Mr. Nelson Muffuh, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations – Message of Support from the United Nations

Honourable Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla,

Honourable Deputy Ministers and MECs present,

Honourable Premier of the Kwazulu-Natal Province, Ms. Nomusa Dube-Ncube,

Your Worship and our host, Mayor of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality,

Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda as well as the Deputy Mayor and all other councillors,

SANAC Co-Chair and Civil Society Forum Chairperson, Ms. Steve Letsike,

Professor Koleka Mlisana at the NHLS,

South African National AIDS Council CEO, Dr Thembisile Xulu Conference Chair and Co-Chair, Dr Gloria Maimela and Dr Thato Chidarikire

Distinguished guests, friends, and colleagues,

Thank you very much for the invitation to be here this evening. It is an honour to deliver a message of support on behalf of the United Nations System in South Africa at the opening of the eleventh South Africa AIDS Conference.

The UN Family in South Africa stands in solidarity with the 8 million people in the country living with HIV.

 We strongly believe, South Africa is a beacon for the rest of the world about what is possible, when leaders – starting from the highest level of government along with civil society, international partners, and vibrant communities - are acting boldly and collectively, bringing together cutting-edge science, delivering services that meet the people’s needs, protecting human rights and sustaining adequate financing.

As a result we have seen steep declines in new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths.

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, recently said on World AIDS Day in 2022, that the world has promised to end AIDS by 2030. But we are off track. He affirmed that to end AIDS, we must end the inequalities that are blocking progress.

The curves are simply not bending fast enough to stop the AIDS pandemic. Last year, approximately 200 000 South Africans became newly infected with HIV and 51 000 died from AIDS-related illnesses.

Infections and deaths are indeed following the fault-lines of inequality.

Women and girls account for the majority of new infections in South Africa. Adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 24 years are four times more likely to be infected with HIV than boys and men of the same age. We must deepen our push to eliminate the disproportionate vulnerability of girls to HIV.

Through initiatives such as the Education Plus to keep girls in school, the Generation Unlimited, and the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) Ministerial Commitment, we hope adolescent girls will be empowered with knowledge and socioeconomic opportunities to avoid decisions about their bodies and pathways that hold them back – risk of HIV infection, risk of unintended, and early pregnancy.

We must counter gender inequalities and harmful gender norms that are driving HIV. Gender based violence including intimate partner violence is increasing by up to 50 %women’s risks of HIV infection and constraining the access of women living with HIV to life-savings services.

It is crucial for us to also address inequalities in access to lifesaving HIV treatment for children. Closing the treatment gap for children will save lives.

UN in South Africa stands ready to rally behind the Global Alliance to end AIDS in children by 2030 in South Africa.

We are also committed to supporting the national Undetectable equals Untransmissible (U=U) treatment literacy campaign.

The struggle for equal access to health technologies is one that the HIV movement has led. This struggle for the best HIV tools that science can offer to be available to all people who need them in every country continues.

Breakthrough science alone is not enough to end AIDS. Central in the new South Africa National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB and STIs (2023-2028) is shifting the environment of laws and policies that stand in the way of the impact that great science can have.

In this regard, we must step-up our efforts to remove punitive laws against key populations which are fuelling HIV.

We have witnessed first-hand in this country that decriminalisation and addressing stigma faced by vulnerable and at risk populations has led to greater access to HIV treatment for more than 5.7 million people.

The United Nations welcomes the South African Government’s decision to review its laws relating to sex work among consenting adults to move us closer to reaching our goal of ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

To end the AIDS epidemic, community responses to HIV must be scaled-up. Community-led services and civil society accountability are a key part of what has worked in AIDS and that we need more of. Our health workers not just in hospitals or clinics but also in communities are central to fighting our pandemics of today.

And this leads me to my final point— the importance of sustained and adequate financing for the HIV response, for the investments in health infrastructure and systems— including essential workers—and for social protection and education.

On the African continent, South Africa is among the top- ranking countries in allocation of revenues to health, and must be applauded for financing 69 percent of your HIV response.

The UN looks forward to walking with you to implement the recently approved National Health Insurance (NHI) bill to address health care financing challenges and provide universal access to quality healthcare for all South Africans, irrespective of their socio-economic status.

The UN in South Africa Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS will continue to work with our partners in government and civil society organisations to:

• generate and promote effective use of strategic information;

• scale up rights-based HIV services for all;

• ensure equitable financing for the HIV response and broader health systems and

• strengthen the capacities of communities and their meaningful engagement in health, social protection, and human rights.

Honourable Minister, distinguished guests, friends, and colleagues allow me to end by once more expressing the United Nations systems solidarity with the Government and people of South Africa to continue to Act, Connect and End the Epidemic.

I wish you fruitful deliberations over the coming days and we look forward to the outcomes of this auspicious Conference.

Phambili (forward) unite to end the inequalities holding back the end of AIDS Phambili!

Phambili to achieving our common goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 Phambili!

Phambili to Leaving No one Behind and achieving the SDGs for People, for Planet and for Prosperity Phambili!

Ngiyabonga.

Asante sana.