A new report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), released on 21 November, shows that 2011 was a game changing year for the AIDS response with unprecedented progress in science, political leadership and results. The report also shows that new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have fallen to the lowest levels since the peak of the epidemic.

Although there is no agreed definition of what is a migrant, it is estimated that there are probably two billion people on the move globally each year. Migrants can be especially vulnerable to HIV/AIDS/STIs, but are often excluded or simply missed in many prevention and care programmes. This paper outlines key existing laws, policies and best practices in relation to the rights of migrants to health, and associated care, treatment, support and prevention. It argues for a number of immediate changes to improve migrants' health and concludes with recommendations for the future development of policies to improve the health status of migrant populations.

Cover pictures: UNAIDS / F. Sanchez
UNAIDS/06.25E (English original, September 2006)

To assist Member States in preparing and submitting Country Progress Reports, UNAIDS has prepared these guidelines for the monitoring of the Declaration of Commitment made at the 2001 General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS. As the former Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, stated in the 2001 Special Session, “Maintaining the momentum and monitoring progress are essential”. To this end, the Secretary-General requested UNAIDS to again report on progress in 2008. As with previous years, this report will be based on national reports prepared by Member States.

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, outlined below, in which UNAIDS2 and UNIFEM can make specific and unique contributions.

UNAIDS best practice collection: an innovative new project in Thailand - the Positive Partnership Program (PPP) - has two goals: 1) to enable people living with HIV to lift themselves out of poverty, achieved through the provision of microcredit loans that allow people to set up small businesses in their communities; 2) the second goal is to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV.

Commentary and recommendations for the implementation of Guideline 6: “States should enact legislation to provide for the regulation of HIV-related goods, services and information, so as to ensure widespread availability of qualitative prevention measures and services, adequate HIV prevention and care information, and safe and effective medication at an affordable price…”

In December 2003 UNAIDS supported a workshop on HIV and AIDS related stigma and discrimination. This brought together 37 leading academic theologians from different Christian traditions and countries, to consider and debate the major theological issues that contribute to and can help eradicate stigma related to HIV and AIDS, to engage in dialogue with people living with HIV and to provide a framework for theological refl ection. This report of the workshop contains the framework for theological refl ection and the related speeches presented at the workshop.

This report looks at progress on applying the “Three Ones” principles to the end of 2004, and identifies the challenges ahead as well as opportunities for overcoming these challenges. While this preliminary report is by no means comprehensive, it is a very useful step forward in helping us find answers to a question that must preoccupy all of us: How can we, individually and collectively, make optimal use of the limited resources available for tackling the AIDS pandemic, an unprecedented global crisis, and so accelerate progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals?

A Consolidated UN Technical Support Plan for AIDS has been developed to accelerate and improve implementation of global funding initiatives and thus “make the money work”. It addresses many of the weaknesses of the prevailing technical support system. Based on the comparative advantages of the UNAIDS Cosponsors and Secretariat, the Plan anticipates the technical support required by 45 high-priority countries1 during 2006-2007 and provides a ‘menu’ of UN-provided or UN-facilitated interventions available to countries to scale up their national response to AIDS.