Publications

Over the past ten years, an increasing number of countries are initiating, negotiating and agreeing new trade agreements between two countries or amongst a group of countries. These are commonly known as free trade agreements or "FTAs", and they are promoted as providing significant economic benefits to signatory countries through the removal or reduction of barriers to trade in goods and services. Many political leaders have indicated that they would prefer to remove or reduce trade barriers through the multilateral system in a way that benefits all countries belonging to the World Trade Organization. Nevertheless, given that the "Doha Round" of negotiations is taking longer than initially anticipated to be concluded, bilateral and regional FTAs are often seen as a way to move forward the trade liberalization agenda in the meantime.

The purpose of the Discussion Paper is to facilitate the UNDP consultation on enforcement of intellectual property rights, in particular anti-counterfeit measures and access to HIV treatment and other essential medicines in sub-Saharan Africa. The Discussion Paper summarizes the developments in intellectual property rights enforcement in the world and in the region. It elaborates on the public health impact of anti-counterfeit laws and discusses whether they are an adequate solution to the legitimate concerns about the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines. The Discussion Paper explores the impact of such laws on the spread of substandard and falsified medicines compared to their impact on good-quality generic medicines, which are essential for the public health systems of most African countries. The Discussion Paper explores model provisions for the definition of ‘counterfeiting’, criminal liability, powers of seizure and storage, goods in transit, rules on evidence and presumptions and liability for loss of or damage to goods. Discussions of the model provisions evolve around the public health priorities of African countries, and the need to avoid conflation between good-quality generics and substandard and falsified medicines.

At the end of 2011, more than 8 million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy in low- and middle-income countries, a dramatic 26-fold increase from December 2003. Although it can be minimized, some degree of HIV drug resistance is anticipated to emerge among people on treatment even when appropriate antiretroviral therapy is provided and high levels of adherence are achieved. Therefore, WHO initiated global surveillance of HIV drug resistance in 2004 in order to adequately monitor the emergence of HIV drug resistance as countries scaled up access to antiretroviral therapy. Although HIV drug resistance data from low- and middle-income countries are increasingly available, lack of surveillance data over time substantially limits the ability to assess trends in these countries. As ART coverage continues to grow, national programmes should perform routine surveillance of transmitted and acquired HIV drug resistance to optimize programme planning and management and to inform antiretroviral therapy policy.

This document is a discussion paper, prepared for the 2012 InternationalAIDS Conference in Washington DC, United States of America. It highlights key issues that confront the global community, policy-makers and national programme planners as they seek to make optimal use of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) as part of the broader response to HIV. It also discusses how ARVs could contribute to eventually ending the HIV epidemic. The paper does not in itself constitute a World Health Organization (WHO) guidance document, even though it summarizes existing WHO guidelines related to ARV use, highlights progress in the Treatment 2.0 initiative, and summarizes the next steps in WHO’s normative work related to ARV use.

The People Living with HIV Stigma Index Study in Malaysia was conducted by The Positive Malaysian Treatment Access and Advocacy Group (MTAAG+) to document and measure the extent of HIV-related stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV in order to contribute to strengthening the evidence base for advocacy, policy change and programme interventions.

This report is the result of a project by the Philippine country office of the JointUnited Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) aimed to identify the various redress mechanisms in the Philippines that can be accessed by people living with HIV (PLHIV) in case their rights were violated. Reddress is an act or process meant to correct a situation involving the violation of a right. It could be to address a past injury or violation, or to prevent future harm. Redress is usually obtained through the courts, although there are some out-of-court mechanisms that could also result in redress.

HIV-related stigma is recognized both globally and in Viet Nam as a primary barrier to addressing prevention and care issues and ensuring access to essential services. The global Stigma Index study was designed to address the need for a quantitative recording and analysis of the different levels and types of stigma, as well as changes in trends and with time, to inform evidence-based policy and programmes. The process of conducting the Stigma Index is as important as the result: the survey is conducted “by PLHIV, for PLHIV”.

The people living with HIV (PLHIV) Stigma Index study in Tamil Nadu is the first of its kind to quantify the stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV in the state. The study was conducted between December 2010 to September 2011.and used a cross sectional design to survey a sample of 1594 people living with HIV.

As international migration has gained attention in the global agenda, calls for cooperation to manage international migration have increased. While international migration has acted as an engine for economic and social growth in South and South-West Asia, the full potential of migration has not yet been achieved. Desired outcomes from international migration are most likely to be achieved if countries of origin and destination build consensus and increase cooperation on international migration, including the realization of the rights of migrants within and beyond the region. The Situation Report on International Migration in South and South-West Asia enhances the understanding of migration issues in South and South-West Asia by providing comprehensive reference material on international migration to assist policymakers and practitioners. The report contains sound policy recommendations on international migration in the subregion, and identifies gaps in knowledge to guide future data collection and research activities. The report serves as a companion document to the 2008 publication, Situation Report on International Migration in East and South-East Asia. Taken together, these two publications provide reference material on international migration covering most of Asia.

The U.S. Government (USG) and U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) have demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing the global HIV epidemic and to reaching most-at-risk populations (MARPs), also increasingly referred to as key populations. In order to successfully impact the epidemic of HIV among these populations, access to a comprehensive package of integrated services must be provided for men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgendered persons (TG). The act of Congress reauthorizing PEPFAR (July 2008) provides support for appropriate HIV education programs targeted to prevent HIV transmission among MSM as well as evaluation of the effectiveness of prevention efforts among MSM (Lantos and Hyde 2008). To support these goals as part of PEPFAR’s comprehensive HIV prevention strategy, in May 2011, PEPFAR issued a Technical Guidance on Combination HIV Prevention document for MSM. This document responds directly to the urgent need to strengthen and expand HIV prevention for MSM and their partners and to improve the ability of MSM to access HIV care and treatment.