PAHO and Unitaid sign agreement to intensify collaboration to prevent and advance HIV response in Latin America and the Caribbean – PAHO/WHO

Rio de Janeiro, July 31, 2024 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the global health initiative Unitaid signed a Memorandum of Understanding to intensify collaboration to advance the response to HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The $5 million grant, which was signed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 30, aims to reduce HIV deaths in the region by addressing prevention and treatment of advanced HIV disease.

The project will focus on identifying gaps and barriers in national HIV programmes, strengthening HIV surveillance, accelerating the introduction of new tests and treatments, and training health workers.

“To improve access to prevention and treatment, we must decentralize HIV care so that it is closer to patients,” said PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa during the signing of the agreement. “This grant will allow us to support countries in incorporating tools that will allow us to advance even faster toward eliminating HIV-related deaths.”

An estimated 2.3 million people are living with HIV in Latin America and 340,000 in the Caribbean. Thanks to modern treatment options, the number of HIV-related deaths has decreased over the past 10 years in both Latin America and the Caribbean (by 28% and 57% respectively). However, in 2023, new infections increased by 9% in Latin America, despite reductions of 22% in the Caribbean and 51% globally, highlighting the urgent need for more targeted interventions.

Advances in medicine and public health have enabled rapid diagnosis, as well as the development of effective combined prevention and treatment methods against the virus. A person with HIV who adheres to treatment no longer transmits the virus, and people at substantial risk can avoid HIV infection by taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which guarantees 99% protection. New rapid antigen-based diagnostics can also identify whether a person with HIV has a serious infection (such as tuberculosis, histoplasmosis, or cryptococcosis), helping to ensure earlier access to treatment. New data support the use of shorter prevention and treatment options for many of these opportunistic infections.

“This new agreement is part of our effort to help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean get the innovation they need to fight HIV and will consolidate the work we are already doing,” said Unitaid Executive Director Philippe Duneton. “As we move forward in the fight against HIV, I am optimistic that the incorporation of new tools and new public health approaches will result in the impact we desire on advanced HIV disease in the Americas.”

Since 2020, PAHO and Unitaid have collaborated to support health innovations in the Americas. Earlier this year, they signed a memorandum of understanding to intensify collaboration to end 30 preventable communicable diseases in the region by 2030, including cervical cancer, HIV, and Chagas disease.

HIV infection is one of the diseases addressed in PAHO’s Elimination Initiative, which aims to eliminate more than 30 communicable diseases and related conditions by 2030.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) works with the countries of the Americas to improve health and quality of life. Founded in 1902, the organization is the oldest international public health organization in the world and acts as a specialized health agency of the Inter-American System and the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Help Unit Unitaid saves lives by making new health products affordable and available in low- and middle-income countries. Working with partners, Unitaid identifies innovative treatments, addresses market barriers and rapidly delivers solutions to those in need. Since 2006, Unitaid has made more than 100 health products available for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, women’s and children’s health, and pandemic preparedness. Each year, these products benefit more than 170 million people. Unitaid is a partnership sponsored by the World Health Organization.