Publications

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1983 was adopted in June 2011 just before the United Nations (UN) General Assembly High Level Meeting (HLM) agreed the Political Declaration: Intensifying Our Efforts To Eliminate HI and AIDS including ten global targets to achieve by 2015 ("HLM targets"). Together, the HLM targets and UNSC Resolution 1983 provide an opportunity to scale up universal access to HIV and AIDS related services for all uniformed service personnel and their family members and for people living with HIV and the key populations at higher risk of HIV with whom uniformed services personnel interact. In Asia and the Pacific, key populations include sex workers, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, transgender people, migrants and mobile populations, prisoners, internally and externally displaced people due to humanitarian situations and those at risk of sexual violence.

This publication reports on the progress being made in the global scale-up in the use of antiretroviral (ARV) medicines in low- and middle-income countries, the challenges that are being overcome or that await solutions and the opportunities for building on the achievements of the past decade.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are present at high levels in the Pacific, with many countries having Chlamydia rates of >20% among antenatal clinic (ANC) clients. The current assessment examined the STI interventions implemented in Fiji and Vanuatu.  Both Fiji and Vanuatu would benefit from the increased use of STI (not just HIV) messages in their health communication and HIV prevention efforts. There is also a need to strengthen targeted interventions for HIV and STIs among the key populations at higher risk (KPHR) such as better linkages between civil society peer and outreach and government services, addressing laws that impede access by HPHR and strengthen condom programming. Fiji in particular could make greater use of its NGOs to strengthen targeted interventions for HIV and STIs among key populations at higher risk. Finally, the STI response should be monitored more intensively, including efforts to quantitate the success of partner treatment and syphilis screening efforts. 

The United Nations Global Compact, as the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, was asked to assess and report on the views of business leaders on global sustainability priorities, and specifically how business can contribute to advancing and achieving these goals in a post-2015 context. Following a globe-spanning series of consultations, surveys and focused discussions held over the past year with thousands of companies and investors, it is clear that businesses committed to responsibility and sustainability are energized by the prospect of a newly articulated set of world priorities – which include clear goals and targets – and by the interest shown by the United Nations Member States and the United Nations Secretary-General in incorporating the view points and capabilities of the private sector. The United Nations post-2015 agenda presents the opportunity to shift to a new paradigm in development thinking by fully recognizing the central role of business.

The UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS (2011) reaffirmed that the full realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all is an essential element in the global response to HIV. The enactment of laws to protect the human rights of PLHIV and key populations at higher risk of HIV is essential to creating an enabling environment for effective HIV responses. The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific (ESCAP) Resolution 66-10 (2010) calls on member states to ground universal access to HIV services in human rights and to address legal barriers to HIV responses, and ESCAP Resolution 67-9 (2011) commits states to initiate reviews of national laws, policies and practices to enable the full achievement of universal access targets with a view to eliminating all forms of discrimination against PLHIV and key affected populations. This study is intended to inform the efforts of governments and civil society to strengthen the enabling legal environment for HIV responses. The focus is both on the content of protective laws and issues that arise in effective implementation of protective laws. Ensuring protective legislation is in place is insufficient – attention must also be paid to how the law is implemented and enforced.

The overly broad application of criminal law to HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission raises serious human rights and public health concerns. Because of these concerns, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) urges States to (i) concentrate their efforts on expanding the use of proven and successful evidence-informed and rights-based public health approaches to HIV prevention, treatment and care, and (ii) limit any application of criminal law to truly blameworthy cases where it is needed to achieve justice. States should strengthen HIV programmes that enable people to know how to protect themselves from HIV and to avoid transmitting it, and they should help people access the services and commodities they need for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

The Panel came together with a sense of optimism and a deep respect for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The 13 years since the millennium have seen the fastest reduction in poverty in human history: there are half a billion fewer people living below an international poverty line of $1.25 a day. Child death rates have fallen by more than 30%, with about three million children’s lives saved each year compared to 2000. Deaths from malaria have fallen by one quarter. This unprecedented progress has been driven by a combination of economic growth, better policies, and the global commitment to the MDGs, which set out an inspirational rallying cry for the whole world.

This study has shown that there is a high level of general HIV Knowledge among three out of four populations studied. Use of Intravenous drugs appears to be very low, and this was observed for all population studied. Of particular interest is the results obtained as part of this study showing between 1-13% reported IDU users in a study carried out in 2009 which is different to that found in this study. Whether that is truly the case or not will be evident in future studies and possible youth focused KABP studies.

A cross-sectional survey was administered among 1,022 female sex workers (FSW) recruited from 9 different types of commercial sex venues in Southwest China. Partner violence scales were adapted from WHO’s Women’s Health and Domestic Violence scale and psychosocial distress was measured by five indicators, including alcohol intoxication, drug use, suicidal behavior, depression, and loneliness. This study is one of the first to examine the association between partner violence and psychosocial distress among FSW in China. The high prevalence of violence experience and distress in this population suggests urgency for intervention. The public health programs targeting FSW should go beyond the focus on HIV/STI prevention and care for the fundamental health and human rights of millions of FSW in China.

With this new Strategy 2013-2016, UNITAID enters what could be called the third stage of its development. UNITAID's mission has remained constant over the years. It increases access to treatment for HIV/ AIDS, TB and malaria for people in developing countries by leveraging price reductions of quality drugs and diagnostics, which currently are unaffordable for most developing countries, and to accelerate the pace at which they are made available. The UNITAID Strategy 2013-2016 provides an excellent vision that will guide new investments. It identifies the tools needed to implement the Strategy, of which many are already under development, tried and tested. UNITAID remains creative in its approach, and is ready and able to develop new tools or engage in new partnerships that will ensure its objectives are met. UNITAID’s innovative source of income will continue to be well invested, and UNITAID will strive to increase its funding capacity through new and existing donors.