Contribution to UNAIDS the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS 2022-2024

• Decline of new HIV infections: new HIV infections have been reduced by 31% since 2010, and 54% for mother-to-child transmissions. However, the downward trend is stagnating, with 1.5 million new infections in 2020, whereof 660’000 women over 15 years of age and 150’000 children
• Increased access to testing and treatment: AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by more than 49% since 2010. A record number of 27.5 million people living with HIV globally accessed antiretroviral treatment in 2020
• Steady but slow reduction in stigma, discrimination and inequalities: HIV prevention, treatment and care services are more widely available now than a decade ago. But stigma and discrimination continue to be considerable barriers to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support
• With the Global AIDS Strategy 2021-2026 and the 2021 United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS the international community agreed to include new targets on social enablers to end inequality, stigma and discrimination and set ambitious targets such as to reduce new HIV infections to under 370’000 per year by 2025

• Active contribution, as Programme Coordinating Board member in 2021 and as a Member State, to the adoption of the Global AIDS Strategy 2021-26 and the 2021 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, which include elements Switzerland advocated for, such as the integration of HIV services into health systems strengthening for Universal Health Coverage, the focus on prevention and on youth, and to address stigma and discrimination that act as barriers to effective HIV/AIDS responses
• Proactive sharing of Switzerland’s’ comprehensive approach to harm reduction that has led to significant decrease of HIV among Injecting Drug Users and the experience of Switzerland in chemical pre-exposure prophylaxis increasingly taken up globally
• Contribution to increased transfer of state-of-the-art evidence and tools into policies and programmes through the support of the International AIDS Society Educational Fund Programme 2018-2021

• As per the target 3.3 of the Agenda 2030, UNAIDS aims at ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030. The Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026 “End Inequalities. End AIDS” proposes an inequality lens rooted in human rights, gender equality and community-led responses to get the global AIDS response back on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.3. The Strategy focusses on three priorities:
  1. Maximize equitable and equal access to HIV services and solutions
  2. Break down barriers to achieving HIV outcomes
  3. Fully resource and sustain efficient HIV responses and integrate them into systems for health, social protection, and humanitarian settings
• The target is to ensure 95% coverage in all populations, age groups and geographic areas of essential, evidence-based HIV services, including combination prevention, prevention of vertical transmission and sexual and reproductive health services, HIV testing, treatment, care
• The targets for societal enablers are: reducing to no more than 10% the proportion of people living with or affected by HIV who experience stigma and discrimination, or who experience gender-based inequalities and gender-based violence, and the number of countries which have punitive laws and policies in place

• Strengthening of UN system-wide coherence in the HIV/AIDS response: strengthened UNAIDS convening role, contribution to the United Nations Development System reform, and integration of HIV/AIDS in humanitarian settings
• Ensuring that the HIV/AIDS response is grounded in human rights, gender equality and inclusive stakeholder engagement: inequality lens and community-based interventions ensured that nobody is left behind in the HIV/AIDS response
• Strengthening of UNAIDS organizational development, effectiveness and accountability: Independent Evaluation Office strengthened; Independent External Oversight Advisory Committee established and effectively functioning and the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network recommendations addressed
• Coordination within SDC: Swiss positions in the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board are informed through a regular exchange with the SDC Health Network and Swiss Cooperation Offices/Embassies engaged in health

6^th rank (2020)

USA, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, UK, Russia, Denmark, Norway and Luxemburg were the top ten donors in 2020. UNAIDS is also funded by the cosponsors and private foundations

In the Programme Coordinating Board, UNAIDS’ governing body, Switzerland belongs to a constituency with Sweden, Austria and Iceland. Switzerland and Sweden rotate the seat in the PCB. Switzerland also participates in the Group of Friends of UNAIDS.

Phase 17 01.01.2022 - 31.12.2024   (Completed)