Media Outlets Report On Protest At AIDS 2018 Opening; U.N. Agencies Call For More Political Commitment To Improve HIV Prevention, Especially Among Teen Girls

Devex: UNAIDS chief confronted by anti-harassment protestors on stage in Amsterdam
“Campaigners hijacked the opening of the 22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam to protest the presence of Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, who they accused of being ‘an enabler and protector of sexual harassment.’ Sidibé has been criticized for his response to a harassment scandal at the U.N. agency…” (Edwards, 7/25).

Reuters: UNICEF warns of HIV crisis in teen girls, with 20 cases every hour
“Teenagers, and particularly girls, are bearing the brunt of the global AIDS epidemic with around 30 adolescents becoming infected with HIV every hour, according to a report by the United Nations children’s fund UNICEF. Of those 30 new infections each hour among 15- to 19-year-olds in 2017, around 20 — or two-thirds — were in girls, UNICEF said, representing a ‘crisis of health as well as a crisis of agency’…” (Kelland, 7/25).

U.N. News: More ‘political commitment’ needed urgently for HIV prevention: UNAIDS chief
“As HIV infections continue to rise, UNAIDS … called on Tuesday for countries to boost prevention measures and continue facilitating access to treatment. Around 1.8 million people became newly infected with HIV and around 50 countries experienced a rise in new HIV infections during last year, according to Michel Sidibé, executive director of UNAIDS, who was speaking at the ongoing International AIDS Conference in the Netherlands…” (7/25).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.