11 June 2015
United Nations General Assembly calls for shared responsibility and global cooperation to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030
The latest report of the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, entitled ‘Future of the AIDS response: building on past achievements and accelerating progress to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030’ was welcomed by member states at the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly.
The report highlights the significant headway made through the collective AIDS response since 2000. It also provides an overview of some of the persisting challenges which include ‘low paediatric and adolescent treatment coverage, lack of stable AIDS funding, gender inequalities, violence against women and vulnerable populations being left behind’. Noting these gains, the Secretary-General emphasised that momentum on the part of the international community should ‘continue into the post-2015 era to … realize the opportunity of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030’. Sam Kutesa, President of the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly agreed, stating that to achieve the UNAIDS Fast-Track Targets – which seek to eradicate the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 – will require ‘increased resources and investment, global solidarity, [and] shared responsibility’.
United Nations member states echoed their support for the Fast-Track approach. ‘We applaud UNAIDS for its analytic and advocacy efforts that have encouraged us to focus the right interventions in the countries, cities and communities where the burden of HIV is greatest’, the Counsellor for Economic and Social Affairs of the United States, Jill Derderian stated. The European Union Delegation to the United Nations, Jan Poulsen, concurred: ‘the Secretary-General’s report shows significant progress but that much more remains to be done’. The member states made several recommendations of their own for ‘leadership, resource mobilization, human rights, community engagement, and civil society involvement to strengthen global efforts on health and development beyond 2015’.