin William Mkapa (former president of the United Republic of Tanzania); Dr Speciosa Wandira (former Vice-President of Uganda); His Grace Desmond Tutu, (Archbishop Emeritus South Africa and Nobel Laureate); Justice Edwin Cameron (South Africa Supreme Court of Appeal Judge); and Professor Miriam Were (former chairperson of the Kenya National AIDS Control Council).

Review first year’s progress toward implementing the African Union Roadmap

Addis Ababa, 26 May, 2013 - More than 12 African heads of state and other global leaders met today and reviewed progress toward implementing transformative reforms in the AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria responses and pledged to accelerate the pace of change (increase annual domestic funding for health care, particularly AIDS, TB and malaria services).  AIDS Watch Africa (AWA), an advocacy platform for African Heads of State on AIDS, TB and Malaria convened the meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the side-lines of the African Union summit celebrating 50 years of African Unity.

African leaders also reviewed progress made in implementing a Roadmap on Shared Responsibility and Global Solidarity for AIDS, TB and Malaria Response in Africa, which they adopted last July to chart a new course for the continent’s response to the three diseases.

“As leaders committed to a healthy continent, we must redouble our efforts to ensure universal access to HIV, TB and Malaria services in order to attain zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths, as well as the elimination of TB and Malaria.”, said H.E Ato Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, who is also the chair of the African Union and AIDS Watch Africa.

The African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, said that adopting new health financing measures will demonstrate Africa’s strong political commitment to the health and development of its people.

“Our continent is demonstrating strong political commitment and action by embracing transformative reforms to address AIDS, TB and malaria,” said Dr. Zuma “To achieve the MDG targets all Member States of the AU will need to develop sustainable investments plans which will shift the focus from reliance on external funding to innovative domestic resource mobilisation,” she said.

AIDS Watch Africa was founded at the Abuja Special Summit in 2001 to set the agenda for top-level leadership for the African AIDS response and in January 2012 its mandate was expanded to include TB and Malaria. The organisation took on responsibility for monitoring progress toward the three action pillars of the Roadmap, which include: (1) creating more diversified, balanced, and sustainable financing models; (2) expanding access to medicines through local production and regulatory harmonization; and (3) establishing strong leadership, governance, and oversight.

“I celebrate your progress – and I share your resolve to do even more,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “I urge you to continue investing in an AIDS-free Africa. This will improve the health, empowerment and human rights of your citizens.”

The recent success in responding to AIDS shows how Africa’s leaders are leading a wave of sustainable transformation in global health with African-sourced solutions.

“African leadership is the elusive magic bullet that has irrevocably changed the course of the three diseases and now can do even more,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “I am confident that African leadership can be the pathfinder to better global health.”

To advance toward the Roadmap’s first pillar, a number of countries have begun to implement innovative AIDS financing measures intended to reduce dependence on external funders.  Kenya and Zimbabwe now earmark a portion of domestic tax revenues for an AIDS Trust Fund, while countries including Benin, Congo, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Rwanda, and Uganda have established special HIV levies on mobile phone usage or airfares. Taking a different approach, South Africa reduced its spending on antiretroviral medications by 53% by reforming its tender process to increase competition among suppliers.

Dr. Mark Dybul, the Executive Director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, commended the Heads of State and Government saying that their leadership on the issue is yet another resolve to ensure that AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria can become diseases of the past.

“We have a moment of historic greatness, and if we all work together with a sense of shared responsibility and coordinated action, we will defeat these diseases,” he said.

Trans-continental partnerships have been established in the past year to improve the availability of affordable HIV treatment, a key goal of the second pillar of the Roadmap. These include the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa Business Plan, which will support the scale-up of local drug manufacturing, and the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization Programme, which will help regulate drug quality and delivery systems so that lives are not lost because treatments are unsafe or unavailable.

To improve leadership, governance, and oversight, the aim of the third pillar, a series of high-level meetings across the continent have been held over the past 12 months to reaffirm the urgency of the AIDS, TB and Malaria responses on the African agenda. Countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda and South Africa have also integrated HIV programming and oversight into their general health infrastructure, streamlining disease coordination and governance.

New UNAIDS report highlights progress in the AIDS response in Africa

GENEVA, 21 May 2013—As the African Union (AU) begins its 21st summit in Addis Ababa, celebrating 50 years of African unity, The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has released Update a new report on the AIDS response in Africa, documenting the remarkable recent progress against HIV on the continent.

The number of people in Africa receiving antiretroviral treatment increased from less than 1 million in 2005 to 7.1 million in 2012, with nearly 1 million added in the last year alone. AIDS-related deaths are also continuing to fall––reducing by 32% from 2005 to 2011 as are the numbers of new HIV infections which have fallen by 33% from 2001 to 2011. The report attributes this success to strong leadership and shared responsibility in Africa and among the global community. It also urges sustained commitment to ensure Africa achieves zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

“Africa has been relentless in its quest to turn the AIDS epidemic around,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “As we celebrate 50 years of African unity, let us also celebrate the achievements Africa has made in responding to HIV—and recommit to pushing forward so that future generations can grow up free from AIDS.”

Africa continues to be more affected by HIV than any other region of the world, accounting for 69% of people living with HIV globally. Despite positive trends, in 2011 there were still 1.8 million new HIV infections across the continent, and 1.2 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses.

African leadership

UNAIDS’ Update highlights key elements of the AIDS response in a number of African countries. South Africa, for example, is rapidly scaling up access to HIV treatment, with a 20% increase in the number of people receiving therapy from 2011-2012 alone. Sixteen countries—Botswana, Ghana, Gambia, Gabon, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, São ToMÉ and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—now ensure that more than three-quarters of pregnant women living with HIV receive antiretroviral medicine to prevent transmission to their child. 

The report also affirms that AU leadership is essential to reverse the epidemic.  Last year, African leaders adopted a Roadmap on Shared Responsibility and Global Solidarity for AIDS, TB and Malaria Response in Africa, which laid out a response plan to improve health governance, diversify financing, and accelerate access to affordable, high quality medicines. At the Summit, AIDS Watch Africa, a platform for advocacy and accountability for the responses to AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria founded by African leaders in 2001, will review progress in these broad areas and measure whether national, regional, continental and global stakeholders have met their commitments.

Global solidarity

At the AU Summit, in recognition of the role the international community has played, the African Union Commission, with NEPAD and UNAIDS, will launch the first thematic accountability report on the AU-G8 partnership, Delivering results towards ending AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa. A unique contribution to monitoring and driving further commitments by the AU and G8, the report calls on both AU member states and members of the G8 to exercise greater leadership, particularly around access to medicines, sustainable financing, human rights and gender equality.

The post-2015 agenda

In Update, Mr Sidibé emphasizes that sustained attention to the AIDS response post-2015 will enhance progress on other global health priorities. He also further lays the groundwork for the post-2015 agenda by identifying five lessons in the AIDS response that will improve the world’s approach to global health. He calls for focusing on people, not diseases; leveraging the strength of culture and communities; building strong, accountable global heath institutions; mobilizing both domestic and international financial commitments; and elevating health as a force for social transformation.

“These strategies have been fundamental to Africa’s success at halting and reversing the AIDS epidemic and will support the next 50 years of better health, across borders and across diseases,” said Mr Sidibé.

UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programme, Luiz Loures (left) and Ambassador Faeqa Saeed Alsaleh, Assistant Secretary General and Head of social sector at the League of Arab States signing the Memorandum of Understanding on 20 May 2013.

GENEVA, 20 May 2013—The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) 20 May marking a new commitment to the HIV response in the Arab Region.  

Guided by the 2011 United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS and global and regional HIV related initiatives, the MoU promotes a set of practical and regionally owned solutions to expand HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services. The agreement calls for the development of an Arab AIDS Strategy, mobilizing political leadership and enhancing accountability among the different stakeholders.

The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and UNAIDS will work with relevant Arab Ministerial Councils at the League such as Health, Interior, Justice, Media, Youth and Sports, and Social Affairs as well as the Arab Parliament.

“Signing a joint MoU between the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States and UNAIDS is a major step forward in our response to HIV,” said Dr Faeqa Said AlSaleh, Assistant Secretary General and Head of the Social Affairs Sector at the League of Arab States. “Through this strategic partnership with UNAIDS the League will work for an AIDS-free generation in the Arab Region.”  

The Arab Region has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the world. Between 2001 and 2011, the estimated number of people living with HIV in Arab countries increased from 170 000 to 230 000. The numbers of AIDS-related deaths and new HIV infections have also increased significantly. Between 2001 and 2011, there was a 32% increase in AIDS-related deaths —from 12 000 to 16 000. Recent studies suggest that concentrated epidemics are emerging among key populations at higher risk of HIV infection in many countries. Since 2001, the number of people newly infected with HIV in Arab countries has increased by more than 47%—from 19 000 to 28 000.

 “The Arab region is an inspiration to the world. We are seeing a younger generation find new avenues of influence and become agents of change,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibe. ”This agreement brings new momentum to the HIV response in the Arab Region and builds on a transformative leadership, new partnerships and innovative methods to scale up the HIV response.”

Currently undergoing the most profound wave of change in their modern history, people around the region have voiced demands for political and economic inclusion, increased opportunities and social mobility. A new relationship between state and society based on human rights, social justice, participation, and accountability is being forged. Within this dynamic movement, the MoU also calls for the meaningful involvement of civil society and people living with HIV as key players for accelerating HIV response in the region.

Message from UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé

GENEVA, 17 May 2013—More than 30 years ago, gay men lit the first spark that kindled the world’s response to the AIDS epidemic. Thanks to the audacity and courage of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people, we have now seen extraordinary progress against AIDS around the world.

However, stigma and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity still drive new HIV infections and are an obstacle to treatment efforts in every part of the world.

We call on political and community leaders to cast aside discriminatory laws and social practices.

The right to health belongs to everyone. Everyone should have access to HIV prevention, care, treatment and support.

Today and every day, UNAIDS stands with our fellow LGBT brothers and sisters for a world without homophobia and transphobia.

Let us work together to realize our vision: a world with zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths.

In 2013 UK will meet its target to spend 0.7% of its national income on international development

GENEVA, 21 March 2013—The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) welcomes the announcement made by the Rt Hon George Osborne, MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, that the United Kingdom will meet its target of spending 0.7% of gross domestic product on international development this year.

“The UK is once again demonstrating its steadfast leadership,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Even in times of global economic difficulty it shows they have the interests of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people at the forefront and UNAIDS looks forward to continuing our close collaboration.” 

The UK is an integral partner in the response to HIV and has made the UNAIDS vision of getting to zero a priority. The UK has shown particular commitment to focused investments in Africa to reduce new HIV infections, stop HIV infections in children, address TB––the leading cause of death among people living with HIV, strengthen human rights, tackle stigma and invest in scientific research.

The UK will be the first member of the G8 to meet the target of 0.7% of gross domestic product which was pledged by United Nations Member States more than 40 years ago in a 1970 UN General Assembly Resolution. This makes the UK the sixth country to meet or exceed the 0.7% target joining only Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

The Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron, serves as co-chair to the United Nations Secretary-General’s high-level panel of eminent persons on the post-2015 development agenda.

Message from UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé on International Women’s Day

GENEVA, 8 March 2013—On this day when we honour women, let me speak directly to the men. As husbands and partners, brothers and sons, we must be part of the solution to build a world where women and men are equal.

An equal world is one where all women and men have access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. It is one where women and men can equally protect themselves from HIV.  And it is a world where women and girls are free to reach their full potential—without fear of violence from men. 

Ending violence against women is not only an urgent human rights need—it is critical to ending AIDS. Up to 7 out of 10 women experience violence in their lifetime. Violence or the fear of violence can prevent women from negotiating safer sex. At the same time women living with HIV are often more vulnerable to violence, which can stop women from getting the HIV care and treatment they need.

Today, half of all people living with HIV are women. Every minute one young woman is infected with HIV. This is not acceptable. Only when we value a girl’s health and welfare as highly as a boy’s, only when we listen and act equally to women’s voices—then can we have a chance at ending this epidemic.

On this International Women’s Day, I am counting on you to stand together as caring communities. Let us reach for shared dignity, mutual respect and a renewed commitment to end violence against women and girls.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=brfZTyppNH8

And looks forward to further studies to see if findings can be replicated.

GENEVA, 4 March 2013—The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and UNICEF welcome a new case study, which found a baby treated with antiretroviral drugs in the first 30 hours of life and who continued on HIV treatment for 18 months appeared to be functionally cured.

The findings were presented today at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States of America.

According to researchers the mother who was living with HIV at the time of birth had not received antiretroviral (ARV) medication or prenatal care. Researchers say that the child was born prematurely in July 2010 in the state of Mississippi. Due to the high risk of exposure to HIV, the researchers say the baby was started on a triple therapy regimen of antiretroviral drug 30 hours after birth and before proof of infection could be confirmed. The newborn’s HIV-positive status was subsequently confirmed through a highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction testing which was conducted on several occasions.

The case study stated that the baby was discharged from the hospital after one week and continued ARV treatment until 18 months of age, when for reasons that are unclear the treatment was discontinued. However, when the child was seen by medical professionals about a half a year later, blood samples revealed undetectable HIV levels and no HIV-specific antibodies.

If the findings are confirmed this would be the first well-documented case of an HIV-positive child who appears to have no detectable levels of the virus despite stopping HIV treatment.

“This news gives us great hope that a cure for HIV in children is possible and could bring us one step closer to an AIDS free generation,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé. “This also underscores the need for research and innovation especially in the area of early diagnostics.”

In 2011, UNAIDS and its partners launched a Global plan for the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive. Significant progress has been made and continued support and research is needed.

“While we wait for these results to be confirmed with further research, it is potentially great news,” said UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake. “This case also demonstrates what we already know—it is vital to test newborn babies at risk as soon as possible.”

According to data from the World Health Organization and UNICEF only 28% of HIV-exposed babies were tested for HIV within six weeks of birth in 2010. Obstacles to early diagnosis and treatment include the high cost of diagnostics and difficulty of getting timely results and limited access to services and medicines. There were 330 000 children newly infected with HIV in 2011. At the end of 2011, 28% of children under the age of 15 living with HIV were on HIV treatment, compared to 54% of eligible adults.

Now two and a half year’s old, the toddler continues to thrive without antiretroviral therapy and has no identifiable levels of HIV. However, UNAIDS cautions that more studies need to be conducted to understand the outcomes and whether the current findings can be replicated.

ViiV Healthcare signs agreement to help bridge a critical gap in HIV treatment for children

GENEVA, 28 February 2013—The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) welcomes the new collaboration between the Medicines Patent Pool and ViiV Healthcare to increase access to antiretroviral therapy for children. The new agreement is a significant step forwards in HIV treatment for children as very few antiretroviral drugs are formulated for paediatric use. In 2012 UNAIDS estimated that 72% of children living with HIV who were eligible for treatment did not have access.

Under the collaboration, ViiV will allow the paediatric formulation of the antiretroviral medicine abacavir to be supplied to 118 countries under a license agreement. The 118 countries are home to more than 98% of all children living with HIV. ViiV have also agreed to negotiate further licences that will allow the manufacture of low-cost versions of promising new, better adapted paediatric medicines that ViiV is currently developing. Once approved for safety and quality, the new medicines could also be supplied to the 118 countries.

“The agreement between the Medicines Patent Pool and ViiV promises to narrow a substantial gap in access to HIV treatment and offer new hope for children,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “I strongly urge other pharmaceutical companies, especially companies holding antiretroviral therapy patents, to join the Pool and help improve the lives of children and adults living with HIV around the world.”

ViiV has also pledged to work with other stakeholders to develop additional abacavir-based products for children and bring them quickly to market in developing countries. This is an important affirmation of the Medicines Patent Pool’s role in facilitating faster introduction of new, better-adapted and affordable medicines, particularly for developing countries.

The Medicines Patent Pool was founded in 2010 with the support of the innovative financing mechanism UNITAID to increase access to antiretroviral treatment. It works by creating a pool of patents that can be licensed by generic producers, thereby facilitating competition, fostering innovation and driving down prices. The United States National Institutes of Health and Gilead Sciences have previously contributed voluntary licenses to the Medicines Patent Pool.