51st PCB - Intervention by Erika Castellanos - Agenda item 7 Evaluation Annual Report and Management Response

Delivered by Erika Castellanos, Europe, on behalf of the NGO Delegation

[translated from Spanish]

Thank you Chair.

The NGO delegation welcomes the Annual Evaluation Report and celebrates progress made in the crucial role of evaluations. We note the progress made in the evaluation plan despite the multiple challenges, including and most crucially the financial situation of UNAIDS.

The precarious financial situation has prevented the 1% allocation to evaluations and has limited the human resources to 2 staff with no administrative support. We would like to stress that the financial situation goes beyond the evaluation office and what is required is for Member States to stand up for the challenge not only to have a fully financed evaluation office but a fully resourced UNAIDS.

We invite Member States to consider the importance of evaluations and how evaluation can lead to a measure of impact on countries, on health systems and most importantly in human lives.

We welcome the planned consultative process to develop the subsequent evaluation plan and request that civil society and communities living with and affected by HIV play a central role in the consultations.

The NGO Delegation would like to stress the importance of evaluating the impact of the Joint programme and particularly UNAIDS offices at country level and look forward to results of the evaluation. I invite you to listen to communities on the ground on the impact that UNAIDS has had in policy change, access to treatment, in decriminalization efforts, in giving us a voice where our governments criminalize us and society kills us, and in improving the quality of life of people living with HIV.

To conclude, we ask that you Open your ears and listen, open your hearts to the call of communities but most importantly open your wallets to make the difference.

Tags: 51st PCB Meeting