In June 2011, world leaders unanimously adopted the UN General Assembly Political Declaration on AIDS that laid out ambitious targets for the global HIV response. They pledged, among other goals, to reduce the sexual transmission of HIV by 50%, end new HIV infections among children and ensure 15 million people have access to HIV treatment by 2015. While the International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF) has made considerable progress towards these targets, its member countries are characterized by marked variations in access to treatment and prevention services as well as inadequate funding from both international and domestic sources.

In embracing the targets in the 2011 Political Declaration, countries committed to monitor and report on progress and challenges encountered in their national AIDS responses. To facilitate biennial reporting on national progress, UNAIDS collaborated with partners to develop a set of core indicators against which countries would report. The following slides are a compilation of the epidemiology data and graphics contained in the 2012 Global Report:  Epidemiology slides -  en | fr | es | ru

Women may make up half the world’s population, but they do not share it equally. This is especially evident when it comes to HIV. Half of all people living with HIV are women, yet many are underserved or do not know their status. Despite the many successes we have seen, women still face inequalities that will keep the AIDS response from reaching its full potential.

Treatment 2015 provides a results-driven framework to expedite and greatly expand coverage. With less than 1000 days before the end of 2015, much work remains to be done. The WHO’s new 2013 guidelines on The Use of Antiretroviral Drugs for Treating and Preventing HIV Infection recommend a CD4 threshold of 500 for initiation of HIV treatment. As an important step towards getting to zero AIDS-related deaths, countries should be encouraged to prioritize immediate efforts to ensure that all people eligible for HIV treatment have access to it.