Paris, December 24 - UNESCO and OPEC FUND have concluded an agreement to create a two-year Project on Reducing the Impact of the HIV/AIDS Crisis in and through Education. It aims to help curb the rate of new HIV infections among young people in and out of school in 12 countries: three Arab states, three in Central Asia
12 December 2004, Montego Bay, Jamaica - The Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) will be officially designated an international best practice by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) during a press launch of the joint CARICOM/UNAIDS Secretariats publication: Common Goals, Shared Res
Geneva - 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
Geneva - UNAIDS is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs Mero Kececioglu-Kylicas as Special Envoy of UNAIDS. Mero Kececioglu-Kylicas is the President of Greek Action for Africa, a non-profit organisation which is involved in improving health care availability in Africa. Since 1980, Greek Action for Africa has star
-- Close to half of 37.2 million adults living with HIV are women, according to new UNAIDS /WHO report GENEVA - A new report released today shows that the number of women living with HIV has risen in each region of the world over the past two years, with the steepest increases in East Asia, followed by Eastern Europe a
Current Efforts Miss Opportunities to Help Contain Global Pandemic New York, Geneva - Providers of reproductive health services are in a strategic position to make significant contributions to closing the global HIV prevention gap, according to a new analysis published jointly by The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) and
-- Over 3,000 youth leaders from 500 districts to attend national Youth Parliament; Political leadership needed at all levels to fight AIDS New Delhi - A two-day National Student and Youth Parliament Special Session on HIV/AIDS will bring together 3,000 student and youth leaders from 500 districts across the country to
MOSCOW, 27 October 2004 - Media executives from Russia , Ukraine , and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have committed to fight HIV/AIDS in their countries, many of which are experiencing some of the fastest-growing epidemics in the world. Meeting today at the first-ever Eurasia Media Lea
Washington, DC - The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars announced today the launch of a joint, high-level briefing series, aimed at spurring action on three critical aspects of the global AIDS agenda. Series topics will include: the feminizatio
Hanoi - Dr Kathleen Cravero, Deputy Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ), congratulated the Vietnamese government for adopting an evidence-based and progressive National Strategy on the Prevention of HIV/AIDS. This is an excellent national strategy and stands as a model for ot
Geneva - It is with a tremendous sense of loss that we acknowledge 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. Paulo was expected to join the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board shortly as an alternate NGO member.
Geneva - 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). Her death is a profound and distressing loss, not only to the human rights movement in her country and in Africa, but to the world as
New Delhi - The Government of India and the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative have agreed to collaborate on the development and implementation of the Government s plans to scale-up integrated HIV care, treatment, and prevention programmes. Dr S Y Quraishi, Project Director of India s National AIDS Control Organiza
Joint call for action follows Mandela s plea at Bangkok International AIDS Conference to strengthen fight against tuberculosis 21 September 2004 – Expanding access to tuberculosis treatment, combined with introducing HIV testing and anti-retroviral (ARV) delivery into TB programmes, could save the lives of as many as 5
Vilnius, Lithuania - With more than 1.8 million people living with HIV in Europe and Central Asia, the epidemic poses a serious threat to the region s social and economic stability, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) and the
Brasilia - The Government of Brazil and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) announced today a new approach to scale up the response to AIDS in developing countries through multilateral agreements between the Government of Brazil, UNAIDS and other developing countries. As part of this new joint ini
Geneva - Greater participation of women and adolescents is needed in HIV vaccine clinical trials, according to a group of international experts, who attended a consultation on HIV vaccine trials in Lausanne, Switzerland , from 26-28 August. The meeting, organized by the World Health Organizatio
Mumbai/Geneva - India s entertainment industry is challenging the AIDS epidemic head-on. For the first time ever, a mainstream Bollywood Hindi film, Phir Milenge (We ll Meet Again), has placed AIDS at the heart of its story line. When Bollywood, one of the world s largest film industries with massive audiences, produce
Geneva - 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 fully supports the Blue Diamond Soc
Geneva - Efforts to combat HIV in Central America and the Caribbean received a major boost today. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) and the German Development Bank (KfW) signed a cooperation agreement to encourage HIV prevention and reduce infection in these severely affected regions. This signi
London - 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
Bangkok - UNAIDS , UNICEF and Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) today expressed strong concern about the South African Medicine Control Council s decision to discontinue use of single-dose nevirapine for prevention of mother to child transmission.
BANGKOK - Action against HIV/AIDS that does not confront gender inequality is doomed to failure, according to a report released today by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Noting that women
BANGKOK - AIDS activists from around the world, representing different movements, today called for concerted action aimed at ramping up HIV/AIDS health care services in low and middle-income countries. The endorsement of the joint Statement of Commitment by numerous treatment, microbicides and vaccine organizations mar
Bangkok - Political leaders in Asia and the Pacific have a precious window of opportunity to save millions of people from HIV infection. But to succeed, they will need to drastically increase spending on AIDS and scale up prevention, care and treatment programmes, according to a report by the Asia Pacific Leadership Fo
Children in sub-Saharan Africa are hardest hit - Since 2000, 3.8 million African children have lost one or both parents to AIDS BANGKOK, THAILAND - By 2010, sub-Saharan Africa will be home to an estimated 50 million orphaned children, and more than a third will have lost one or both parents to AIDS, according to a bien
Bangkok - Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and gender inequality remain the two biggest challenges to AIDS prevention in South Asia, according to experts. A satellite session at the XV International AIDS Conference today reviewed the progress made and challenges in mounting an effective AIDS res
Yesterday, July 11th, at the opening of the Conference, UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, used the words a terrifying pattern to describe the toll that the pandemic has taken on the women of the world, and the women of Africa in particular. He was both scathing and unsparing in his characterization of male behaviour wh
Bangkok - Total global spending on AIDS has increased from US$1.2 billion in 2000 to an estimated US$6 billion this year - a five-fold increase - according to a new UNAIDS report released today. Without dramatic increases, there is still an expected shortfall of US$6 billion in 2005, according to UNAIDS. Unless more r
Bangkok - Today the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) signed an agreement to tackle HIV among the uniformed services with Thailand s Minister of Defence, General Chetta Thanajaro and the Minister of Public Health, Mrs. Sudarat Keyuraphan. Focusing on young men and women, all parties will work togeth
Bangkok - UNAIDS welcomes the announcement by the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, to more than double Australia s funding for AIDS from AUS$ 250 million (US$ 180 million) to AUS$600 million (US$ 435 million) by 2010. The announcement was made in tandem with the appointment of Australia s firs
Bangkok – Countries in Asia and the Pacific region must urgently adopt comprehensive responses to HIV in order to avert a catastrophic increase in infections and drastic economic consequences, according to a new report released today by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) and the Asian Developm
Geneva - A new study by the OECD s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) demonstrates a clear trend toward rising aid donations to fight HIV/AIDS. The latest definitive figures, combining the aid efforts of major bilateral and multilateral donors, show an a
UNAIDS the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, today welcomes the announcement made by Hilary Benn, UK International Development Secretary, of increased funding to UNAIDS and to UNFPA to help tackle the global AIDS epidemic and improve sexual and reproductive health for women and young people in developin
London - UNAIDS warned that the number of people living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has risen in every region of the world and last year five million people became newly infected with HIV -- more people than any previous year. These findings are contained in the 2004 UNAIDS Report of the global AIDS epidemic,
Geneva, 25 June 2004 – UNAIDS strongly welcomes the statement on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB made today by the European Union and United States of America at their summit in Dublin. The AIDS epidemic is the greatest humanitarian and development challenge of our era requiring an urgent and sustained global response.
Geneva, Today the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) is pleased to announce that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has joined UNAIDS as the tenth Cosponsor. Together with the nine existing Cosponsors, UNHCR will help broaden and strengthen the UN s response to th
A death spiral of HIV and food insecurity is depleting public services and debilitating southern Africa, a United Nations relief official said today. The number of trained health practitioners, teachers and other professionals that are succumbing to HIV/AIDS is causing a truly extraordinary human resources vacuum in so
Geneva – UNAIDS today calls on the International Monetary Fund to prioritise the impact of the AIDS epidemic and the need of the government of Zambia to invest in a sustained and urgent response, when reviewing the country s progress in meeting the conditions of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility agreed in April
Port-au-Prince – Today efforts to combat HIV among peacekeeping troops bound for Haiti have received a significant boost. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) and representatives from the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) have arrived in the country to develop an HIV/AIDS
Geneva - The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) today welcomed the G-8 s endorsement of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, a virtual consortium proposed by an international group of scientists that is being established to accelerate HIV vaccine development.
The World AIDS Campaign (WAC) has challenged governments of the G8 countries to help save millions of lives by honouring the commitment they made when they signed the global AIDS compact at the United Nations three years ago. The Campaign – made up of networks of non-governmental organizations from around the world – t
The Context As access to antiretroviral treatment is scaled up in low and middle income countries, there is a critical opportunity to simultaneously expand access to HIV prevention, which continues to be the mainstay of the response to the HIV epidemic. Without effective HIV prevention, there will be an ever increasing
Lausanne - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in which both organisations agreed to combine their efforts to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, particularly among the sport community. The signing ceremony
The AIDS epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia shows no sign of abating. Some 230,000 people in the region were infected with HIV in 2003, bringing the total number of people living with HIV to 1.5 million. Meantime, AIDS claimed approximately 30,000 lives just last year. The epidemics in the region are relativel
Geneva, 18 May 2004 - The Joint United Nations Programme ( UNAIDS ) welcomes the decision taken by women health ministers today to form an international network to address the growing inequalities women face in accessing basic health services, including HIV care and prevention services. Women are particularly vulne
11 MAY 2004 GENEVA -- This is a critical moment in the history of HIV/AIDS. There is more money, more political will and more attention being paid to this killer disease than ever before. And yet, more people than ever are dying of AIDS and becoming infected with HIV. By using HIV treatment programs to strengthen exist
Geneva - The heads of the OPEC Fund for International Development and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) signed a Global Initiative on HIV/AIDS today to scale up the AIDS response in fourteen targeted countries in three regions. The initiative will receive a US$4 million grant from the OPEC Fund
Bangkok - The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ), the UN agency charged with coordinating United Nations efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, jointly appointed today action star Jackie Chan as one of its Goodwill Ambassadors. The actor and marti
Washington, DC, 25 April 2004 – A historic agreement to adopt a unified global response to tackling HIV/AIDS was reached by the international community today. Despite stepped up resources and the best intentions, the AIDS epidemic continues to be one of the greatest crises of the century, with 40 million people current
-- South Asia s low HIV prevalence masks growing epidemic among high-risk groups Kathmandu, 19 April 2004 - Despite the low HIV prevalence in South Asia, the epidemic continues to spread unabated, particularly among high-risk groups. In an effort to accelerate and strengthen the response to AIDS in the region, the Sout
London/Geneva, 13 April 2004 - Players from the India and Pakistan cricket teams will wear the symbolic red ribbon as part of international cricket s commitment to raise awareness about HIV in today s third Test match, being held in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. As part of this ground-breaking initiative, the team
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 3 by 5 (putting thr
Washington, April 1, 2004 - The World Bank approved on March 26 a US$102 million grant to support the implementation of the national strategic plan for HIV/AIDS control activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and provide resources to improve service delivery mechanisms. This grant aims to help the DRC to
I want briefly to reconnoitre my visit earlier this month to Swaziland , focussing on one potentially dramatic development. Along the way, I shall also make short, if pointed remarks, about the 3 by 5 program of WHO, and the current tension between brand name antiretrovirals and generic fixed dose combinations. For
There is, I will admit, a touch of amiable irrationality in racing across the ocean for a half hour speech. I want to assure you that I don t do it as a matter of course. But in this instance, it seemed to me that your kind invitation to address the Conference could not possibly be forfeited. I m here because I think t
HIV prevention programmes targeting young people must be scaled up urgently Nadi, Fiji , 22 March 2004 - The Pacific Island countries have a unique opportunity to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS before it is too late. Although HIV prevalence levels remain low, we must not underestimate the size of the challenges confrontin
United Nations (New York) Press Release - March 22, 2004
-- UN Population Commission meets to assess progress since landmark Cairo Population Conference The world is beginning to see the end of rapid population growth, according to a United Nations report to be submitted next week to the Commission on Population and Development. In 1994, world fertility was 3 children per wo
United Nations Development Programme (New York) - March 17, 2004
UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown met with government, business and community leaders last week in Botswana , Malawi and Zambia to present the Southern African Capacity Initiative (SACI) to help overcome the loss of productive lives from HIV/AIDS. While southern Africa represents only about 2 per
UNAIDS regrets the misunderstanding that has occurred as a result of the Reuters story entitled, UN to stop funding African AIDS NGOs , issued on 6 March 2004, following a high-level meeting in Livingstone, Zambia , on AIDS in Southern Africa. The report that UNAIDS and the other UN agencies present at the meet
Women in Lao PDR are at an unacceptably high risk of contracting HIV and AIDS, according to a UN expert. Around the world, there are disproportionate numbers of women contracting HIV, particularly between the ages of 15 and 25. We need to make sure that girls and women in Lao PDR do not face the same fate , says Kathle
Between one fifth and half of girls worldwide experience sexual violence: Premiere of Women and AIDS film on International Women s Day. Across the world, between one-fifth and half of all girls and young women report that their first sexual encounter was forced. Too many women are unable to refuse sex or insist on a co
I ve asked for this press briefing in order to sound an alarm. It s an alarm relating to the World Health Organization s plan, with the support of UNAIDS , to put three million people into anti-retroviral treatment by 2005. The 3 by 5 initiative, as it is called is, in my view, one of the most important initiatives tha
United Nations Development Programme (New York) - February 24, 2004
Malawi is building measures into all facets of public policy against HIV/AIDS in an effort to stem the spread of the virus and improve treatment and care for the 14 per cent of its population living with the disease. A national policy President Bakili Muluzi launched earlier this month in Blantyre would require legis
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (New York) - February 23, 2004
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) applauds the United States government for developing a detailed five-year strategic plan to intensify U.S. action in the global battle against AIDS. The U.S. government is to be commended for both seeking to enhance and coordinate its own AIDS efforts, and affir
Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States have some of the fastest growing rates of HIV/AIDS infection in the world. The impact is compounded by still insufficient public awareness, frequent stigmatization and lack of adequate policy instruments to cope with the disease. Nonetheless, the region also has
LONDON - Addressing a critical need in responding to HIV/AIDS, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, have published new guidelines for programme planners, managers and service providers on Integrating HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) Services in
Mr. Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen: I want you all to know how much I appreciate the invitation to speak to this auspicious gathering, even though I stand before you with no scientific credentials whatsoever. Allow me to set the stage for my remarks in this fashion: last Monday night, in London, I was privileged to
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (New York) - February 6, 2004
Studies find women, girls more vulnerable to infection The newly formed Global Coalition on Women and AIDS will work to better focus HIV prevention and protection efforts on women and girls. The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS ( UNAIDS ) launched the new initiative February 2 in response to evidence that women
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (New York) - February 3, 2004
More young women are becoming infected by husbands and long-term partners - female-controlled HIV prevention methods urgently needed. Existing HIV prevention and protection efforts are failing to stem infections among women and girls because they do not take into account such issues as gender relations and sexual behav
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and its partners have joined forces with organizers of the African Cup of Nations football tournament to use the upcoming games in Tunisia to promote a campaign against poverty and the spread of HIV/AIDS. Billboards in the five stadiums hosting the matches, which begin Sa
GENEVA - The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today a plan to expand collaboration between national tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS programmes to curb the growing pandemic of TB/HIV co-infection, with a principal focus on Africa where 70% of the world s 14 million people who are co-infected live. The new policy
As part of the ongoing mobilization of civil society in the fight against HIV/AIDS, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today met with leaders of some of the world s leading media organizations to launch a Global Media AIDS Initiative. The Initiative aims to activate media organizations to reach the world s peo
Asserting that the public still faces a profound lack of awareness about HIV/AIDS, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged media executives from around the world to use their influence to spread information that people need to protect themselves from the deadly disease. If there is one thing that we have learned in th
I want to begin with three anecdotes from which lessons can be drawn. First: Not long ago, I had occasion to speak with an infectious disease specialist in New York City. She was telling me that she had followed the entire course of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, for its more than twenty-two years, and for the first fifteen ye
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