AIDS Policies and Briefs

A workplace policy provides the framework for action to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and manage its impact. It provides the basis for putting in place a
comprehensive workplace programme, combining prevention, care and the protection of rights. Depending on the particular situation, it may consist of a detailed document just on HIV/AIDS, setting out programme as well as policy issues; it may be part of a wider policy or agreement on safety, health and working conditions; it may be a short statement of principle.

Policies are documents officially endorsed by governments (including Ministries and Authorities) which adopt a course of action to be pursued in relation to a specific issue. Compared to strategies, policies usually have a narrower focus. Policy documents set out the choices made by government on particular issues. For example, governments may choose between voluntary, mandatory and compulsory HIV testing for different populations and settings. A policy on HIV testing will set out the government’s policy decision.

To determine the prevalence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Treponema pallidum, HIV, and related risk behaviors among specific sentinel groups.

Cambodia National Policy and Strategies for Prevention and Care of Sexually Transmitted and Reproductive Tract Infections (STI/RTIs) 2006-2010

The purpose of the assessment and audit was to identify all existing national level HIV/AIDS policies, to determine the strengths and weaknesses of these policies, their implementation status, and to identify the need for revisions and new policies to fill gaps.

On the first World TB Day of the new millennium, ministerial representatives of the 20 countries carrying 80 percent of the global tuberculosis (TB) burden adopted the Amsterdam Declaration to Stop TB. By adopting the Declaration, these governments pledged to take bold new steps in addressing the TB epidemic in their countries and affirmed their commitment to “implement, monitor and evaluate” their national TB programs according to the TB con- trol strategy recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Funding for the response to the global AIDS crisis has increased exponentially in recent years, from US$ 260 million in 1996 to almost US$ 10 billion in 2007, nearly a forty-fold increase.1 While this figure still falls short of anticipated global need in the coming years, it is nonetheless a marked shift in the global response to the AIDS epidemic. At the same time, the new level of resources confers even greater responsibilities on the funding institutions to ensure that the key drivers of the epidemic are being addressed effectively.

As access to antiretroviral treatment is scaled up in low and middle income countries, there is a critical opportunity to simultaneously expand access to HIV prevention, which continues to be the mainstay of the response to the HIV epidemic. Without effective HIV prevention, there will be an ever increasing number of people who will require HIV treatment. Among the interventions which play a pivotal role both in treatment and in prevention, HIV testing and counselling stands out as paramount.

Conflict, persecution and violence affect millions of people worldwide, forcing them to uproot their lives. Refugees are those who flee their country of origin across national borders, often to a neighbouring country.

Unsafe injecting practices among people using drugs is a primary driver of HIV in many parts of Asia. As the fastest and most efficient route of transmission, injecting drug use with unsterile equipment is considered ‘explosive’ to the rapid spread of HIV. This impending threat is significant for a number of countries in South and South East Asia that report highest incidence of HIV infections among injecting drug users(IDUs).