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Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

Note by the Secretary-General

The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the Economic and Social Council the report of the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), prepared pursuant to Council resolution 2015/2.

Report of the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

Summary

The present report has been prepared pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 2015/2, in which the Council requested the Secretary-General to transmit, at the substantive session of 2017, a report prepared by the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) on progress made in implementing a coordinated response by the United Nations system to AIDS.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS — an early example of United Nations reform that unites, coordinates and synergizes the efforts of 11 United Nations co-sponsors and the secretariat — has led the global AIDS response and supported countries as they pursued the AIDS targets outlined in the Millennium Development Goals. The Joint Programme’s advocacy has kept AIDS high on the global political agenda and contributed to the inclusion of the ambitious target of ending the AIDS epidemic as an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goals. It also led to the setting of bold fast-track targets and milestones in the outcome document entitled “Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: On the Fast Track to Accelerating the Fight against HIV and to Ending the AIDS Epidemic by 2030”, adopted at the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly on HIV and AIDS in June 2016 (see resolution 70/266).

Bringing together the sectoral- and population-specific capacities and expertise of each co-sponsor and the Secretariat, the Joint Programme has played a unique role in strengthening multisectoral HIV responses, ensuring linkages with the broader 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Normative guidance by the Joint Programme has assisted countries in implementing rights-based and evidence-informed programmes and in leveraging rapidly evolving scientific knowledge. The Joint Programme has remained the central provider of authoritative strategic information on the epidemic and the response at the global, regional and country levels. This information forms the basis for programmes resourced by national Governments and development partners.

The Joint Programme has also served as a consistent and vocal advocate for an inclusive AIDS response, grounded in human rights and gender equality. The Joint Programme has pioneered the principle of leaving no one behind. It is the global leader in galvanizing and supporting the mobilization of communities affected by the epidemic and it supports countries in designing programmes to ensure equitable access to services for key populations and vulnerable groups.

As set out in the UNAIDS 2016-2021 Strategy, entitled “On the Fast-Track to end AIDS” the world faces a historic opportunity. Extraordinary scientific advances, combined with more than three decades of experience in scaling up HIV programmes, have led to remarkable progress against AIDS in many countries and underpinned the global commitment to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

Notwithstanding the remarkable progress, the AIDS epidemic is far from over. Prevention remains key to achieving the ambitious 2020 and 2030 targets. However, progress in reducing new HIV infections has stalled since 2010. Continuing high rates of new HIV infections translate into higher future treatment needs. More than 10 million additional people living with HIV will need to access treatment by 2020 in order to reach the agreed treatment targets and to avoid AIDS-related deaths. Yet, access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment services is hindered by the stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV, the criminalization of people at higher risk of HIV infection, socioeconomic inequalities and unequal gender relations that especially affect young women.

UNAIDS projections show that such challenges can be overcome by accelerating the AIDS response and focusing interventions on the locations and populations most in need. However, shifting global priorities may undermine progress and hinder the ability of countries to reach the AIDS targets and fulfil their commitments. Although advocacy and technical assistance by the Joint Programme have contributed to an increase in domestic financing for the response in low- and middle-income countries, international donor support to those countries is decreasing faster than the rise in domestic investments.

Additional investment by all countries across the AIDS ecosystem is critical to fulfilling the commitment, reaffirmed in the 2016 Political Declaration, to close the $7 billion investment gap.

In line with the multidimensional nature of the AIDS epidemic, actions to end the epidemic need to be mainstreamed across the relevant Sustainable Development Goals. As recognized by the Economic and Social Council and, more recently, by the General Assembly in 2016, UNAIDS and the broader AIDS response also offer important lessons that can strengthen and help sustain global health and development efforts more broadly.

The Joint Programme’s core budget had been fully resourced each year since its inception, but a funding gap left 28 per cent of the 2016 core budget unfunded. This situation has prompted discussions in the UNAIDS governing body, the Programme Coordinating Board, on the Joint Programme’s activities in the light of the funding available. Member States are supporting the efforts of UNAIDS to reposition and reinforce its Joint Programme model, in part through a multi-stakeholder global review panel. This exercise will see UNAIDS remain a pathfinder for United Nations reform and enable the AIDS response to contribute even more substantively to the broader 2030 Agenda.