Defeating AIDS—advancing global health

After more than a decade of major achievements the AIDS response is at a crucial juncture both in terms of its immediate trajectory and its sustainability as well as its place in the new global health and development agendas. In May 2013 the UNAIDS-Lancet Commission -- a diverse group of experts in HIV health and development young people people living with HIV and affected communities activists and political leaders -- was established to investigate how the AIDS response could evolve in a new era of sustainable development. The UNAIDS-Lancet Commission has come together at a moment when the lessons of the AIDS response including its whole-of-society perspective can be informative and even transformational for other spheres of global health. The path to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as set out in this report should be a major part of the post-2015 development agenda. On the basis of our analysis and discussion we make the following seven key recommendations: Urgently escalate AIDS efforts get serious about HIV prevention and continue expanding access to treatment; Mobilise more resources spend efficiently and emphasise sustainability; Demand robust accountability transparency and better data; Forge new paths to uphold human rights and address criminalisation stigma and discrimination; Reinforce and renew leadership and engagement of people living with HIV; Invest in research and innovation in all facets of the AIDS response; and Promote more inclusive coherent and accountable governance for AIDS and health. In conclusion the question is no longer whether the fight against AIDS can be won; the only questions are: will it be won -- and when? The answers to these questions will eventually depend on the decisions made by leaders and institutions at all different levels in all sectors and parts of society and on the personal choices people make in their private lives. (Excerpts)