Global Fund Strongly Supports Inclusion and Full Participation at High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS
19 May 2016
GENEVA – The Global Fund strongly supports the UNAIDS call for inclusion and full participation of civil society organizations at the 2016 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS.
From June 8-10, 2016, world leaders, government representatives, HIV program implementers and civil society organizations from around the world will gather at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to develop a way forward to reach the Sustainable Development Goal of ending AIDS as an epidemic by 2030.
The voices and perspectives of individuals and nongovernmental organizations working to ensure no one is left behind in the fight against HIV are a crucial part of this important forum, particularly people living with HIV and people most affected by the epidemic, including women and girls, sex workers, people who use drugs, men who have sex with men, and transgender people.
As a 21st-century partnership of governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by AIDS, TB and malaria, the Global Fund recognizes that ending AIDS as an epidemic can only be achieved with the meaningful engagement and participation of people living with and affected by the disease. Reaching Millennium Development Goal 6 of halting and reversing the AIDS epidemic and the historic milestone of 15 million people on treatment by 2015 were due to a coordinated, committed effort of partners worldwide – including civil society groups.
The High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS should be guided by the principles on which the successes of the AIDS response are built – inclusion, participation and dignity.