14 March 2012 by Amy Coulterman
NGO Delegate for Africa, Nadia Rafif, on the UNAIDS Bureau visit to Kenya, Nov 2011
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UNAIDS PCB NGO Delegation Update: March 2012
UNAIDS Guidance for Partnerships with Civil Society, including PLHIV & Key Populations
UNAIDS has published the much anticipated guidance for partnerships with civil society, including people living with HIV (PLHIV) and key populations. The guidance came from a recommendation of the Second Independent Evaluation of UNAIDS to the UNAIDS Board in December 2009, with the aim of developing a shared vision and common approach to engagement with civil society by the UNAIDS Secretariat and Cosponsors.
The NGO Delegation welcomes the creation of the guidance, as the NGO Delegation has pushed for its development since the December 2009 board decision. The Delegation, throughout the writing process, tried to ensure that the document properly addressed engagement at all levels and across Cosponsors and included capacity-building and a commitment to PLHIV and key populations. However, better indicators and practical assessment measures still need to be identified and developed in UNAIDS Budget, Results and Accountability Framework to ensure strong monitoring.
The Delegation will continue to work with the UNAIDS Board to ensure that the partnership guidance meets the intent of the original decision point to have a coherent, measurable way of working with civil society. If you know of any forthcoming meetings or conferences at which the distribution of or a workshop detailing the guidance would be possible, please contact the Delegation with suggestions.
UNAIDS Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights Releases Statement & Recommendations on the Global Fund and the Crisis of HIV Funding
In late January, the UNAIDS Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights published a statement on the NGO Delegation’s website entitled “The Global Fund and the Crisis of HIV Funding — A Severe Setback for HIV and Human Rights: Statement and Recommendations”. In it, the Reference Group calls the cancellation of the 11th round “an abrogation of legally grounded human rights obligations” and offers several recommendations including a request to the UNAIDS Secretariat and Board to “be strong, vocal and consistent advocates for the restoration and increase of financial support to the global AIDS response, including to the Global Fund as one of its main financing mechanisms.”
Access the full statement and recommendations in English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Updates from the Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) Bureau
This month, the PCB Bureau will finalize the agenda for the upcoming 30th PCB meeting in June. NGO Delegates are currently involved in working groups or doing follow-up on several key expected agenda items: the annual NGO report; UNAIDS Investment Framework; the day-long thematic on combination prevention; follow-up to the 29th PCB thematic on HIV and Enabling Legal Environments; and UNAIDS Technical Support Strategy. Current members of the Bureau, which oversees the PCB meetings and interim work, include Poland (Chair), India (Vice-chair), USA (Rapporteur), the World Bank (Cosponsor representative) and NGO Delegates Ebony Johnson (North America) and Ed Ngoksin (Asia-Pacific).
NGO Delegate Speaks at Asia-Pacific Meeting on Political Declaration & MDGs
In February, NGO Delegate for Asia and the Pacific, Jane Bruning, joined other civil society representatives at the Asia-Pacific High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Assessment of Progress against Commitments in the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS and the Millennium Development Goals. It was the first time representatives of civil society had been invited. Jane, coordinator of Positive Women New Zealand and representative of APN+, joined other experts in the civil society side event “The Gender Agenda: Making HIV Responses Work for Key affected Women and Girls” in offering examples of best practices and policies that have successfully addressed gender inequalities. Jane shared her personal story to speak about the complex link between gender violence and HIV. Read her story and full report here.
New Europe NGO Delegate
The Delegation welcomes its new Delegate, Laura Kirch Kirkegaard, as the representative for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). Laura is Head of Advocacy at AIDS-Fondet, an IAVI partner and Danish NGO that provides counselling and support to people living with HIV and high-risk groups, runs large-scale national information campaigns, and actively influences Danish development policy.
The Delegation would like to thank IAVI’s previous representative, Rhon Reynolds, who has left to work with UNICEF, for his time and dedication and to wish him well in his future work.
Multimedia Website Section
The Delegation’s website now features a section where you can view our collection of videos and photos from past UNAIDS PCB meetings, including Delegate and civil society interventions, NGO Delegation Report videos, and external interviews. Check out our new section here.
Reading Room: Recent Blog Posts
- UNAIDS Bureau Field Visit to Kenya
- Summary of the 29th PCB Thematic Segment on HIV and Enabling Legal Environments by Hon. Michael Kirby
