UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has renewed Dr Peter Piot’s appointment as Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Under Secretary-General of the United Nations for four more years. “I am delighted that Dr Piot will continue to lead the response of the United Nations to HIV/AIDS for the next four years,” said Secretary-General Kofi Annan. “This is a crucial time in our fight against the epidemic, and in our work to mobilize the world against this unique threat to human development and security.

I wish to join today with the legions of activists and advocates in Africa and worldwide who salute the quite remarkable collaboration on the provision of anti-retroviral drugs, jointly announced by The Clinton Foundation, The World Bank, UNICEF and the Global Fund. This initiative, along with WHO’s

Nelson Mandela continues to be an icon in the struggle against HIV and AIDS through his unwavering and outspoken stance on stigma and discrimination towards those living with and affected by the epidemic.

Today is Human Rights Day, the 56th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the last of this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence. It is also a day on which intolerable numbers of women will suffer violent assaults, and on which many will be infected with HIV.

UNAIDS is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs Mero Kececioglu-Kylicas as Special Envoy of UNAIDS.

Today, women and girls account for nearly half of the 37.2 million adults living with HIV worldwide. Over the past two years, the number of women infected with the virus has increased in every region of the globe, and if current trends continue, women and girls will soon outnumber men and boys infected with HIV.

UNAIDS acknowledges with tremendous sense of loss the tragic news of the sudden death of Paulo Longo, Coordinator of the Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) in Brazil and human rights activist.

UNAIDS is deeply shocked at the recent killing of FannyAnn Eddy, a leading pan-African gay rights activist and founder of the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association (SLLAGA).

Geneva, 16 August 2004 – UNAIDS is deeply concerned about the recent detention and reported mistreatment of 39 members of the Blue Diamond Society, a Nepalese AIDS NGO working with sexual minorities. The Nepali police arrested these people on 9 August 2004 and they are still being held today.

UNAIDS welcomes the new initiative announced by the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Tony Blair. This commitment, to spending at least £1.5 billion over the next three years on HIV-related programmes, represents a tremendous step forward in the global effort to combat AIDS. UNAIDS also applauds the strategy’s strong focus on women, young people and orphans; often the most vulnerable groups. The UK is once again showing the importance of directed and informed leadership.