Officially, the organization is known as the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, but it is more commonly referred to as UNAIDS.
Unique among UN agencies, UNAIDS is dedicated exclusively to the prevention and treatment of a single cluster of related diseases, unlike the World Health Organization (WHO), which takes a more comprehensive approach. Its mission is to lead, strengthen, and support global efforts to prevent AIDS-related illnesses from becoming a severe pandemic and to end AIDS as a public health threat.
UNAIDS was founded in 1996 as concerns about the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and other related illnesses caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which had reached epidemic proportions. Today, the terms “AIDS” and “HIV” are often used together, as prevention strategies focus primarily on stopping the transmission of HIV to reduce the illnesses it may cause.
The first known case of HIV/AIDS was recorded in 1981 in the United States of America. The virus quickly became a leading cause of death amongst Americans aged 25-44. According to the official history of UNAIDS, AIDS-related illnesses are one of the worst pandemics the world has ever known, killing an estimated 44 million people to date. In 2024, UNAIDS estimated that between 490,000 and 820,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses, down from 2.1 million two decades earlier.
What is UNAIDS?
UNAIDS is a specialized United Nations agency that focuses exclusively on coordinating and delivering care for people with HIV to prevent them from transmitting it onward.
For 15 years after the first AIDS case was reported, member nations had struggled to contain the spread, which led to calls for the United Nations to step in and provide coordination and leadership. As a result, UNAIDS was formed. It now employs around 600 people, around 30% of whom work at the agency’s headquarters in Switzerland and the rest in the field.
What does UNAIDS do?
Early in its history, UNAIDS focused on sharing the research burden of studying AIDS-related illnesses and monitoring HIV transmission, work that had previously been led mostly by the United States. Later, the agency began work on educating member nations to reduce the stigmatization of HIV-positive individuals and advocating for the development and distribution of drugs to treat them.
Today, UNAIDS describes itself as being a “problem-solver” and advocates for people affected by AIDS-related illnesses to have a greater say in how governments respond to the spread of HIV. Although UNAIDS is a global agency engaged in field work in nearly every region and territory, its primary focus is sub-Saharan Africa, because that region is home to nearly two-thirds of all HIV cases worldwide.
UNAIDS also regularly employs Goodwill Ambassadors and Global Advocates to help advocate for its agenda and policies.
Although there is still work being conducted to discover an effective vaccine against HIV, the primary medical focus today is on providing antiretroviral drugs (ART) to prevent the transmission of the virus by infected individuals. UNAIDS also supports harm reduction programs such as providing free syringes and opioid substitution therapy to prevent the transmission of HIV by infected individuals who inject drugs.
In eastern and southern Africa, UNAIDS advocates for the use of condoms and male circumcision as effective methods for reducing transmission.
Who owns UNAIDS?
As a United Nations agency, UNAIDS is jointly owned by all UN member nations. UNAIDS is governed by a program coordinating board (PCB) composed of 22 representatives from UN member states, 11 representatives from other UN organizations (UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO, World Bank, and UN Women) and five representatives from NGOs.
UNAIDS is the only UN agency which has a permanent spot in its governing structure for members of civil society.
The majority of UNAIDS’ funding comes from 27 national governments, with countries such as the United States, the Netherlands, and Sweden being amongst the top donors. However, recent cuts in the contribution by the United States have led to calls to dismantle the agency as it can no longer adequately fund its budget.
What does “UNAIDS” stand for?
In English, the acronym UNAIDS is used as shorthand for the official name of the agency, which is the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS.
In French, the acronym ONUSIDA is used as shorthand for the official name of the agency, which is Programme commun des Nations Unies sur le VIH.
What are UNAIDS’ goals?
Currently, the official goals of UNAIDS are to:
- Provide leadership and advocacy for effective action on the HIV pandemic.
- Give strategic information and technical support to guide countries’ efforts to prevent the spread of AIDS.
- Track, monitor, and evaluate the pandemic as well as responses to it.
- Engage with civil society and form strategic partnerships on this issue.
- Mobilize funding and other resources to support an effective response.
The overall goal is to completely eradicate all AIDS-related illnesses worldwide, ideally by the year 2030 as part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Other areas of primary focus for UNAIDS include: providing care and support for people affected by AIDS-related illnesses, reducing the negative social and cultural impacts on people who are diagnosed as HIV-positive, and leading fundraising efforts to support its mission.
