The AIDS Medium Term Plan IV of the Philippines was conceptualized and prepared through a robust and wide consultative process which was inclusive of civil society, different agencies of the government, multi lateral and bilateral agencies as well as corporates. The period of this plan is from 2005 to 2010. The Philippine National AIDS Council is responsible for overseeing the program implementation plan of the country. In this regard, the PNAC commissioned a mid term assessment of the plan in order to draw lessons from the first half of the plan, and to apply these in the second half of the plan i.e. 2009 and 2010. The assessment will also look into the performance of the council, and suggest improvements for the same.

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Since the start of HIV serologic surveillance in 1993, the country’s epidemic is described
as low and slow due to the fact that the national aggregate’s prevalence has never
gone beyond one percent. However, behavioral surveillance is showing that risk behaviors are high among the most-at-risk population. The 2007 IHBSS showed that 52% of IDUs shared needles and syringes the last time they injected. The same survey showed that condom use in different populations varied : 71% for establishment-based female sex workers, 59% for freelance female sex workers, 33% for male clients of female sex workers, 24% for injecting drug users and 42% during anal sex among MSM. The highlight of the survey was the finding that interaction among and between the risk populations and their low risk sex partners exists.

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“Getting to Zero” is the theme selected by the World AIDS Campaign (WAC) to commemorate this year’s World AIDS Day on 1st December. The new theme, that will be used until 2015, echoes the UNAIDS vision of achieving “Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.”

Global Fact Sheets by UNAIDS July (2012)

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The Agenda for Accelerated Country Action for Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV 2010–2014 (Operational Plan) supports the implementation of the UNAIDS Action Framework: Addressing Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV.1 The Action Framework was developed in response to the pressing need to address the persistent gender inequalities and human rights violations that put women and girls at a greater risk of HIV, and increase their vulnerability. These factors also threaten the gains that have been made in preventing HIV transmission and in increasing access to antiretroviral therapy. The UNAIDS Action Framework focuses on action in three areas in which UNAIDS and UNIFEM can make specific and unique contributions.

Regional Fact Sheets by UNAIDS July (2012)

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In June 2011 at the High Level Meeting on AIDS, the UN Member States unanimously endorsed the 2011 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS and its new  targets for 2015. The new declaration builds on the decade of progress that started in the UN General Assembly Special Session on AIDS in 2001, and the declaration of commitment that had set targets for 2010. Aiming to halt and reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS by 2015 , the declaration has evolved to ten specific targets that help countries to measure their progress, as well as to prioritize their interventions depending on their epidemic.

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In South Asia, opioid use and in particular heroin use is on the increase. The diffusion of injecting drug use is causing concern in the region (UNODC and MSJE, 2004). Heroin and other opioid dependence cause significant morbidity and mortality; it is a chronic and enduring condition that often requires long-term treatment and care. An adequate access to a range of treatment options should be offered to respond to the varying needs of people with heroin/opioid dependence.

The project “Prevention of transmission of HIV among drug users in SAARC countries” (Project RAS/H13) is executed by UNODC as part of a joint UN initiative between UNODC, UNAIDS and WHO in South Asia. The overall goal of this project is to reduce the spread of HIV among drug using populations in SAARC countries. In doing so, the project assists governments and communities to scale-up comprehensive prevention and care programs for drug users, especially injecting drug users (IDUs), and their regular sex partners.