On World AIDS Day, 1 December, France reaffirms its resolute commitment to the battle against HIV and AIDS. As the second-largest contributor historically to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, France calls on all players in the international community to mobilize and redouble their efforts to end the pandemic by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.
Despite considerable progress made over the last 30 years, in 2023 more than 630,000 people died from causes linked to HIV, and 1.3 million people contracted HIV. The epidemic mostly affects the most vulnerable and marginalized people, who suffer because it is more difficult for them to access care.
France was one of the very first countries to take international action based on values of solidarity and universal access to treatment. It has always been fully committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS.
- Firstly, through the work of the French researchers Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier, winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, which led to the discovery of the virus in 1983. The mobilization of research and French scientific expertise remains an invaluable strength in our efforts to end AIDS.
- Secondly, through France's political and financial commitment at international level, which has never ceased since the beginning of the 2000s. France was one of the founding members of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and of Unitaid – an organization which is focused on access to innovation in health and contributes to the fight against the AIDS virus –, with an accumulated contribution of more than €9.4 billion since the two institutions were created in 2002 and 2006.
Thanks to these commitments, France has taken part in the development and large-scale, very low-cost distribution of HIV tests and prevention-and-treatment methods. In 2023, more than 30 million people benefited from treatment worldwide, and more than 54 million tests were carried out.
However, while excellent results have been achieved collectively for over 20 years in reducing the epidemic, progress is stalling and the needs are still noticeable. France has observed increased mortality from AIDS in conjunction with chronic and degenerative illnesses and repeats that strengthening health systems is a precondition for access to treatment and for international health security. It calls on the whole international community to redouble its efforts to defeat HIV/AIDS by 2030.