UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, brings together the efforts and resources of ten UN organizations to the global AIDS response.

Cosponsors include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank .

UNAIDS works on the understanding that the response to HIV needs to be constantly expanded if the epidemic is to be halted and its impact reduced. This expansion has two elements: to promote Universal Access to prevention, care and support; and combining such efforts with actions that tackle the societal factors that increase people’s vulnerability to HIV.

The UNAIDS Secretariat operates as a catalyst and coordinator of action on HIV, rather than as a direct funding or implementing agency.

Specific areas of work are promoting and assisting

* Leadership and advocacy for effective action on the epidemic;
* Strategic information to guide efforts against HIV worldwide;
* Tracking, monitoring and evaluation of the epidemic and of responses to it;
* Engaging other stakeholders in HIV, including mass organizations, NGOs; People Living with HIV, and the business sector;
* Mobilization of technical and financial resources to support an effective response.


UNAIDS headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Executive Director of UNAIDS is Michel Sidibe.

The secretariat works on the ground in more than 80 countries world wide. UNAIDS supports countries in the development, implementation and scale-up of comprehensive AIDS strategies.

Millennium Development Goals

The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were agreed upon at the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000. To date, nearly 190 countries have committed to them.

The Goals are matched by 18 time-bound targets, which assist the international community to measure its progress. The intention is that the targets will be achieved by 2015.


Millennium Development Goal No. 6 calls for combating and reversing the spread of HIV and AIDS by 2015.


The eight Millennium Development Goals are:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development