AIDS
“AIDS is a supremely complex issue that demands an unparalleled response from all sectors of society, worldwide. But … it is increasingly evident that — given the will and given the resources — we can do it.”
Dr. Peter Piot, Foreword to the 2008
Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic
In 1981, one of the leading causes of death in our time broke upon the world scene. The new ailment was named acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). It originally seemed to target the male homosexual community in the United States. But it soon became clear that the virus had spread, largely unnoticed, throughout most of the world. And it did not discriminate among its victims. By 2007, it had claimed some 25 million lives.
Its cause, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), was identified in 1983. It is spread primarily through unprotected sexual contact. It was also found to be spread among drug users by the shared use of needles, as well as through unscreened blood transfusions. Over the ensuing decades, the rate of infection soared dramatically, as did the rate of fatalities. But eventually, new antitretroviral treatments began to extend the lives of those who were infected.
By 2007, the percentage of people living with HIV had stabilized, albeit at an unacceptably high level. The annual number of new infections had declined from 3 million in 2001 to 2.7 million, while the number of those living with HIV globally increased to some 33 million. This was largely a result of the beneficial effects and wider availability of antiretroviral therapy.
The UN family has been in the vanguard of this progress. Since 1996, its efforts have been coordinated by UNAIDS — the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. The Programme is co-sponsored by 10 UN system agencies: UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, the ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank.
In 2000, world leaders set specific goals for combating HIV/AIDS at the General Assembly’s Millennium Summit. A 2001 special session of the Assembly expanded on that commitment, and established the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. At the Assembly’s 2005 World Summit, world leaders agreed to a scaled-up response to the pandemic through prevention, care, treatment and support, and mobilizing additional resources.
And in 2006, the Assembly held a high-level review of progress made since its special session, adopting a 53-point Political Declaration on the way forward.