Making Ourselves Accountable for Children and Adolescents

In the AIDS community, this particular moment in time is similar to standing in the eye of a hurricane; the U.N. High Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS (HLM) is behind us and the AIDS 2016 conference takes place in just a few weeks. In the meantime, we have an opportunity to consider what partners have achieved to date as well as the work that still needs to be done to reach our goals.

The Political Declaration that came out of the HLM identified critical targets for children and adolescents that must be met. However, as we head into AIDS 2016, we must ensure that we hold our governments and ourselves accountable for keeping these commitments. Ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is within reach, but to do so, we must first scale up access, treatment, care and support for all children and adolescents. Without starting and succeeding with these populations, our overall success is at risk.

Reaching all children and adolescents requires a collaborative effort between civil society, governments and multilateral institutions. As we look toward AIDS 2016 next month, we hope to see many of you in Durban. We also hope to hear your voices as we all strive to ensure children and adolescents remain an important part of the conversation.