Secretary-General Appoints Michel Kazatchkine as Special Envoy

 

for HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

 

The Secretary-General has appointed Michel Kazatchkine as his Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, one of only two regions in the world where HIV is continuing to grow.

Michel Kazatchkine is an internationally recognized physician who has devoted 30 years of his professional life to the AIDS response.  From 2007 to 2012, he served as the Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  Previously, he was Director of the French National Agency for AIDS Research and also served as France’s Global Ambassador for HIV and Communicable Diseases.

In 2011, there were 1.5 million people living with HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and 170,000 people were newly infected with the virus.  New infections have risen by more than 22 per cent in the region since 2005 and there is no sign that the epidemics are slowing down.  It is therefore critical to strengthen, at the highest levels, advocacy efforts in the region.

As Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Mr. Kazatchkine will use his vast experience to help turn the trajectory of the epidemic in the region.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record