The High-Level Meeting on AIDS

The High-Level Meeting on AIDS took place between June 8-10, 2021. The high-level meeting reviewed the progress made in reducing the impact of HIV since the last United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on HIV and AIDS in 2016 and the General Assembly adopted a new political declaration to guide the future direction of the response.

HIV Prevention at HLM 2021

• Statement on Adoption of the Political Declaration at the 2021 High Level Meeting
  On June 8th, the General Assembly adopted a Political Declaration that sets important targets and goals in many areas for the next five years but still left work to be done. In the strong words of the US mission “[t]he text we are adopting today, lacks the ambition needed to meet the stated goals of this high-level meeting—ending inequalities and ending AIDS.”
  
  These concerns are also heard from civil society who find it unacceptable that the Political Declaration does not address the harmful and hateful effect of state criminalization of behaviors or practices. The statement signed by 80 organizations and advocates also presses for greater civil society involvement in the implementation and monitoring of HIV services in their communities.

• No Prevention, No End; The importance of HIV prevention – How Leadership can turn an epidemic
  
  
  Excerpts from the HIV prevention meeting from the 2021 High Level Meeting on AIDS — including Mitchell Warren, Joyce Ouma, and Dr. Lilian Benjamin Mwakyosi. View the full event here.

• UN 5th High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS: Civil society says “Yes — AND” to the 2021 political declaration
  AVAC's Maureen Luba Milambe writes in Science Speaks about the Political Declaration adopted by the UN General Assembly, the issues surrounding it, how a number of organizations and activists have spoken out about it and how their responses represent a community amendment to the declaration.

Side Events of Interest

• Science, HIV and Covid-19 – Where are we headed?
  June 7, 2021 from 8:00-9:30am ET
  In this side-event, Jon Cohen, a leading science journalist, engaged leaders in global science with specific questions and moderate a panel discussion before inviting questions and comments from the audience and other participants.

• No Prevention, No End: The importance of Leadership for HIV prevention – How decisions can turn an epidemic
  June 8, 2021 from 8:00-9:30am ET
  This side event reinforced the urgent need for leadership to foster and drive decisive action to get back on track to achieve the HIV prevention targets by 2030. Examples were given where leadership on prevention has moved the needle in the HIV response and address resilience for HIV prevention programmes alongside the intersecting COVID-19 epidemic responses. Click for the flyer. And the recording is available.

• Facts of Life: Youth, sexuality & HIV
  June 10, 2021 from 8:00-9:30am ET
  This event included a lively debate between young people, government representative and experts on what's working, what isn't and why in securing young people's sexual and reproductive health and rights. Download the flyer. Watch a recording.

Follow Along on Social Media

For AVAC's take, follow @hivpxresearch. For the larger conversation, follow #HLM2021AIDS.