New UNAIDS chief Michel Sibide said he believes the worldwide HIV epidemic may be a catalyst for positive social change, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.

“People shouldn’t see the epidemic as only a problem, like we have been doing up to now,” Sidibe told AFP while on a visit to Senegal. “We have to…try and show that the epidemic can be an opportunity. A political opportunity to trigger profound changes in society, to talk about difficult issues like sex education, homophobia and human rights issues in general like the position of women in society.”