Under Secretary-General of the United Nations and UNAIDS Executive Director, MICHEL SIDIBÉ, to visit Lesotho

 

 

MASERU, Lesotho, July 10, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Under Secretary General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), Michel Sidibé, will be visiting the Kingdom of Lesotho from Wednesday, 15th to Thursday 16th of July, 2009.

 

The purpose of his visit is to witness first hand the progress made in Lesotho to scale up HIV interventions and address the AIDS epidemic. Michel Sidibé will meet with the Government leadership to discuss challenges and successes in achieving Universal Access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. He will also meet people living with HIV as well as civil society. During his mission Michel Sidibé will be visiting the following officials:

 

His Majesty the King

Right Honourable the Prime Minister

Honourable Minister of Health and Social Welfare

National AIDS Commission

Deputy Speaker of Parliament

Cabinet Committee on HIV and AIDS

Lesotho Network of People Living with HIV and the Lesotho Council of NGOs

Lesotho’s Development Partners

 

Born in 1952, Michel Sidibé is a citizen of Mali. He was appointed Executive Director of UNAIDS on 1 January 2009, with the rank of Under Secretary-General of the United Nations. UNAIDS brings together the efforts and resources of ten UN system organizations working in the AIDS response, namely UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank.

 

Before joining UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé spent more than 25 years in public service. His experience spans from UNICEF Country Representative in several African countries including Swaziland, Burundi, and Uganda; to Director of Country and Regional support for UNAIDS. In 2007, he was appointed as UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director of Programmes and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations.

 

Michel Sidibé possesses a vested interest in energizing the global response to AIDS, while vigorously advancing gender equality. This will be his first visit to Lesotho, as part of a broader five day mission to the Region.

 

NOTE FOR THE MEDIA:

 

A press conference with UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, and UN Resident Coordinator in Lesotho, Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa-Onochie will be held on Wednesday 15 July at 17:30 hours at the Maseru Sun hotel. Media is advised to arrive at 17:00 hours to facilitate timely preparations.

There will only be limited opportunities for one-on-one interviews in the scheduled programme. If you are interested in arranging an interview, please contact Clelia Barbadoro as soon as possible.

 

For more information contact:

Ms. Clelia Barbadoro, Communication, UNICEF

Telephone: +266-22-315801; Cell phone: +266-58882872

e-mail: cbarbadoro@unicef.org

 

Ms. ‘Mamosa Moteetee, Communication, UNIC

Telephone: +266-22-313790; Cell phone: 58868932

e-mail: mamosa.ramakatane@undp.org

 

SOURCE 

United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)