HIV: Senegal calls for mobilization and strengthens its alliance with UNAIDS

Faced with new challenges that threaten progress made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Senegal is showing its determination to stay the course towards eliminating the epidemic by 2030.

On the sidelines of the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union on Health, the Minister of Health and Public Hygiene, Dr. Ibrahima Sy, accompanied by the Executive Secretary of the National Council for the Fight against AIDS (CNLS), Dr. Safiatou Thiam, met with the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Winnie Byanyima, for a strategic exchange on the future of the HIV response.

This high-level meeting provided an opportunity to address the major challenges that will shape continued efforts in Africa and around the world. Among the concerns raised were the transformation of UNAIDS within the framework of the reform of the United Nations system, the resurgence of new infections, particularly among adolescent girls and boys, and the need to strengthen the continent's health autonomy.

The issue of African pharmaceutical sovereignty also featured prominently in the discussions. Participants emphasized the importance of developing local manufacturing of medicines and health products to reduce dependence on external sources and ensure sustainable access to treatments.

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Organized on July 21 and 22, 2026, in Accra under the theme "Eliminating HIV by 2030, Ending Preventable Maternal Deaths, Combating Endemic Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases on the Continent and Strengthening Health Systems by 2030," the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union on Health brought together Heads of State, Ministers of Health, technical and financial partners, and key international health institutions. This continental meeting provided an opportunity to assess progress made, but also to highlight persistent challenges, in a context marked by declining international funding for health.

Participants called for more innovation, solidarity and investment to preserve the gains made in the fight against HIV.

Through its exchanges with UNAIDS and its active participation in continental discussions, Senegal confirms its leading role in the African response to HIV. The country reaffirms its commitment to accelerating actions for prevention, care, and the reduction of new infections, in line with the goals of eliminating AIDS by 2030, the African Union's Agenda 2063, and the ambitions of Universal Health Coverage.