Kampala Key, Vulnerable and Priority Populations (KVP) News

Ensuring that people and communities have the power to choose, to know, to thrive and to demand is the key to ending AIDS Game-changing approaches, such as medicine to prevent HIV (PrEP), integration of contraceptive services with HIV testing, viral load suppression (U = U), harm reduction, and comprehensive sexuality education, give people the power to protect themselves from HIV and, for people living with HIV, the power to thrive NAIROBI/GENEVA, 26 November 2019— A new report by UNAIDS,  Power to the people , released ahead of  World AIDS Day , shows that where people and communities living with and affected by HIV are engaged in decision-making and HIV service delivery, new infections decline and more people living with HIV gain access to treatment. When people have the power to choose, to know, to thrive, to demand and to work together, lives are saved, injustices are prevented and dignity is restored. “When people and communities have power and agency, ...

UNAIDS Expresses Support for HIV2020 Conference In an official letter today from UNAIDS Interim Executive Director Gunilla Carson, the multilateral international organization expressed their support for the upcoming HIV2020 conference in Mexico City. Read the letter from UNAIDS here The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, UNAIDS is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Their support echos the HIV2020 Alliance’s commitment to fostering a community-led response that necessarily includes amplifying the voices of vulnerable and marginalized key populations that are disproportionately affected by HIV & AIDS. The full text of the letter is available below: Dear Organizers of HIV2020, Communities and key populations are the backbone of the AIDS response and their meaningful engagement has always been a core and guiding principle for UNAIDS. UNAIDS therefore supports the ...

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Winifred ‘Winnie’ Karagwa Byanyima of Uganda as the next Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The appointment follows an open and wide-ranging search process.  Led by the Co-sponsoring Organizations and chaired by Dr. Natalia Kanem, the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the process included interviews and consultations with Governments and other concerned parties through the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board. Ms. Byanyima succeeds Michel Sidibé who was appointed as Minister of Health and Social Affairs of Mali.  The Secretary-General is grateful for Dr. Sidibé’s leadership of UNAIDS from 2009 to 2019 at the forefront of the global response to HIV and AIDS. Ms. Byanyima brings a wealth of experience and commitment in harnessing the power of government, multilateral agencies, the private sector and civil society to end the HIV a...

This story appeared in the Seattle Times and it is written by Maria Cheng of The Associated Press. LONDON (AP) — Winifred “Winnie” Byanyima, a former Ugandan politician and the current head of the humanitarian group Oxfam International, was appointed the new executive director of the U.N. AIDS agency on Wednesday. The previous UNAIDS chief, Michel Sidibe, left the post early in May after allegations that he improperly handled sexual assault claims against one of his deputies. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced Byanyima’s appointment by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, saying she “brings a wealth of experience and commitment in harnessing the power of government, multilateral agencies, the private sector and civil society to end the HIV and AIDS crisis for communities around the world.” In an email to Oxfam staff, Byanyima said she had “very personal” reasons for accepting the UNAIDS job, noting that she lost her brother Bernard to AIDS “as well as ...