48th PCB - Intervention by Dr. Karen Badalyan - Agenda item 1.3: Report of the Executive Director

Delivered by Dr. Karen Badalyan, Europe, on behalf of the NGO Delegation

Dear Chair, colleagues,

I am honoured to speak on behalf of the NGO Delegation to the PCB. At the outset, I wish to thank the Executive Director for her continued vision and commitment in leading UNAIDS, and the staff for their ongoing dedication and contributions towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

And of course, thank you for your synopsis of what the Joint Programme has been able to achieve, highlighting not only the engagements and successes, but also gaps that require urgent investment and action.

As the NGO Delegation, we completely share your vision that the HIV response is not just all about statistics, but actually people and lives. We note the pragmatic changes under your leadership, the narrative for people and communities who are left behind and catch-up strategies to ensure that their emerging needs and priorities are supported through community and key population-led responses. However, we would like to see more people-oriented reporting that talks to quality of life indicators and impact of the interventions, rather than politically motivated reporting, or just statistics and listing of activities.

UNAIDS is currently at an important chapter in its existence, with a new Global AIDS Strategy and Political Declaration asking us to refocus our work on closing gaps and focusing our energy on human-centered AIDS response to facilitate a stronger UNAIDS. We appreciate that the culture transformation initiative is in the due focus of your daily work to ensure that UNAIDS is a safe, equal and empowering workplace for all. This will be a critical time for the Joint Program to model adherence to core values and principles in all its work, both internally and externally.

Winnie, you said that this is your fourth PCB meeting, and the world has changed more than we could ever have imagined. This is my fourth PCB as well and I would say that the UNAIDS too has changed more than we have imagined. About two years ago, I entered into a binary UNAIDS but today we are seeing some openness within UNAIDS to conversations exploring non-binary values. We urge UNAIDS to continuously strive towards becoming a partnership that catalyzes the translation of political commitments into action, prioritising the leadership and meaningful involvement of PLHIV and key populations, and pushing for the removal of punitive and discriminatory laws, policies, and practices that block effective responses to HIV.

Thank you!

Tags: 48th PCB Meeting