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The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) (, ONUSIDA) is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
/
AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
pandemic. The mission of UNAIDS is to lead, strengthen and support an expanded response to HIV and AIDS that includes preventing transmission of HIV, providing care and support to those already living with the virus, reducing the
vulnerability Vulnerability refers to "the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally." A window of vulnerability (WOV) is a time frame within which defensive measures are diminished, com ...
of individuals and communities to HIV and alleviating the impact of the epidemic. UNAIDS seeks to prevent the HIV/AIDS epidemic from becoming a severe pandemic. UNAIDS is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, where it shares some site facilities with the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
. It is a member of the
United Nations Development Group The United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), previously the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), is a consortium of 36 United Nations funds, programs, specialized agencies, departments and offices that play a role in development ...
. Currently,
Winnie Byanyima Winifred Byanyima (born 13 January 1959), is a Ugandan aeronautical engineer, politician, human rights activist, feminist and diplomat. She is the executive director of UNAIDS, effective November 2019. From May 2013 until November 2019, she ser ...
leads UNAIDS as executive director. Former executive directors are
Peter Piot Sir Peter Karel, Baron Piot, (born 17 February 1949) is a Belgian-British microbiologist known for his research into Ebola and AIDS. After helping discover the Ebola virus in 1976 and leading efforts to contain the first-ever recorded Ebola epi ...
(1995–2008) and
Michel Sidibé Dr. Michel Sidibé (born 1952 in Mali) is the Africa Union Special Envoy for the African Medicines Agency (AMA). He was the Minister of Health and Social Affairs of Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲 ...
(2009–2019). The agency promotes the GIPA principle (greater involvement of people living with HIV) formulated in 1994, and endorsed by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
in 2001 and 2006.


Goals

# Leadership and advocacy for effective action on the pandemic; # Strategic information and technical support to guide efforts against AIDS worldwide; # Tracking, monitoring and evaluation of the pandemic and of responses to it; # Civil society engagement and the development of strategic partnerships; # Mobilization of resources to support an effective response.


Role

The aim of UNAIDS is to help mount and support an expanded response to HIV/AIDS, one that engages the efforts of many sectors and partners from government and civil society. Established by ECOSOC resolution 1994/24 on 26 July 1994, UNAIDS officially launched in January 1996. The organizations is guided by a Programme Coordinating Board with representatives of 22 governments from all geographic regions, the UNAIDS Cosponsors, and five representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including associations of people living with HIV/AIDS.


History

While UN AIDS was officially created in 1994 with UN resolution, and launched in 1996, the roots of UN AIDS can be traced back to the first recorded case of HIV/AIDS 15 years prior in 1981, and the launch of the Global Network of People living with HIV/AIDS ("GNP+") started in 1986 by Dietmar Bolle, an HIV positive specialist nurse and activist, who aimed to connect people living with HIV/AIDS around the world.


Origin: 1920s–1980 and Pre-HIV/AIDS Crisis

It is widely believed that HIV first crossed over from chimpanzees to humans in the 1920s through humans eating chimps infected with
simian immunodeficiency virus ''Simian immunodeficiency virus'' (''SIV'') is a species of retrovirus that cause persistent infections in at least 45 species of non-human primates. Based on analysis of strains found in four species of monkeys from Bioko Island, which was isola ...
(SIV), a virus similar to HIV, in what is now the
Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
. Scientific and medical research determined the chimps hunt and eat two smaller monkey species red-capped mangabeys and greater spot-nosed monkeys which carried two strains of SIV which combined through infection and transmission into "SIVcpz", a virus almost identical to HIV, which eventually spread to humans. The first "verified" case of HIV was detected retrospectively using a blood sample from 1959 from a man living in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, albeit there are believed to be numerous other HIV cases prior based on observed symptoms and patterns of death.


1981 First AIDS Cases Reported

The first ever AIDS cases were reported on 5 June 1981 in the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s weekly epidemiological digest ''Morbidity and Mortality Weekly'', which described rare pneumonias in five patients and "the possibility of a cellular-immune dysfunction related to a common exposure that predisposes individuals to opportunistic infections such as
pneumocystosis Pneumocystosis is a fungal infection that most often presents as Pneumocystis pneumonia in people with HIV/AIDS or poor immunity. It usually causes cough, difficulty breathing and fever, and can lead to respiratory failure. Involvement outsid ...
and
candidiasis Candidiasis is a fungal infection due to any type of '' Candida'' (a type of yeast). When it affects the mouth, in some countries it is commonly called thrush. Signs and symptoms include white patches on the tongue or other areas of the mouth ...
". In 1982, the CDC adopted the term AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. From 1981 to 1985, doctors around the world in countries such as
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and African countries,
Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
, Congo,
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
,
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
, and
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
noted they had observed and treated medical cases with similar symptoms as HIV/AIDS in the 1970s. In 1985, the CDC hosted the First
International Conference on AIDS The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's largest association of HIV/AIDS professionals, with 11,600 members from over 170 countries , including clinicians, people living with HIV, service providers, policy makers and others. It aims to r ...
in Atlanta.


1981–1994: The Global Response Prior to UNAIDS

As Lindsay Knight summarises the understanding and outlook of the early 1980s in her report, ''UNAIDS: The first ten years, 1996–2006'': "No one could have imagined that a few cases of rare diseases damaging the immune system would herald a pandemic that has killed more than all those who died in battle during the whole of the twentieth century." However, views with respect to the speed and success of the initial response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and crisis are mixed. The global response to the HIV/AIDS crisis was initially led by the US based Center for Disease Control which discovered the first HIV/AIDS case. A 2011 report "AIDS: the Early Years and the CDC's Response", makes the case that it is due to the CDC's rapid and effective approach, and staff, that the virus was even discovered in the first place. The report further argues that the CDC's approach, along with partnerships with the
US Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...
, and the
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
, are the reason that initial recommendations for diagnosis, treatment, and containment were developed, issued and disseminated so quickly (within 1–2 years of first reported case), The report states that the CDC's "excellent surveillance, rapid identification, innovative science, committed persons", among other factors help to "illustrate the power of epidemiologic investigation in understanding and preventing new diseases, even in the absence of an identified cause" and that the "CDC's reputation and staff accomplishments led to the formation of the Global AIDS program." Critics of the global response to the HIV/AIDS crisis prior to UNAIDS assert that the initial response was slow, faltering, negligent, and exacerbated the crisis which could have been contained more expeditiously if it were not for failures of leadership, missed opportunities, wasted time, among other factors. One book which examines the global response, and describes both the positive and negative aspects states that during the first fifteen years of the HIV/AIDS crisis, "most of the world's leaders, in all sectors of society, displayed a staggering indifference to the growing challenge of this new epidemic." It explains that a combination of factors – (1) biases and stereotyped views that those ill were only from stigmatized communities such as sex workers, drug users, migrants, among others, as well as (2) political issues such as countries not wanting to admit there was a crisis and taking steps to block journalists and media reports on the breakout, (3) politicians falsely believing that the disease was limited to lower income countries with less developed medical and healthcare systems, and some politicians fear of associating their own country with sex and death – all led to a slow response, and low levels of funding for research, treatment, and support at a time when greater actions could have been taken. Other reasons for delays include some scientists dismissing concerns about HIV/AIDS becoming a global pandemic as unnecessarily alarmist.


Sexual harassment scandal

Sidibé offered his resignation from his post as head of UNAIDS following an expert report on sexual harassment in the agency that criticized his "defective leadership". Initially, when allegations surfaced in mid-2018, Sidibe refused to quit. In response to heightened scrutiny and reports of his gross mismanagement, however, Sidibe informed the agency's board on 13 December 2018 that he would leave his post in June 2019. A panel of independent experts released a report on 13 December 2018 saying Sidibe was overseeing a "patriarchal" workplace and promoting a "cult of personality" centred on him as the all-powerful chief. The experts further said the situation could not be changed unless Sidibe, a native of Mali who has headed the UN agency for nine years, resigned. One official with ties to senior management at the UNAIDS Geneva secretariat also noted, under Sidibe's leadership, that "UNAids mirrors the whole UN as a 'boys club' with hierarchical and patriarchal culture of discrimination, lack of transparency and accountability that enables harassment." Sidibe denied claims that he tried to force an employee to drop allegations that she was sexually assaulted by his former deputy. Despite the scathing report, he insisted he was the right man to turn around the organisation, a claim which had been roundly rejected.


Staff, Sponsors and Partners


Cosponsors

* The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) *
United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
(UNICEF) *
World Food Programme The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
(WFP) *
United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
(UNDP) *
United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies ...
(UNFPA) *
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...
(UNODC) *
International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
(ILO) *
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
(UNESCO) *
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) *
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
*
UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women advocates for the rights of women and girls, and focu ...
The co-sponsors and the UNAIDS Secretariat form the Committee of Cosponsoring Organizations, which meets twice each year.


Leadership

The executive director of UNAIDS is
Winnie Byanyima Winifred Byanyima (born 13 January 1959), is a Ugandan aeronautical engineer, politician, human rights activist, feminist and diplomat. She is the executive director of UNAIDS, effective November 2019. From May 2013 until November 2019, she ser ...
, who assumed the role on 1 November 2019.
Peter Piot Sir Peter Karel, Baron Piot, (born 17 February 1949) is a Belgian-British microbiologist known for his research into Ebola and AIDS. After helping discover the Ebola virus in 1976 and leading efforts to contain the first-ever recorded Ebola epi ...
was the first executive director of UNAIDS. He served from its inception in 1995 until 2008, when he departed to lead the Institute for Global Health at
Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
. On 1 January 2009,
Michel Sidibé Dr. Michel Sidibé (born 1952 in Mali) is the Africa Union Special Envoy for the African Medicines Agency (AMA). He was the Minister of Health and Social Affairs of Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲 ...
became the new executive director of UNAIDS until 2019 when he was appointed as Minister of Health and Social Affairs of Mali. Following Mr Sidibé's departure and until the appointment of Ms Byanyima,
Gunilla Carlsson Anna Gunilla Carlsson is a Swedish politician and a member of the Moderate Party. She served as Minister for International Development Cooperation from 2006 to 2013, member of the Swedish Riksdag from 2002 to 2013 and deputy chairman of her part ...
, the Deputy Executive Director, Management and Governance, was appointed as UNAIDS Executive Director, ad interim. Shannon Hader is the Deputy Executive Director, Programme. UNAIDS has several Goodwill Ambassadors who help strengthen awareness of the organisation's work, including: Myung-Bo Hong,
Toumani Diabaté Toumani Diabaté ( ; born 10 August 1965) is a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styles. ...
,
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway (born Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, , on 19 August 1973) is the wife of Crown Prince Haakon. Haakon is the heir apparent to the throne, which means that should he ascend to the throne, she will automaticall ...
,
Princess Stephanie of Monaco Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a s ...
,
Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama '' For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...
,
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ( Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films. The winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant, she has established herself as one of the most popular celebriti ...
,
Vera Brezhneva Vira Viktorivna Halushka ( uk, Віра Вікторівна Галушка; russian: link=no, Вера Викторовна Галушка, ''Vira Viktorivna Halushka''; born 3 February 1982), better known by her stage name Vera Brezhneva (russi ...
,
Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spice. Wi ...
and
Pia Wurtzbach Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach ( ; ; born September 24, 1989), formerly known professionally as Pia Romero, is a Filipino model, actress and beauty queen who is known for being crowned Miss Universe 2015. She joined Binibining Pilipinas pageant three ...
.


Partnerships

The United Nations Declaration Commitment on HIV/AIDS provides the guiding framework for UNAIDS action. Promoting partnerships among various stakeholders is reflected within the leadership section of the Declaration of Commitment. In particular, it calls for complementation of government efforts by the full and active participation of civil society, the business community and the private sector through: * Establishing and strengthening mechanisms that involve civil society including faith-based organizations (FBOs), the private sector, and people living with HIV/AIDS at all levels * Encouraging and supporting local and national organizations to expand and strengthen regional partnerships, coalitions and networks * Full participation of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), those in vulnerable groups and people mostly at risk, particularly young people * Addressing issue of stigma and
discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
. UNAIDS works to promote partnerships among and between this diverse and broad range of non-state entities. This calls for increases in both the number of new actors, as well as in innovative ways of working, to facilitate increased capacity of non-state entities to respond effectively to the epidemic at all levels. With the momentum generated by the UN Special Session on HIV/AIDS, the main challenges are to: * Sustain and deepen involvement of those contributing and critical to the response such as PLWHA organizations * Move beyond the organizations already involved and reach out to optimally engage a broad range of sectors/actors. UNAIDS has collaborated with the Roman
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, especially
Caritas Internationalis Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. Collectively and individually, their missions are to work to build a bett ...
, in the fight against AIDS, something which materialized in a December 2005 message by Pope Benedict XVI. However, it indicated in a 2009 communiqué that it did not agree with the Pope's statement that condoms were unhelpful in AIDS prevention, instead calling them "essential".


From policy to action

In engaging non-state entities in an expanded response to the epidemic, the UNAIDS Secretariat: * Fosters and supports global, regional and country level partnerships which include linkages between and among civil society, private sector, philanthropy, media, and with particular attention to organizations of people living with HIV/AIDS * Supports governments and UN agencies in developing partnerships with non-state entities. This includes support for approaches intended to increase participation, improve connectedness of efforts and strengthen the various participants' capacity for action.


Donors

As the main advocate for global action on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS leads, strengthens and supports an expanded response aimed at preventing the transmission of HIV, providing care and support, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV/AIDS, and alleviating the impact of the epidemic. To fulfil this mandate, UNAIDS is supported by voluntary contributions from governments, foundations, corporations, private groups (for example, students, universities, sporting clubs, etc.) and individuals. In 2003, more than US$118.5 million was received from 30 governments, philanthropic lolnizations, individuals from around the world and others. The largest donors were the Netherlands followed by Norway, the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Japan. In 2004, 35 governments contributed to UNAIDS including India


UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassadors and Global Advocates

UNAIDS engages political figures, celebrities, and subject matter experts as Ambassadors, and advocates, on a country, regional, and global level, to advocate for its agenda and policies. *
Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spice. Wi ...
* Chantal Biya


See also

* Jan Beagle *
International Partnership for Microbicides The International Partnership for Microbicides or IPM is a non-profit product development partnership (PDP) founded by Dr. Zeda Rosenberg in 2002 to prevent HIV transmission by accelerating the development and availability of a safe and effectiv ...
*
Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine The Institute of Tropical Medicine ( nl, Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde, ITG; french: Institut de médecine tropicale, or IMT), officially known as Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine, is one of the world's leading institutes for ...
(
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
) *
World AIDS Day World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired imm ...


References


Further reading

*


External links


unaids.org – The UNAIDS Homepage

UN 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS

UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic: Executive Summary (PDF)

HIV & AIDS Terminology Guidelines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joint United Nations Programme on Hiv Aids HIV/AIDS organizations Organizations established in 1994 United Nations Development Group United Nations General Assembly subsidiary organs International medical and health organizations United Nations organizations based in Geneva