UNAIDS: CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT JOINT UN PROGRAM

UNCLAS GENEVA 000074 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR S/GAC; G; IO/T; OES E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KHIV EAID TBIO UNAIDS SUBJECT: UNAIDS: CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT JOINT UN PROGRAM ON HIV/AIDS ¶1. Summary: During the 23rd Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) meeting, held December 15-17, 2008, in Geneva, the Board paid tribute to its outgoing leadership, adopted new governance rules, and held a constructive policy debate on the relationship between UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. UNAIDS includes the UNAIDS Secretariat and the HIV/AIDS-related work of its ten co-sponsoring Agencies (International Labor Organization, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Children's Fund, UN Development Program, UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, UN Population Fund, World Bank, World Food Program, and World Health Organization). The United States concluded its term as chair of the Board, handing over the gavel to Ethiopia. The next meeting of the PCB will be June 22-24, 2009, in Geneva and the thematic segment will cover HIV/AIDS and migration issues. End Summary. Changes in Leadership ¶2. The United States, led by U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Mark Dybul, concluded its tenure as chair of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB),the governing body of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) after the meeting held December 15-17, 2008, in Geneva. More than 300 participants and observers from UN Member States, international organizations, civil society, and nongovernmental organizations participated in the meeting. The PCB elected Ethiopia for a one-year term as the incoming Chair, the Netherlands as Vice-Chair, and Guatemala to continue as Rapporteur, beginning 1 January 2009. This was also the last meeting for retiring UNAIDS Executive Director, Dr. Peter Piot of Belgium, the founding leader of UNAIDS, and the introduction to the Board of his successor, Mr. Michel Sidibe of Mali. ¶3. The PCB paid tribute to Dr. Piot for his leadership and acknowledged his many accomplishments. In his remarks to the Board, Dr. Piot reflected on the response and the changes he has witnessed since UNAIDS began in 1996. "AIDS has been a powerful agent for change from exposing to overcoming injustices," said Dr. Piot. "Thanks to AIDS, issues around the health workforce crisis, health systems crisis, human rights issues, gay rights issues, women's rights issues, and gender-based violence are all on the agenda". Many delegations also thanked the United States, and U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator in particular, for leadership at the PCB and more importantly for leading the dramatic expansion of the international response to HIV/AIDS under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). UNAIDS and the Global Fund ¶4. The thematic session on the opening day of the meeting focused on the relationship between UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and issues of linkages with the international technical support architecture and public-private partnerships. The partnership between UNAIDS and the Global Fund is one of the most essential in the multilateral response to HIV/AIDS, as the Global Fund brings resources but no country presence and UNAIDS has limited resources, but in-country presence, technical expertise and credibility with governments to make the money work. The PCB directed UNAIDS to update its technical support and capacity development strategy to take into account potential gaps in coverage, such as the relative lack of long-term technical support available to countries, and to estimate costs of UNAIDS mandates and budgets in support of the Global Fund. Governance Changes ¶5. Improving the effectiveness and transparency of the UNAIDS Board was a major priority for the United States as PCB Chair. The 23rd PCB adopted several decisions that should have broad and long-lasting impact in this regard. First, delegates agreed to establish an ad interim subcommittee of the PCB for the preparation of the 2010-2011 Unified Budget and Workplan (UBW),which will be prepared over the course of the next six months for adoption at the 24th Meeting of the PCB in June 2009. The total UNAIDS budget for the current biennium is roughly $495 million divided between the Secretariat, ten co-sponsors and field offices and is designed to be a results-driven budget and planning tool. In addition, the Board adopted a process for intersessional decision making that respects UN precedent while maintaining the inclusive consensus-based practice at PCB meetings. Other key agenda items, outcomes, and recommendations ¶6. HIV-specific restrictions on entry, stay and residence: The Board strongly encouraged all countries to eliminate HIV-specific restrictions on entry, stay and residence and ensure that people living with HIV are no longer excluded, detained or deported on the basis of HIV status. Building on a previous decision, the Board decided that no PCB meeting will be held in a country that imposes HIV-specific restrictions related to entry, stay or residence based on a person's HIV status. ¶7. Gender-sensitivity and guidance in the AIDS response: The Board requested UNAIDS to prepare a progress report for the 24th PCB meeting detailing the work of UNAIDS in assisting countries in promoting gender equality, including separate needs assessments for women and girls and for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, emphasizing country-level action, as well as follow-up actions, including the establishment of an inter-agency strategy to address HIV and women and girls in line with the strategy undertaken with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations. ¶8. Civil society involvement in the HIV/AIDS Response: The Board made a number of decisions designed to encourage Member States to consider increasing civil society involvement in their UNAIDS-related decision making. In addition, the Board requested UNAIDS regional support teams to hold regular consultations with civil society and to provide a concrete channel through which local and regional civil society groups could contribute to policy making at the global level. ¶9. Recognizing the importance of the upcoming UNGASS review of the world drug problem, the PCB requested the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC),as a co-sponsor of UNAIDS, to promote knowledge of the need for better coordination and alignment of the AIDS response in order to scale up services for injecting drug users at the UNGASS review in Vienna. COMMENT: Significantly, the PCB language (now for the second time in two years) does not endorse or use controversial "harm reduction" terminology, instead sticking to consensus concepts of scaling up services towards the goal of universal access. END OF COMMENT STORELLA