Media Advisory: The 2006 High-level Meeting on AIDS: UNFPA to Highlight Increased Feminization of HIV/AIDS

UNITED NATIONS, New York — As the world marks 25 years of AIDS, representatives of the international community will gather at the United Nations to take stock of global efforts to confront the pandemic. The 2006 High-level Meeting on AIDS, 31 May–2 June, will review progress made since the 2001 United Nations General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS, and the implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS adopted at that historic meeting.

During the 2006 review, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, will highlight the increased feminization of HIV/AIDS, especially among the young. In parts of the world, 76 per cent of young people (aged 15 to 24) living with HIV are female. UNFPA will ask world leaders for further political commitment to prevention, treatment and care for young people and the vulnerable. The Fund will hold a number of events to underline this message, including:

Monday, 29 May

• Youth Summit. Representatives of youth organizations fighting against HIV/AIDS from around the world will gather before the high-level meeting to share experiences of their campaigns against the pandemic and to prepare their input to the review process

Tuesday, 30 May

• Launch of the 2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic. UNFPA’s Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid will join UNAIDS Executive Director Dr. Peter Piot and UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman in launching the global report. It provides the most comprehensive overview ever compiled on country responses to the AIDS epidemic.

Wednesday, 31 May 

• Wake-Up showing, followed by Q&A. Wake-Up, a half-hour documentary, focuses on Mozambique, a country that is emerging from civil war only to find itself facing a fast-growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. The film explores the relationship between HIV and young people and what a select group of non-governmental organizations is doing to raise awareness and advocate for prevention. The documentary was produced by Simone Duarte, whose other credits include The Road to Baghdad.

Thursday, 1 June 

• Panel 3: Ending the Increased Feminization of AIDS. The panel, moderated by UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, will focus on the disproportionate impact of AIDS on women and girls, and the broader social and economic implications of this trend.

• Youth Caucus that will review the high-level meeting and discuss how its outcomes can be implemented in-country. Mrs. Nane Annan and Kunio Waki, a UNFPA Deputy Executive Director, are among those who will attend

• Audio news conference featuring three young campaigners against HIV/AIDS – from Kenya, the Netherlands and the United States – who will discuss their own experiences and the difficulties facing young people in confronting the pandemic. Steve Kraus, Chief of UNFPA’s HIV/AIDS branch, will take part in the news conference.

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Contact Information:

Abubakar Dungus, tel.+ 212-297-5031, dungus@unfpa.org 

Omar Gharzeddine, tel. + 212-297-5028, gharzeddine@unfpa.org

Patricia Leidl, tel. +212-297-5088, leidl@unfpa.org