In Uganda in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the President, Yoweri Museveni, showed the world, through pioneering high-level political leadership, that it was possible to reverse the AIDS epidemic, and for many years new HIV infections declined in Uganda. New HIV infections were reduced from 150 000 in 1990 to 66 000 in 1998—an incredible decline of 56%. However, by the early 2000s, the AIDS epidemic had begun to rebound, and by 2009 had climbed back up to 130 000 new HIV infections per year, a devastating blow to the country’s efforts to push the epidemic into permanent decline.

In the past few years, steps have been taken to once again reduce the epidemic, and in 2015 new HIV infections had dropped to 83 000. However, a disproportionate number of adolescent girls and young women between the ages of 15 and 24 are being affected and around 360 are becoming newly infected every week.

President Museveni is ready to reclaim his leadership role in the AIDS response, and on 6 June in Kampala, Uganda, at an event attended by the UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, launched the Presidential Fast-Track Initiative on Ending AIDS as a Public Health Threat in Uganda by 2030. Dubbed “Kisanja hakuna mchezo” (no playing games), the initiative contains a five-point plan for more focused and urgent action to accelerate achieving control of the HIV epidemic in Uganda.

The plan will aim to revitalize HIV prevention, especially among adolescent girls and young women, and consolidate progress on elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. It will also accelerate implementation of HIV testing and treatment for men, particularly to ensure they reach the 90–90–90 targets, address financial sustainability for the AIDS response and ensure institutional effectiveness for a multisectoral response.

The First Lady of Zambia, Esther Lungu, attended the launch to reaffirm her commitment to the AIDS response and that of the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS.

During a meeting with the First Lady of Uganda, Janet Museveni, who is also the Minister for Education, Mr Sidibé congratulated her for her commitment to the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. As a result of her personal drive, Uganda has experienced a 90% decline (from 2009 to 2015) in the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, the highest of the 21 priority countries of the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive.

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Partners from across the United Nations system came together on 30 May in UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss how behavioural, institutional and cultural change can accelerate progress for gender equality.

In her keynote speech, Jan Beagle, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, emphasized that if change management is undertaken in a gender-responsive manner, barriers to gender equality in the workplace can be addressed and overcome. She shared the progress that UNAIDS has made in gender equality, including near gender parity among staff, 40% of UNAIDS country directors being female and 100% compliance with the performance indicators of the United Nations System-Wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. She also underlined the need to shift organizational cultures to empower staff everywhere. UNAIDS is taking gender out of isolation and mainstreaming equality and inclusion throughout the Secretariat.

Julian Braithwaite, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, who delivered the other keynote speech, reaffirmed the commitment of the United Kingdom to empowering women and girls, while emphasizing the importance of creating organizational cultures that uphold gender equality. He reflected on the potential of Geneva as an international hub for human rights, trade and humanitarian work that brings together the collective power of the United Nations and its Member States.

The participants represented the broad array of United Nations entities in Geneva, including senior advisers on human resources, change management and gender. The meeting was organized by the International Gender Champions Geneva, UNAIDS and the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva.

The workshop is the first of a series of initiatives to be undertaken by UNAIDS and the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom, who Co-Chair the International Gender Champions change management impact group. Through the impact group, the Co-Chairs seek to identify and overcome institutional barriers that prevent women’s influence and advancement in Geneva-based international organizations.

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AIDS Quilt Online was launched on International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day, 21 May, by civil society in eastern Europe and central Asia. An online memorial, AIDS Quilt Online pays tribute to people who have died of AIDS-related illnesses as well as to the activists who have dedicated their lives to the response to HIV.  

The site, which is supported by UNAIDS, provides an opportunity to create a digital quilt, accompanied by a small personal text. The fragments are collected into one large digital canvas. People can also share pictures of real woven quilts on a quilt gallery page.

AIDS Quilt Online continues the tradition of the NAMES Project Foundation, created in San Francisco, United States of America, in 1987 to remember people who have died from AIDS-related illnesses. The tradition of sewing blankets in memory of someone close was transformed into the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Stitched from a multitude of fragments, each symbolizing a person’s shortened life, the quilt became one of the iconic symbols of the AIDS response. Tens of thousands of memorial panels were sewn by friends, loved ones and family members.

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UNAIDS has appointed the singer and television presenter Lulu Haangala Wood as a Goodwill Ambassador for Zambia.

Ms Haangala Wood will focus on awareness-raising on HIV prevention and on access to increasing access to treatment by young people and members of key populations. She will use her influence to reach young people and women and will work towards ensuring that no one is left behind in the AIDS response in the country.

Ms Haangala Wood is a passionate advocate for equal rights and women’s empowerment. In 2008, she started the #WeKeepMoving Foundation to work with adolescents and young women and support them with career development. 

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The report of the United Nations Secretary-General: Reinvigorating the AIDS response to catalyse sustainable development and United Nations reform will be presented to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States of America on 1 June at 10 a.m. New York time (3 p.m. GMT).

The report was presented by the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General, and serves to inform discussions around progress and challenges in achieving the bold targets and milestones set out in the United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its high-level meeting in June 2016.

The proceedings were opened by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Peter Thomson, and were followed by statements from representatives of United Nations Member States. 

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The mayors of the Portuguese cities of Cascais, Lisbon and Porto have signed the Paris Declaration on ending the AIDS epidemic in cities—the first time that three cities in the same country have signed the declaration together.

In signing the Paris Declaration, mayors commit to putting their cities on the Fast-Track to ending the AIDS epidemic. The three mayors committed to achieving the 90–90–90 targets by 2020, whereby 90% of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 90% of people who know their HIV-positive status are accessing treatment and 90% of people on treatment have suppressed viral loads. They also committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination and developing a people-centred approach to the AIDS response, leaving no one behind.

During the signing ceremony, which took place on 29 May in Lisbon, Portugal, the Minister of Health of Portugal, Adalberto Campos Fernandes, reaffirmed the political commitment at the highest level to the response to HIV and highlighted that the 90–90–90 targets have a new impetus in the country.

The three cities will establish local strategies to remove barriers to accessing HIV services, eliminate discrimination and close the gaps to reaching the targets in the Paris Declaration. To that end, the Government of Portugal has put together a group of experts from government bodies, civil society and academia, who will identify and recommend concrete actions in the next 90 to 120 days.

During the event, the Director of the national AIDS programme, Isabel Aldir, presented the results of the national programme for HIV and tuberculosis for 2017. Ms Aldir said that in 2016, there were 841 new HIV infections in the country, the lowest for 15 years. Nonetheless, the plan for 2017 will focus on increasing the number of rapid tests by 15% and developing clinical guidance standards for the effective provision of pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis. The plan will also include preparing an evaluation report on a pilot project for dispensing HIV treatment in community pharmacies and promoting the implementation of the Fast-Track cities commitments.

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The Belarus Fashion Week, held in Minsk, Belarus, concluded with the Fashion AIDS Line show on 14 May. A competition for young designers established by the organizers of Belarus Fashion Week and the UNAIDS Belarus Country Office, Fashion AIDS Line promotes support for people living with and affected by HIV and eliminating HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

More than 20 of the country’s leading designers presented their work, inspired by the international symbol of the AIDS response—the red ribbon. All the models appeared in masks to symbolize the stigma faced by people living with HIV.

The award for the most original mask was won by Tanya Tur, while the award for the best performance was won by Tatiana Efremova. Ekaterina Kabanova was presented with the award for the best ethno-style designer, Igor Pletnev won the best idea award and Ekaterina Tikota won for “unity with UNAIDS”.

Historia Naturalis, Davidova and ScapegoaT_404 won the top prizes and will represent Belarus at the final Fashion AIDS Line show, to be held in Moscow, Russian Federation, in April 2018 at the VI Eastern Europe and Central Asia AIDS Conference.

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Increased access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and HIV testing, together with the elimination of discrimination, are key to reducing new HIV infections in Portugal, representatives of civil society told UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Luiz Loures in Lisbon, Portugal.

On 29 May, Mr Loures visited CheckpointLX, a community-based centre in Lisbon for men who have sex with men that offers rapid, confidential and free screening for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as counselling and referral to health care. During the visit, he discussed the challenges faced by civil society organizations in the response to HIV in the country.

The civil society representatives noted the progressive health policies that Portugal has regarding drug use, which are regarded as best practices in reducing new HIV infections among injecting drug users around the world. They also highlighted the importance of the current enabling legislation that is, for example, providing access to health services, including for HIV, to migrant populations regardless of their legal status, which puts Portugal at the forefront of the AIDS response in Europe.

The government’s political commitment to end AIDS by putting people at the centre of the response was further embodied by the Ministry of Health’s announcement on 29 May of the provision through the national health system of PrEP for key populations at higher risk of HIV infection, including gay men and other men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs, and for serodiscordant couples.

Nonetheless, challenges remain. Despite Portugal’s enabling legislation, the civil society representatives stressed the need to ease access to HIV prevention, diagnosis and treatment for migrant populations, given the raising HIV prevalence among migrants. The need to take a holistic approach in the provision of services, including screening for hepatitis, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections, was stressed. The representatives also noted that eliminating all forms of discrimination will be paramount to increasing access to services and to ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.

UNAIDS is working with countries to achieve the commitment in the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS of ensuring access to combination prevention options, including pre-exposure prophylaxis, voluntary medical male circumcision, harm reduction and condoms, to at least 90% of people by 2020.

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Global health partners came together on 23 May to reflect upon the key priorities for the new Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). Meeting on the sidelines of the 70th World Health Assembly, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 22 to 31 May, the panellists shared recommendations for a stronger WHO, from pandemic preparedness and global health security, to United Nations reform and innovation in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) era.

Keynote remarks were made by Tom Price, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, who emphasized that the United States of America strongly supports WHO and looks forward to working with the next Director-General to promote and achieve global health security. He underlined the need to ensure that decisions are made on the basis of science and emphasized the need to continue to make WHO more effective, transparent and efficient.

The panellists represented the broad array of multisectoral partners, including academia (Ashish Jha, the Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute), the nongovernmental organization community (Loyce Pace, the President and Executive Director of the Global Health Council), the private sector (John Flannery, the President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Healthcare), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Mark Dybul, the Executive Director) and UNAIDS (Jan Beagle, Deputy Executive Director). The event was moderated by Jennifer Healy of the global law firm Dentons.

The panellists emphasized the need for the new Director-General to quickly articulate a compelling vision and strategy, together with clear prioritization, and facilitate buy-in of these, both inside and outside of the organization. The role of health within the SDGs and the focus on rapid emergency response were underlined.

Ms Beagle recognized the important role of WHO, a UNAIDS Cosponsor, and reflected on a number of key themes for consideration, including the importance of building inclusive, multisectoral partnerships and ensuring a focus on prevention, innovation and gender parity and women’s empowerment.

The recommendations of the panel will be shared with the incoming WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 

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