Luiz Loures

Luiz Loures joined UNAIDS in 1996 and was appointed Deputy Executive Director of Programme and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations in January 2013. He leads UNAIDS’ efforts in leveraging critical support to countries to meet the 2015 global AIDS targets and establish a sustainable response to AIDS. Dr Loures is a medical doctor with nearly 30 years’ experience in the AIDS response. His engagement ranges from providing medical care to people living with HIV in the early days of the epidemic––to his dynamic involvement in global policy framework development. In 2006, Dr Loures was granted the Make a Difference Award for his long-standing contribution to the global response to AIDS by O Globo, one of Brazil’s largest newspapers. Previously, Dr Loures was Director of the Political and Public Affairs Branch of UNAIDS where he managed strategic and political processes to promote UNAIDS’ vision and enable effective implementation of the corporate agenda. Prior to this, Dr Loures was the Director of UNAIDS’ Executive Office, overseeing strategic direction and assisting the Executive Director in implementing the UNAIDS strategy. He also managed UNAIDS’ activities in the Americas and Europe as the Associate Director of the Country and Regional Support Department. Before joining UNAIDS Dr Loures served in various capacities within the Ministry of Health in Brazil. He participated actively in the creation and consolidation of Brazil’s National AIDS Programme—which is widely recognized today as being one of the most effective in curbing the epidemic. Dr Loures was directly responsible for designing the programme for universal access to antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV in Brazil. In the early 1980’s as a pioneer in the AIDS response, Dr Loures diagnosed some of the first patients with AIDS-related illnesses in Brazil. Born, raised and educated in Brazil, Dr Loures completed his medical studies at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, specializing in critical care. He holds an MPH degree from the University of California at Berkeley and speaks Portuguese, Spanish, English and French.