The discussion on the new Strategic Development Goals (SDG) is currently a key agenda for the United Nations. Just as happened with the Millennium Development Goals – MDGs (which were even considered by many as reductionist when compared to the set of commitments made at the UN Social Cycle in the 90s, but is now referred to as the most far-reaching action outlined by the UN), the indubitable point at this stage is: « will how the Post 2015 goals are set, determine how resources and power will flow globally? »
Formally, the Post 2015 framework is obliged to take into consideration the interrelationship between the social, economic, and environmental fields. But, in fact, being born from Rio +20, it has been controlled mainly by the environment and financial players, including the powerful corporations, which imposes challenges for those advocating for the “others” social themes.
In the AIDS field, it is more complex: while our politicians are highlighting the success of the MDG goal 6 (and we have accomplished a lot, no doubt), the “outsiders of the AIDS world” translate it as if it is an already solved problem, requiring no special space in the new SDGs. We do not agree with this view, but we know that in a context of fierce competition, including HIV as an important theme in the post-2015 framework, it is a huge challenge posed to AIDS activists.
Facing a major inflection point and with no time to lose in strengthening the Civil Society advocacy work at national and global levels, the PCB NGO Delegation, besides engaging the Civil Society Working Group on AIDS in the Post-2015 Agenda, is participating in the UNAIDS and Lancet Commission to explore HIV and global health in the Post-2015 debate, which established working groups to respond the questions: What will it take to end AIDS? How can lessons from the AIDS response inform global health? How must the AIDS and health architecture be modernized to achieve sustainable global health?
The Lancet Commission work will be finished by February, but it is an initiative that Civil Society needs to engage with and monitor closely. This is especially so because one key question for us is still: how should AIDS feature in the post-2015 development discussions? Of course, it is not an easy question to answer. But when it comes to defending specific policies to overcome AIDS, “easy” is an adjective that has never been part of our vocabulary. Those who follow the theme in the upcoming PCB will see how this turns out….