What is the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)?

About Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS):

• It is an innovative joint venture of the United Nations family established in 1994.
• It leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections,zero discrimination,and zero AIDS-related deaths. 
• UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO, and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.
• UNAIDS fulfils its mission by:
  • Uniting the efforts of the United Nations system, civil society, national governments, the private sector, global institutions and people living with and most affected by HIV;
  • Speaking out in solidarity with the people most affected by HIV in defense of human dignity, human rights, and gender equality;
  • Mobilizing political, technical, scientific, and financial resources and holding ourselves and others accountable for results;
  • Empowering agents of change with strategic information and evidence to influence and ensure that resources are targeted where they deliver the greatest impact and bring about a prevention revolution; and
  • Supporting inclusive country leadership for sustainable responses that are integral to and integrated with national health and development efforts.
• It leads the world’s most extensive data collection on HIV epidemiology, programme coverage and finance and publishes the most authoritative and up-to-date informationon the HIV epidemic—vital for an effective AIDS response.
• The Joint Programme is coordinated by the UNAIDS Secretariat, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Q1: What is HIV?

HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV infects and destroys cells of your immune system, making it hard to fight off other diseases. When HIV has severely weakened your immune system, it can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Source: Indian push needed to end AIDS as a global health threat by 2030: UNAIDS