UNAIDS Board rejects plans to shut down the agency, backs transformation

In a press statement dated October 26, 2026, the Board reaffirmed strong support for the Joint Programme, with members unanimous that its transformation must safeguard communities and keep the AIDS response on track.

Executive Director Winnie Byanyima captured the significance of the decision: "You have rejected the sunsetting of UNAIDS and chosen instead to transform and strengthen this unique Joint Programme. I thank programme countries, donors, civil society and activists who stood firm and fought for the future of UNAIDS. Saving the Joint Programme is only the beginning. Now we must transform it and get that transformation right."

The decisions align with the directions set by the Secretary-General's UN80 reforms. The Board said a transformed United Nations "must measure its success not by the structures it preserves or abolishes, but by the impact we deliver for people."

Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said: "The Secretary-General's intention was to preserve and strengthen the UN's HIV response in the face of disruption and anchor the response more firmly at the country level."  

Key strategic directions include: UNAIDS will not be sunset, and the UN's mandate on HIV continues; a strong, focused Secretariat (Hub) leading four core functions; Cosponsors taking stronger leadership in technical areas under the division of labour.

Communities are also at the centre of the model at every level, with a shift to co-creation and co-leadership; human rights and gender equality protected and the ECOSOC mandate and inclusive governance under the PCB maintained.

The Board proposed a phased transition, not a rushed one, shaped by each country's context and readiness. It requested the Executive Director to establish a Transition Task Team comprising Secretariat and Cosponsor representatives and two community representatives nominated by the PCB NGO delegation. 

Many programme countries have stepped forward to support UNAIDS amid funding cuts and potential withdrawals.