UNAIDS Welcomes United States Senate Action To Renew Its Global AIDS Program

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Aid / Disasters
Article Date: 22 Jul 2008 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS welcomes U.S. Senate approval of the "Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde Global Leadership on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008." With this key vote, the U.S. government has taken another major step in keeping its commitment to the global AIDS response.

Today's action in the US Senate is a vote of confidence that past and current investments in bilateral and multi-lateral programs are working. For example, more than three million people have access to HIV treatment. HIV prevalence among young pregnant women (ages 15-24) attending antenatal clinics has declined since 2001 in 11 of the 15 most affected countries. With more than 33 million people living with HIV worldwide, global support for AIDS has never been more important.

UNAIDS welcomes the US Senate legislation which would authorize $48 billion over five years for AIDS, TB and malaria. UNAIDS is encouraged that the bill would strike language in US law that requires HIV to be on the list of "communicable diseases of public health significance" for which a non-US citizen can be excluded from travelling or moving to the US.

UNAIDS is an innovative joint venture of the United Nations, bringing together the efforts and resources of the UNAIDS Secretariat and ten UN system organizations in the AIDS response. The Secretariat headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland - with staff on the ground in more than 80 countries. Coherent action on AIDS by the UN system is coordinated in countries through UN theme groups, and joint programmes on AIDS. UNAIDS' Cosponsors include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank.

http://www.unaids.org