New York, 10 July 2026

Madam President,

The Holy See acknowledges the progress that has been accomplished in preventing and treating HIV and AIDS in the past five years and the great strides made overall since the first High-level Meeting on this subject in 2001. The number of new HIV infections has declined in most regions since 2010, with the greatest decreases in sub-Saharan Africa. Having access and adherence to antiretroviral treatment, people with HIV can live longer and lead healthier lives.
 
Multisectoral partnerships have been key to reducing costs and expanding availability to treatments and should be further strengthened. Indeed, many still are excluded from such treatment, mostly in the developing world. As Pope Leo XIV has said, “We cannot conceive of a society that races ahead at full speed clinging to the false myths of wellbeing, while at the same time ignoring so many situations of poverty and vulnerability.”[1] Strengthening health systems and building capacity for medical research, development, innovation, and production in developing countries are essential to ensuring consistent care and treatment for all, which ultimately contributes to the promotion and protection of God-given human dignity.

My Delegation would like to draw special attention to children, who remain particularly vulnerable to HIV. Gaps in both diagnosis and treatment mean that the three percent of HIV patients that are children account for twelve percent of deaths due to HIV.[2] These disparities begin with their mothers who are at-risk and HIV positive and who do not receive adequate testing and consistent treatment. Quality antenatal as well as perinatal and postpartum care protects both mothers and their children. It is vital to ensure early testing and consistent access to treatment for children with HIV in child-friendly formulations.
 
Madam President,

The Catholic healthcare institutions, which provide approximately a quarter of all HIV-related care worldwide, will continue to do their part in their efforts to ensure that all people living with HIV receive treatment and care in line with their inherent human dignity.

Thank you.      

_________________

[1] Pope Leo XIV, Greeting during a visit to the staff and patients of Hospital De La Croix, Jal el-Dib, Lebanon, 2 December 2025.

[2] Cf. Report of the Secretary-General, United to End AIDS, A/80/724, paragraph 15.