We have learned a lot about how to fight pandemics. 40 years ago the first cases of AIDS were reported. 25 years ago the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS was created, the Programme I lead. 20 years ago the Global Fund was born. 18 years ago, PEPFAR was launched. Today we are going to need every asset of the collaboration between the United Nations, PEPFAR, the Global Fund, governments, philanthropy and communities to fight the inequalities that are driving HIV and COVID-19. That means bold political leadership, global solidarity as there was 25 years ago, strategic partnerships that engage the people most affected by the disease, a commitment to human rights, and a serious global plan.

Speech by Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

We gather today, facing colliding pandemics of HIV and COVID-19, in one of the most challenging moments in the history of HIV and global health. Amidst unprecedented global disruptions, we must act urgently to prevent a resurgent global AIDS pandemic and to quickly recover our progress toward ending AIDS. Together, we have the global partnership of UNAIDS, the Global Fund and PEPFAR ready for that challenge.