Roundtable Meeting Held at the United Nations to Launch the Global Media AIDS Initiative

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Launches Global Media AIDS Initiative

As part of the ongoing mobilisation of civil society in the fight against HIV/AIDS, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met on January 15, 2004 with leaders of some of the world’s leading media organizations to launch a Global Media AIDS Initiative. The Initiative aims to activate media organizations to reach the world’s people – especially youth – with information about how to prevent and treat HIV and to help combat AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.

The launch of the Global Media AIDS Initiative drew Presidents, CEOs and senior executives of over 20 media organizations from around the world. Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Drew Altman, President and CEO of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, whose organizations developed the Initiative, led sessions on the state of the global AIDS epidemic and the role that the media can play in combating the disease. Shashi Tharoor, United Nations Under Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, facilitated a dialogue among participants. The meeting also received support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

icon_news_release.gifNews Release on the Global Media AIDS Initiative
Webcast of Meeting
Photos from the meeting
Meeting Agenda (.pdf)
List of Meeting Participants (.pdf)
Participant Biographies (.pdf)
Participating Media Companies (.pdf)
Statement of Support (.pdf)
Bill Gates Keynote Address (.pdf)


What Media Can Do (.pdf): A summary of opportunities for media companies to play a role in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The Media and HIV/AIDS: Making a Difference (.pdf): An overview of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and the role media can play in the fight against AIDS.

“Media Giant and Foundation Team Up to Fight HIV/AIDS,” The Lancet, April 26, 2003 (.pdf)

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