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The UNAIDS chief, who was in a hurry to resign for dealing with allegations of badual harbadment in the agency, told the Guardian that he would not give up , saying that the HIV epidemic is in crisis and that there is more work to be done.
"We have more than 15 million people waiting for treatment.We have a lot of new infections that occur.My work is not over yet," said Michel Sidibé, executive director of the # 39, UNAIDS, who spoke about the controversy for the first time.
The agency released its latest comprehensive report on the epidemic before the International AIDS Conference. Next week in Amsterdam it stated that the fight against HIV / AIDS was at a fragile stage, with progress against the wave of infection being insufficient in many countries and that money and time were lacking
. The goal of ending the epidemic by 2020 may not be achieved.There has been good progress, particularly in reducing the number of deaths from drug administration. antiretrovirals to HIV-positive people. of 22 million people on treatment of nearly 37 million people living with HIV, and deaths have been reduced by 34% since 2010.
"But overall, the world is moving away." "Promises made to the most vulnerable people in society are not kept up, there are miles to go to end the AIDS epidemic, time is running out."
Sidibé said he was very aware of the particular sensitivity to allegations of badual harbadment within a UN agency that claims to defend the rights of women who are at high risk of HIV infection because of status – oppressed and abused and subjected to violence by men. In sub-Saharan Africa, three out of five new infections were among young women, according to the report.
"It's painful for me, honestly, because UNAIDS protects women who are facing rape and become HIV-positive," Sidibé said.
HIV activists and whistleblowers who have spoken out against badual harbadment in UNAIDS have called for Sidibé's resignation, calling for Theresa May's government to intervene because the United Kingdom currently holds the presidency of the board of directors.
Martina Brostrom claimed to have been badually badaulted by Luiz Loures, Sidibé's deputy. She claimed that Sidibé had tried to bribe her to abandon the allegation by offering her promotion. In minutes of a staff meeting, the head of UNAIDS appeared to attack whistleblowers for lack of ethics
Sidibé vehemently denied having treated badly the allegations. "I received the complaint on November 7, 2016 and on the 9th [November 2016] I called for an independent investigation," he said. "The independent investigative body of the WHO [World Health Organisation] told me that they could not do it because the complaint arrived 18 months later. forbidden to do it.I asked to give up this constraint and to make a full investigation. "
He did not speak before, he said, because he had to protect the confidentiality of the victims and the investigation. "Then I refused to go out and say anything, but I want to say that I never hid myself, I never mismanaged that, if I did." an error in my address to the staff, I'm sorry.This was not at all intentional.I focus on the future and I'm committed to zero tolerance.I will do everything to implement the findings of the group of independent experts. "
The independent survey examines the structure and procedures in place at UNAIDS. Sidibé said he wanted the agency to become a role model for the rest of the UN. What happened was a reflection of what needs to change in the wider society, he said.
"This #MeToo movement is welcome – it's a wake-up call for all of us – I do not see any organization that is immune to this problem." He is deeply rooted in most places where people work, "he said.
The HIV epidemic, he said, "is at a shaky point", with funding lower by 20% HIV is being put on treatment at a slower pace than before. There has been a disappointment that the number of new infections continues to increase, even though people on antiretrovirals do not transmit the disease. "Up to 50% of transmissions come from people before they start treatment," he said. In sub-Saharan Africa, it is likely older men who would not take the drugs before feeling sick.
"We are at a very difficult time from my point of view and we have to say it. Otherwise, we would mislead people. It's time for a wake up call. We can win, but not yet. If we do not invest in this epidemic, we could really have a rebound. "
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