The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) welcomes the appointment of Elizabeth Mataka as the new Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) applauds the announcement made today by the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) which puts in place new reduced prices for antiretroviral medicines in low-and middle-income countries.

The goal of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support is a top global priority and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) supports countries’ efforts to ensure access to high quality and affordable medicines.

It is with great sadness that UNAIDS has learned of the death of Mstislav Rostropovich who just a month ago celebrated his 80th birthday.

“Turning to the private sector and to civil society to lead its Board is a real indication of the Global Fund’s commitment to both accountability and social justice. We welcome all efforts in this direction as we all work together to make the money work for people on the ground,” said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

The AIDS epidemic: walking the last mile to make the difference , message on World AIDS Day 2006

Geneva, 28 March 2007: Statement by the UNAIDS Secretariat to the 4th Session of the Human Rights Council on the importance of the Council’s engagement on HIV and human rights in the push towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

Press statement: Following the recent claim of a new treatment which can cure AIDS in the Gambia, UNAIDS and WHO strongly encourage the Gambia to collaborate with international experts on efforts to assess the safety, efficacy and quality of the therapeutic intervention, according to standard practices in any product development.

WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF, guided by recent evidence, have agreed to modify as an interim the current recommendations (1) for cotrimoxazole prophylaxis in children. This is based upon recent trial data from Zambia (2).

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) welcomes a new collaborative initiative between the Government of Canada and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate HIV vaccine research and development. The partnership entitled the ‘Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative’ (CHVI) will contribute to the global effort to develop safe, effective, affordable and globally accessible HIV vaccines.