World Governments Reaffirm Fight Against AIDS

June 2, 2006—Nearly 800 civil society groups joined governments and private sector organizations, May 31 – June 2 to recommit to the global fight against HIV and AIDS at UN headquarters in New York City.

This meeting was a five-year follow up to the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. Adopting the declaration in 2001 at the UN, governments set goals and targets aimed at stopping and reversing the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Today, more than 40 million people are living with HIV and AIDS, a more than nine percent increase from 2001. Infection rates continue to rise in nearly every region of the world, particularly among women and girls.

The 2006 UN meeting provided the international community the opportunity to focus on ending the increased feminization of AIDS, as well as changing the way communities respond to people living with HIV, especially women.

A coalition of international organizations and civil society groups joined to urge that the final political declaration adopted at the meeting focuses on addressing the needs on women and adolescent girls in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. For more information, see the With Women Worldwide—A Compact to End HIV/AIDS, which CEDPA has signed.

With the spread of the pandemic increasing, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, the UN meeting mobilized governments and organizations worldwide to evaluate their challenges and obstacles and reassess how to effectively fight against the pandemic.

CEDPA’s global AIDS programs mobilize communities to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS and promote equal care and treatment for women and their families. To learn more, visit CEDPA’s Web site.

For more information on the 2006 UN Meeting on AIDS, visit the UNAIDS Web site.

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