WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with HIV community leaders who were in Geneva for the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) meeting, reaffirming WHO's commitment to community leadership and partnership in the global HIV response.
Opening the meeting, Dr Tedros emphasized that WHO wanted to listen first, recognizing that communities at the forefront of the HIV response bring invaluable knowledge, experience and leadership. Community leaders welcomed the opportunity for direct dialogue and stressed that reforms to the global HIV response must strengthen the central role of communities. They called for closer collaboration for co-creation, with communities meaningfully involved in governance, policy development, implementation and accountability.
Participants also underscored the importance of protecting human rights, addressing stigma, discrimination and criminalization, and strengthening collaboration on community-led monitoring to improve accountability and better reflect lived experiences. Dr Tedros reaffirmed WHO's commitment to continuing the dialogue with communities and to expanding meaningful community engagement across the HIV response, including through the WHO Civil Society Commission. He welcomed closer partnership with communities in shaping, implementing and evaluating policies and programmes, recognizing their essential role in driving an effective, equitable and people-centred HIV response.
