Fight against HIV/AIDS: launch of enhanced Action plan in EU and neighbouring countries
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14.03.2014
European Commission
Press release
Brussels,
14 March 2014
Fight against HIV/AIDS: launch of enhanced Action
plan in EU and neighbouring countries for 2014-2016
Today
the European Commission put forward an Action Plan on HIV/AIDS which
prolongs and extends existing EU action in this area, building on the
achievements of the Action Plan 2009-2013.
The
new Action Plan places a greater focus on keeping HIV/AIDS high on
the political agenda, tackling HIV-related stigma and discrimination
and achieving better access to voluntary testing. Actions on HIV
prevention and awareness-raising to tackle risk behaviour, as well as
early treatment and care, remain priorities, as are prevention
strategies and measures that focus on priority groups, such as men
who have sex with men, migrants, and injecting drug users.
Tonio
Borg, European Commissioner for Health, underlined: "Today's
Action Plan shows that the fight against HIV/Aids remains a priority
for EU health policy. We need to address the worrying increase of
HIV/AIDs in some parts of the EU. To do this, we must reach out to
the citizens who are most at risk, fight all forms of discrimination,
and foster access to diagnosis and treatment. I am fully committed to
this cause and call on all actors health authorities, NGOs,
international organisations to join us in putting this plan in
action".
Other
needs identified in the Action Plan are targeted support to
additional populations at risk - e.g. prisoners and sex workers,
improved cooperation with Eastern European Member States and
neighbouring countries, and addressing co-morbidities such as
Tuberculosis and Hepatitis. Civil society organisations will continue
to play a crucial role in implementing the prolonged action plan
alongside Member States, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNAIDS,
the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
HIV/AIDS on the increase in the EU and neighbouring
countries
Contrary
to the global trend which shows an overall drop in new HIV
infections, in Europe the number of newly reported cases is
increasing. In 2012, more than 131 000 new HIV infections were
reported in Europe and Central Asia up 8% from 2011. Of these
new cases, 29 000 were reported in the EU and the European
Economic area (EU/EEA) 1% more than the previous year.
EU
Strategy for combating HIV/AIDS in the EU and neighbouring countries
The
Commissions Communication on combating HIV/AIDS in the EU and
neighbouring countries 2009-2013, provides an EU-level policy
instrument to complement Member States policies on HIV/AIDS. The
overall objectives of the Communication are to contribute to reducing
HIV infections across EU, improve access to prevention, treatment,
care and support, and improve the quality of life of people living
with HIV/AIDS in the EU and neighbouring countries.
To
achieve these objectives, the Communication is complemented by anoperational action plan, originally running from 2009 to 2013 and
now prolonged up to 2016. The actions contained in this plan are
structured in the following six key areas: (1) Politics, policies and
involvement of civil society, wider society and stakeholders, (2)
Prevention, (3) Priority regions, (4) Priority groups, (5) Improving
knowledge, and (6) Monitoring and evaluation. The Commission works
jointly with civil society and Member States through the HIV/AIDS
Civil Society Forum and the Think Tank on HIV/AIDS to facilitate the
planning and implementation of the response to HIV/AIDS.
Funding instruments
Funding
for the implementation of the Communication and Action Plan is
provided through a range of mechanisms and instruments. These include
the EU Health Programme, the programme for research and innovation -
Horizon 2020, the Global Fund to Fights AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria to which the EU is a major contributor, as well as EU
Structural Funds, the Development Cooperation Instrument and the
European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument.
Next steps
An
independent external evaluation of the Commissions 2009
Communication and Action Plan to combat HIV/AIDS in the EU and
neighbouring countries is underway. The results, which are due before
summer 2014, will contribute to the consideration of options for a
possible future EU policy framework on HIV/AIDS.
For more information on EC policy on HIV/AIDS: http://ec.europa.eu/health/sti_prevention/hiv_aids/index_en.htm
