Publications

Tuvalu formerly known as the Ellice Islands is located in the South Pacific, just to the north of the Fiji Islands. It is the smallest independent country in the South Pacific, comprising of nine low lying coral atolls with a population of 9561. Tuvalu reported its first case of HIV in 1995. Since then there has been 11 confirmed cases of which four have died (all were males and the deaths occurred in the years 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011).

This report provides biological and behavioral information on HIV among mine workers in Balochistan from a survey conducted in September 2011 in the mining areas of Muslim Bagh, Sorange and Mach. The purpose of the study was to collect, analyze and disseminate accurate information on the prevalence of key risk behaviors and of HIV among mine workers to deliver sustained and effective HIV prevention, treatment care and support services.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is under-reported and under-researched in Vietnam (Gardsbane et al. 2010). Several small-scale studies revealed that the prevalence of GBV in Vietnam ranges widely from 16 to 37 percent for physical violence, and 19 to 55 percent for emotional violence, while sexual violence and sexual harassment are rarely reported (Jonzon et al. 2007; Nguyen 2006; Vu et al. 1999). A 2006 national survey with 9,300 households reported that in the preceding 12 months, 21.2 percent of families had reported at least one of the three forms of violence (physical, verbal, coerced sex); husbands were the most frequent perpetrators (Huong 2008). In everyday life, verbal abuse, slapping, and coerced or forced sex are often not considered violence in Vietnam (United Nations Population Fund [UNFPA] 2007).

This Project Briefing explores the experiences of these people as they migrate, drawing on findings from a baseline study on their vulnerabilities, particularly to HIV and AIDS, as they move between their communities of origin in Nepal and Bangladesh to India. Although the baseline used quantitative and qualitative approaches, stories of harassment and violence emerge mostly from the qualitative elements.

The epidemiology of HIV infection in the Philippines has shifted dramatically in the last five years. A combination of increased risk behavior among young Filipinos, low levels of knowledge regarding HIV transmission and prevention, and underfunded HIV prevention and treatment programs may have led to a rapid rise in HIV incidence and prevalence. Much of the increase in HIV transmission appears to have occurred among young men who have sex with men (MSM) and persons who use intravenous drugs (PWID) in major urban centers.

This document is an in-depth analysis of the data on the MSM population generated by the 2009 Integrated HIV Behavioral and Serologic Surveillance System (IHBSS). IHBSS is a biennial study of the Department of Health to collect, analyze, and interpret data on HIV and AIDS in 20 selected sites across the country. Blood samples were taken from the respondents, and the serologic result for each of them was then matched with the behavioral survey they have completed using an identification number assigned to them.

The United Nations (UN) will support national priorities by offering assistance in developing capacities required to achieve the goals and commitments embodied in the PDP and in the various international covenants the GPH is party to. The UN will work in close collaboration with development/donor partners and stakeholders, making full use of its comparative advantages as advocate for the poor and vulnerable, as honest broker, as repository of global best practices and as enabler. UN cooperation will have equity, localisation, institution-building and governance as its strategic emphases and will be anchored on the principles of human rights, gender equality, environmental sustainability, culture and development. Capacity development will be the central thrust and main benefit of UN cooperation.

This report provides national biological and behavioural information of key populations at risk that was gathered in Round 4 of SGS, conducted in 2011. Since the previous rounds identified emerging HIV epidemics among high-risk groups, the focus of Round 4 was to ascertain the spread of HIV among these groups and to understand any changes in behaviours that increase or decrease the risk of HIV infection.

The 2011 Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance (IBBS) was conducted to obtain a picture of the magnitude of the problems, risk factors, knowledge and program scope, with the aim of understanding the dynamics of the HIV epidemic in Indonesia. The 2011 IBBS was conducted in 23 cities/regencies in 11 provinces, with most of the cities/regencies selected being those also surveyed in the 2007 IBBS.

From June 2009 to February 2010, Vietnam’s second round of integrated HIV/STI biological and behavioral surveillance (IBBS) was conducted among select population groups in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, An Giang, Da Nang, Nghe An, Yen Bai, Dong Nai, Dien Bien and Lao Cai. The IBBS utilized community-based sampling to estimate the prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) and to provide indicators of risk behaviors and intervention exposure among most-at-risk populations (MARP). These included injecting drug users (IDU), female sex workers (FSW), and men who have sex with men (MSM).