The UN chief is marking World AIDS Day on Thursday with a call to action to end the inequalities which are blocking progress towards stopping the pandemic, and eradicating the virus.
Can you imagine going to the gym for a 24-hour workout?
That’s what Peter Koopmans did between Sunday and Monday, to raise awareness and funds for child victims of sexual abuse, doing thousands of pull-ups, push-ups, and squat thrusts at UNAIDS in Geneva, starting at midday on Sunday – World AIDS Day.
When people living with HIV actively participate in their own care, new infections decline and more affected people access treatment, according to a new report launched on Tuesday by UNAIDS, the United Nations agency leading the fight against the disease.
Transforming those who have suffered sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by UN personnel from victims into survivors, is the goal of the first-ever official appointed to advocate on their behalf. Jane Connors took up the post of UN Victims’ Rights Advocate in August and undertook her first field visit two months later. She has already visited the UN’s peacekeeping operation in the Central African Republic (CAR), and this week she was in South Sudan. They are two of the four countries where the majority
Ambitions of zero infections, zero deaths and zero stigma when it comes to AIDS cannot be achieved without addressing worrying trends seen with men.
That’s the view of Simon Bland, head of the UNAIDS office in New York, who says ending the epidemic by 2030 means getting men, who are less likely to access healthcare treatment, onboard with testing and prevention.
Although the number of people receiving treatment for HIV has doubled over the past five years, the UN is pushing to make sure even more people can access these life-saving services.
Innovative approaches showing how countries are meeting this goal are documented in a report by UNAIDS, the UN agency working to end the disease.
The report was launched ahead of World AIDS Day, commemorated on 1 December.
Dianne Penn reports.
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