SECRETARY-GENERAL RENEWS DR. PIOT’S APPOINTMENT AS UNAIDS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Secretary-General Renews Dr. Piot’s Appointment As UNAIDS Executive Director

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 25 January (UNIS) -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has renewed Dr. Peter Piot’s appointment as Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for four more years.  “I am delighted that Dr. Piot will continue to lead the response of the United Nations to HIV/AIDS for the next four years”, said Secretary-General Kofi Annan.  “This is a crucial time in our fight against the epidemic, and in our work to mobilize the world against this unique threat to human development and security.”

Under Dr. Piot’s leadership, UNAIDS has become the chief advocate for worldwide action against AIDS.  It has brought together 10 organizations of the United Nations system around a common agenda on AIDS, spearheading United Nations reform.

“I am very pleased and honoured to have the opportunity to serve UNAIDS for an additional four years”, said Dr. Piot.  “Over the past years, we have made great progress in the global response to AIDS.  As we enter a new era of implementation, we must focus our efforts on translating the commitments of recent years into improved prevention, care and support services for the people who need them.”

“We welcome Dr. Piot’s reappointment as Executive Director of UNAIDS”, said Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Chair of the UNAIDS Committee of Co-sponsoring Organizations.  “Dr. Piot’s leadership has helped break down major barriers surrounding AIDS and reshaped the mobilization of resources for an effective response to AIDS.  We look forward to continue working with him for the next four years in addressing the challenges of the AIDS pandemic.”

“I am very pleased to hear about the reappointment of Dr. Peter Piot as Executive Director of UNAIDS.  It comes at a crucial period in the fight against the pandemic:  the world is scaling up efforts at a remarkable pace.  More than ever, the strong leadership provided by Dr. Piot is welcome and necessary”, said the Hon. Aileen Carroll, Canada’s Minister of International Cooperation.  Canada is currently Chair of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board.

For more information, please contact Dominique De Santis, UNAIDS, Geneva, tel.:  +41 22 791 4509, e-mail:  desantisd@unaids.org.

For more information about UNAIDS, please visit www.unaids.org.

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