UNAIDS board rejects winding down programme, opts for transformation — Health Policy Watch
The Coordinating Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) rejected the UN Secretary-General’s proposal to wind down the programme by the end of the year. At a special meeting, the board supported transforming it into a smaller and more focused hub, Health Policy Watch reports.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said that the board decided not to wind down the programme but to transform and strengthen it. According to her, preserving the joint programme is only the beginning, after which its transformation must be properly carried out.
Transition group
The board instructed the executive director to establish a transition working group. It is to include representatives of the secretariat and the programme’s co-sponsors, as well as two community representatives nominated by the board’s non-governmental organization delegation.
The group will work with programme-implementing countries, consult stakeholders and prepare a fully costed transition implementation plan. Byanyima’s term ends at the end of December, so the UN Secretary-General will need to appoint an interim head to manage the transition process.
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Functions of the new hub
The working group proposes retaining a more compact secretariat focused on four areas: leadership and advocacy; convening and coordination; accountability, data and targets; and community support. The secretariat is to ensure coordination of joint UN action on HIV and provide leadership for implementing the Global AIDS Strategy, which aims to end AIDS by 2030.
Technical and programme functions are proposed to be transferred to the ten UN agencies and the World Bank that are UNAIDS co-sponsors. The programme’s presence in countries may subsequently be integrated into national institutions, while the joint programme is to maintain a presence in all regions.
The secretariat’s staff has already been reduced from 608 to 294 employees. The secretariat’s budget for 2026 is $85.1 million: 55% is allocated to staff and 39% to activities. Outstanding issues include the duration of the transition period, the format of UNAIDS’ presence in countries, and the appointment of a permanent or interim executive director.
