37th UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) Meeting
[26-28 October 2015]
Agenda item 1.3 - Executive Director's Report to the 37th PCB
Intervention by India
Mr. Chairman,
India thanks the Executive Director Mr. Michel Sidibefor his report and appreciates his continued leadership in steering global AIDS response. At the outset, we reiterate India's continued commitment to strengthen our AIDS response and also contribute to regional and global efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Mr. Chairman,
The recent adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) signals a critical juncture in the global community's approach to development. The agenda reflects a significantly changed context since the Millennium Development Goals were agreed, including shifting poles of influence and wealth, growing connectivity, intensifying global crises and the increasingly global nature of the determinants of health. We support the Executive Director's view that SDGs will require the AIDS response to reposition itself in an evolving development arena and adopt new approaches to partnership and collaboration.
As noted by the Executive Director and supported by the UNAIDS-Lancet Commission Report, the next 5-6 years provides a fragile window of opportunity to scale up our efforts to drastically reduce HIV infections and AIDS related deaths. In order to achieve the ultimate target of ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030, it is imperative that we not only retain focus on AIDS but also fast track and right track our response at all levels - national and global, and political as well as financial.
Mr. Chairman,
India fully supports the idea of taking AIDS out of isolation, and building linkages and synergies to strengthen the response. India's national programme has already consolidated this process by utilising the reach of the general health delivery system, and also involving the allied Ministries of the government. It is also based on effective community engagement and strong monitoring and evaluation systems, which can provide solid foundations as we proceed towards universal health coverage. We also support the need for geographic prioritisation and focus on key populations. We believe that it is these strategies, based on a rights based and community centric approach that will pave the way for successful implementation during 2016 -2021.
Mr. Chairman,
The success of our strategies would ultimately depend on our ability to identify, mobilize and sustain the required finances and effectively implement the identified actions. We note that annual investments towards the global response to HIV should reach USD 31 billion in 2020 in LMICs.This is an ambitious number and as the Executive Director has pointed it calls for a renewed collaboration and strengthened global partnership based on shared and equity based responses to achieve the common goal of ending the AIDS epidemic and leaving no one behind.
The Joint Programme should continue to support robust country owned and country led AIDS response and give equal emphasis to quality changes and innovations for maximum impact.
We are ready to contribute our part and are committed to strengthening our collaboration with our partners in development from Africa. India looks forward to receiving Executive Director Mr.Michele at the third India-Africa Forum Summit -to be held in New Delhi in two days on 29 October, to join the distinguished Heads of State or Government of Africa and Hon'ble Prime Minister NarendraModi; it will provide an opportunity to also highlight the importance of our collective fight to achieve AIDS free world by 2030.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
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