<<Print>>

The  Vice  President,  Mr  K.  B.  Amissah-­‐Arthur,  has  arrived  in  New  York  for  the  United   Nations  High  Level  Meeting  on  ending  AIDS.      

The  meeting,  which  comes  off  from  the  8th  –  10th  June  2016  at  the  United  Nations   Headquarters,  will  focus  the  world’s  attention  on  the  importance  of  a  fast-­‐track   approach  to  the  AIDS  response  over  the  next  five  years.    

Mr  Amissah-­‐Arthur  is  expected  to  address  the  gathering  as  well  as  co-­‐chair  a  panel   discussion  with  Mr  Ratu  Epeli  Nailatikau,  former  President  of  the  Republic  of  Fiji  on   “AIDS  within  the  SDGs:  leveraging  the  end  of  AIDS  for  social  transformation  and   sustainable  development”.    

There  will  also  be  a  session  on  accelerating  local  pharmaceutical  production  in  the   ECOWAS  sub-­‐region  and  Africa  as  a  whole.    

The  meeting  comes  as  a  new  report  issued  by  UNAIDS  shows  that  the  number  of   people  accessing  antiretroviral  medicines  has  more  than  doubled  since  2010.      

Ending  AIDS  by  2030  is  an  integral  part  of  the  Sustainable  Development  Goals,   which  United  Nations  Member  States  adopted  unanimously  in  2015.  

The  lessons   learned  in  responding  to  HIV  will  play  an  instrumental  role  in  the  success  of  many   of  the Sustainable  Development  Goals,  notably  Sustainable  Development  Goal  3,   good  health  and  well-­‐being,  and  the goals  on  gender  equality  and  women’s   empowerment,  reduced  inequalities,  global  partnerships  and  just,  peaceful  and   inclusive  societies.    

The  Vice  President  is  due  to  return  home  over  the  weekend.