Michel Sidibe

Michel Sidibe became the second Executive Director of UNAIDS on 1 January 2009. He holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Mr. Sidibe currently chairs the H6, a partnership that unites and leverages the mandates of six United Nations agencies to deliver on an integrated agenda for the health and well-being of women, children, and adolescents. Mr. Sidibe’s vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths has helped drive recent progress in the AIDS response. The goal of having 15 million people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy by the end of 2015 was achieved nine months ahead of schedule. Access to these life-saving medicines has continued to expand, with 22 million people now on treatment.

Mr. Sidibe’s work has earned him widespread recognition. He has been awarded honorary doctorates from Tuskegee University, Clark University, the University of British Columbia and KwaZulu-Natal University. Since 2007, he has held an honorary professorship at Stellenbosch University. In 2017, he was awarded the Emory President’s Medal in recognition of his work as a “passionate champion for health and humanity.” In 2012, he was named as one of the 50 most influential Africans by the Africa Report and, in 2009, as one of 50 personalities of the year by the French newspaper Le Monde.