Main advocate for global action on the epidemic, UNAIDS leads, strengthens and supports the expanded response aimed at preventing transmission of HIV, providing care and support, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV/AIDS, and alleviating the impact of the epidemic.

UNAIDS Corporate Objectives are:
- Leadership & Advocacy for effective action
- Civil society engagement & partnership development
- Strategic information to guide efforts of partners
- Tracking, Monitoring & Evaluation of the epidemic and actions
- Financial, technical and political resource mobilization

To address the HIV/AIDS, a multifaceted, worldwide problem, 6 UN agencies combined forces in 1996 to establish the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS. They included the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank.
Four additional cosponsoring organizations have joined UNAIDS: the United Nations Office on Drugs and crime (UNODC) in 1999, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2001, the World Food Programme (WFP) in 2003 and the UN High Council for Refugees (UNHCR) in 2004.
UNAIDS is an innovative United Nations venture building on each member’s energies and strengths and prompts them to take collective action against AIDS.