Finance and HIV experts gather in Haiti to debate new strategies for making the HIV response sustainable
JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV AND AIDS www.unaids.org
PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
News and Public Information
Port au Prince, Haiti, November 2, 2017– The Third Latin American and Caribbean Forum on Sustainability of the HIV Response “Road to Ending AIDS in LAC: Towards Sustainable Regional Fast-Track Targets” will be held in Port au Prince, Haiti, from 6th to 8th November 2017, organized by the Government of Haiti, UNAIDS, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), people living with HIV and partners.
Through the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: On the FastTrack to Accelerating the fight against HIV and to End the AIDS Epidemic by 2030, the world has pledged within the Sustainable Development Goals to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030. Countries have committed to a “Fast-Track” approach from now until 2020, and reaffirm in light of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, concrete policies and actions to close the global HIV and AIDS resource gap and to fully fund the HIV and AIDS response with the target of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
The key objective of this third Forum is to develop and implement the rapid expansion of an efficient, effective, integrated and sustainable HIV response aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, the “Universal access to health and universal health coverage” and the Latin America and the Caribbean regional Fast Track agenda.
In 2016, there were 2.1 million people living with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean. The treatment coverage among people living with HIV in 2016 was 54% in the region overall, 58% in Latin America and 52% in the Caribbean, respectively. Rising HIV treatment coverage has played a primary role in reducing AIDS-related mortality: between 2010 and 2016, the number of AIDS-related deaths in the LAC region fell by 19%; 12% in Latin America and by 28% in the Caribbean. The annual number of new HIV infections among adults in Latin America and the Caribbean has remained stable since 2010: in both 2016 and 2010 there were an estimated 120,000 new infections.
The Forum, which will bring together finance and HIV experts from Latin America, the Caribbean and from around the world, will provide a space for sharing information on national progress and preliminary results towards the achievement of the agreed “90-90-90” and the prevention and zero discrimination targets, challenges and unmet needs from the 2015 Rio Call to Action. It will also provide a space for sharing new scientific data, to support the implementation of cost effective and efficient interventions across the continuum of HIV prevention, care and treatment. Finally, it will facilitate a discussion around strategies and mechanisms to transition into nationally sustainable responses to end AIDS as a public health threat in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2030.
This forum is being organized as a collaborative effort by the Government of Haiti, in coordination with the Horizontal Technical Cooperation Group (GCTH), the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP), the Minister of Health of Brazil, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the Global Fund Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the Latin American Network of People Living with HIV (REDLA+) and the Caribbean Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (CRN+).
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The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) works with the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of their populations. Founded in 1902, it is the oldest international public health organization in the world. It acts as the WHO regional office for the Americas and is the specialized health agency of the inter-American system.
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