UNAIDS Issues Major Report
14 July 2015
UNAIDS announced today that the goal of getting 15 million people on life-saving HIV treatment by 2015 has been met nine months ahead of schedule.
The AIDS targets of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6 – halting and reversing the spread of HIV – have been achieved and exceeded, according to a new report, “How AIDS Changed Everything,” that was released today.
New HIV infections have fallen by 35 percent and AIDS-related deaths by 41 percent. The global response to HIV has averted 30 million new HIV infections and nearly 8 million (7.8 million) AIDS-related deaths since 2000, when the MDGs were set.
“The world has delivered on halting and reversing the AIDS epidemic,” said Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations. “Now we must commit to ending the AIDS epidemic as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Released in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the sidelines of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, the report demonstrates that the response to HIV has been one of the smartest investments in global health and development, generating measurable results for people and economies. It also shows that the world is on track to meet the investment target of US$22 billion for the AIDS response by 2015 and that concerted action over the next five years can end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
“Fifteen years ago there was a conspiracy of silence. AIDS was a disease of the “others” and treatment was for the rich and not for the poor,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “We proved them wrong, and today we have 15 million people on treatment—15 million success stories.”
The report celebrates the milestone achievement of 15 million people on antiretroviral treatment—an accomplishment deemed impossible when the MDGs were established 15 years ago. It also looks at the incredible impact the AIDS response has had on people’s lives and livelihoods, on families, communities and economies, as well as the remarkable influence the AIDS response has had on many of the other MDGs. The report includes specific lessons to take forward into the SDGs, as well as the urgent need to front-load investments and streamline programs for a five-year sprint to set the world on an irreversible path to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.