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World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration at UNAIDS/WHO

The World AIDS Day celebration at UNAIDS/WHO Headquarters in Geneva, was organized by the UN family, missions, NGO's, humanitarian organizations, people living with HIV and faith communities. The lighting and placing of red candles forming a ribbon and the signing of promises onto a commemorative ribbon were two of the activities that took place after the opening remarks by Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS and other special guests.

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World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration in Nigeria

UNAIDS coordinated the UN support to the WAD ceremony, including exhibition stands with condom promotion and demonstration and drama performances.  UNAIDS and UN staff also participated in the rally of PLHIV to the National Assembly and to the office of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. 

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World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration in South Africa

 The UNAIDS Country Office in South Africa in partnership with Cricket South Africa uses sport as a platform for promotion of HIV Prevention. The pictures were taken during . UNAIDS and Cricket South Africa decided to use the Standard Bank International Pro20 Cricket Match between South Africa and India played in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 1st of December 2006 to commemorate World AIDS Day.
The Captain of the South Africa Cricket Team – Graeme Smith gave a speech on the impact of HIV in South Africa, the need to support people living with HIV, and the importance of knowing your HIV  status.
Public Service Announcements  (PSAs) from the World AIDS Campaign were also broadcasted during the match (as shown in pictures)

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World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration in Panama

UNAIDS RST Office for Latin America in coordination with UNAIDS Panama carried out two visibility events for the commemoration of the WAD. One was carried out in the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal and the other at the Tocumen International Airport.

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 World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration in Papua New Guinea

The World AIDS Day was a symbolic event in Port Moresby used as a platform to promote HIV testing and counseling under the national theme “Stop AIDS: You have the right to know’. The national preparations for the 2006 World AIDS Day were facilitated by the civil society umbrella body PACSO (PNG Alliance of Civil Society Organization) which is supported by UNAIDS-PNG.

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World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration in Macedonia

The World AIDS Day in Macedonia was organised jointly by UNAIDS, the Ministry of Health and local NGOs, and took place in a shopping Mall in its capital, Skopje. There were two info-educational stands where young people from local NGOs offered information on AIDS prevention and distributed booklets, condoms and red ribbons to all visitors, while mobile NGO teams circulated throughout the mall attracting people to write massages that were used to create a “Red message Ribbon”.  During the WAD, a photographic exhibition on AIDS, consisting of 40 photographs made by young people, was also inaugurated. 

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World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration in Belarus

 UNAIDS supported the Belarusian Youth Festival of Universities “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise” held in Minsk 1 December 2006. The Youth Festival was organized by all Universities within the National Plan of Actions on the World AIDS Day 2006. Every University contributed to the Festival with their projects on anti-stigma, health behavior and life skills. The Festival was opened by the Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Health.
Another WAD activity sponsored by UNAIDS was the “Leave Positively!” event organized by the NGO of  PLHIV “Positive Movement”. The event scenario  was centered around a concert where participants wrote messages to PLHIV. The exhibition of the Red Bells messages will start a tour among self-support groups of PLHIV all over Belarus.

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World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration in Burundi

 The commemoration of the World AIDS Day 2006 in Burundi extended to all 17 provinces of the country. The Burundi Alliance against AIDS (ABS), a network of 140 national associations, mobilized its members across the country to work closely with the provincial governments to organize World AIDS Day events and present their achievements from the past year. Delegations of high government representatives visited all provinces of the country, where communal ceremonies included parades, film screenings, photo exhibits, sports competitions and cultural performances. Delegates from networks of people living with HIV, the National Alliance against AIDS, and Women and Youth groups addressed local audiences. The President of the Republic launched the National Strategic Plan for 2007-2011.

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World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration in Lesotho

 The World AIDS Day commemoration in Lesotho was marked by the support of King Letsie III to the national plans to address AIDS in the country. The King also launched the first ever "Know Your Status" campaign during the World AIDS Day commemorations .

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World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration in Swaziland

 The UNAIDS Country Office in Swaziland in partnership with the Swaziland Government, the national AIDS coordinating body, as well as several national and international NGOs working in Swaziland commemorated World AIDS Day with a Ten Day Campaign leading up to the climax day on December 1st. During the campaign offices across the country displayed candles with the red ribbon and promises boxes where people were encouraged to make a pledge and keep the promise. On December 1st a march and run were held to commemorate World AIDS Day 2006. The event also featured songs by the traditional women’s regiment (Lutsango), dramas and songs by school children, music, and dance all focused on HIV. There were also information booths by NGOs working on HIV in the country, and mobile testing units in line with the focus on HIV Prevention.

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World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration in Thailand

UN agencies and civil society organisations teamed up to organise a World AIDS Day event led by UNESCO and Thai Red Cross. The event, which took place at Lumpini Park and Thai Red Cross Compound in Bangkok on the 1st of December 2006  was billed as the “Condom Chain of Life Festival” and included setting a new Guinness Book of Records mark for the world’s longest chain of condoms intended to raise awareness around HIV prevention. The World AIDS Day commemoration included a parade organized by the Thai Red Cross involving HRH Princess Somsawalee, games, activities and performances around AIDS issues. Tents and pavilions were organized by UN agencies and NGOs working on HIV related issues to disseminate information. 

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World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration in Guatemala

To commmemorate The International World AIDS Day 2006, El Día Mundial en la lucha contra el SIDA, the activity of Quilts in the Central Park, in front of Palacio Nacional de la Cultura, Guatemala City, Guatemala, C.A. 

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World AIDS Day 2006 commemoration in Egypt

As part of the Sailing the Nile for the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) project, initiated by the UN and its partners, eight felucca boats, each representing a Goal, sail the Nile to promote action to fulfill the MDGs in Egypt. On December 1^st, the boats stopped in Beni-Suef to promote the 6th MDG, that aims to combat HIV, malaria and other diseases, and to commemorate World AIDS Day. The organised events included HIV education training-of-trainers sessions with youth and the promotion of volunteerism; workshops with religious leaders to spread AIDS awareness messages; and welcome the feluccas with a parade, display of banners, song and dance performances. In addition to the activities planned in Beni-Suef, AIDS awareness campaigns were orchestrated by local organizations in Cairo, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, and Assiut, with events ranging from awareness-raising and training-of-trainers to competitive sports and dramatic performances. 

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Nazareth House, a faith-based organization located in Cape Town, was the first Catholic orphan care institution in South Africa to provide paediatric antiretroviral therapy for the HIV-positive orphans it cares for.

The Sisters of Nazareth House are currently caring for 35 children made orphans by AIDS and 20 adults living with HIV, most of whom, due to the complexity or severity of their symptoms can no longer care for themselves or be cared for by their family or community.

Like Nazareth House, many faith-based initiatives have been on the front-line of the epidemic since its devastating effects on the population became apparent in Africa. Nowadays, faith-based organizations, which often reach the most remote communities, as well as being prominent in large urban centres, are uniquely placed to provide a range of quality HIV-related services (from training of home-based caregivers to provision of antiretroviral therapy) to those in need.

However, the valuable work of organizations within the Catholic Church based upon their religious principles sometimes lacked the coordination and level of support needed to improve the effectiveness of their responses to the AIDS epidemic.

It was under these circumstances that the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), in partnership with the Catholic Medical Mission Board, launched the Choose to Care initiative. The initiative, supported by funding from the Bristol-Meyers Squibb Foundation and other sources, started in 2000 as a coordinated response to the overwhelming need to provide HIV-prevention education, care and support to communities in the southern African region.

“Since 2000 the SACBC AIDS Office has coordinated the response of the Catholic Church to AIDS in South Africa, Swaziland and Botswana, strengthening and building on existing programmes, as well as helping to initiate new ones. The continuum of Choose to Care in most of the programmes and projects linked to the SACBC has seen commitment to prevention, care and support to people infected and affected by AIDS,” stated Mr. Johan Viljoen, Programme Manger of Choose to Care Project.

At first the Choose to Care projects were engaged in providing prevention and care services. However, the provision of treatment to those living with HIV, particularly orphans and vulnerable children, has become one of their main activities. The sites supported by the SACBC providing antiretroviral therapy aim at complementing government programmes in areas where government-funded antiretroviral therapy is not available, notably in resource-poor communities.

Nazareth House was one of the first sites where antiretroviral therapy was provided as part of the Choose to Care initiative. By replicating similar small-scale programmes implemented through the diocesan and parish system, the Catholic Church has been able to scale-up HIV programmes that remain rooted in and responsive to the needs of local communities.

This approach has been proven to be effective as is shown in a study recently researched and written by Rev. Robert J. Vitillo, Special Adviser on HIV for Caritas Internationalis. The study has now been published as part of the UNAIDS Best Practice Collection as an example of how a coordinated response to the epidemic made by a faith-based organization has increased HIV prevention education, care and support to communities affected by AIDS as well as complementing governments’ efforts to achieve universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support.

“The highly variable nature of the epidemic has been met with a wide variety of Best Practice responses. The Choose to Care initiative is especially interesting as it provides evidence that a large scale response to HIV may be achieved through support, coordination and guidance given to a large number of locally-rooted small-scale programmes,” noted Alistair Craik, Best Practice Manager, UNAIDS.

Drawing upon independent research the study shows that the Choose to Care projects are valued both for their compassion and practical effectiveness. Further proof of the strength and effectiveness of the Choose to Care model is provided by the fact that since 2005 when, as planned, funding support ceased, the great majority of projects have continued, sustained by new sources of support.

AIDS leaders from the United Kingdom and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) came together in India for a joint mission to gain greater insight into the country’s AIDS response. During the four-day visit, Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Development (DFID) and Dr Peter Piot, Xecutive Director of UNAIDS met with political leaders, senior government officials and parliamentarians, students, representatives from non governmental organizations and from the donor community.

As part of the mission, the delegation visited Patna in the North Indian state of Bihar on Saturday 16 December where Dr Piot and Sir Chakrabarti noted the significant progress made in this province since their last visit, including the establishment of India’s first ‘Legislative Forum on HIV and AIDS’ to raise AIDS awareness among policy makers in the state and to build capacity to address the challenges posed by AIDS.

 

Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS and Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Parmanent Secretary of the Department for International Development (DFID)  visited the State of Bihar. The Heads of the joint UNAIDS/DFID delegation light the inaugural lamp.From left to right: 1. Sir Suma Chakrabarthi, Permanent Secretary, DFID, Government of UK; 2. Professor Arun Kumar, Chairman, Bihar State Legislative Council; ( Partly seen: Mr. Chandra Mohan Rai, Minister of Health, Bihar State) 3. Mr. Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of  Bihar; 4. Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS; 5. Mr. Uday Narain Chowdhury, Speaker, Bihar Legislative Assembly.

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Mr. Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar being presented a memento from the  Heads of the Joint Mission for  “ strengthening decentralized response to the HIV epidemic in the state of Bihar”.

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Dr.Peter Piot. Executive Director, UNAIDS addressing the gathering of  Elected People’s Representatives in  the State Capital of Patna on 16th December 2006

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Sir Suma Chakrabarthi, Parmanent Secretary of the Department for International Development (DFID) addressing the gathering of the Elected Representatives in Patna on 16th December 2006

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Heads of the Joint Mission Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS and Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Parmanent Secretary of the Department for International Development (DFID)  greeting His Excellency R.S.Gavai, the Governor of Bihar State and the Chancellor of Patna University with the Speaker of Bihar Legislative Assembly, Mr. Uday Narain Chowdhury during the interactive session with students at the Wheeler Senate Hall, Patna University, Patna on 16th December 2006.

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A cross section of the gathering at the Interactive session of the students at the Wheeler Senate Hall, Patna University

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In New Delhi, the joint delegation met with political leaders and senior officials including the Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, the Indian Minister of Finance, P. Chidambaram and Sitaram Yechury, Polit Bureau Member of the Communist Party of India.

Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director UNAIDS and Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Parmanent Secretary of the Department for International Development (DFID) during their meeting with Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Indian Minister of Health & Family Welfare  in New Delhi, India on Monday 18 December 2006

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Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, Indian Minister of Health & Family Welfare with Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director UNAIDS followed by Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Parmanent Secretary of DFID after their meeting at  Nirman  Bhawan in New Delhi, India.

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Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director UNAIDS and  Sir Suma Chakrabarti Parmanent Secretary of the Department for International Development (DFID) meet with Sitaram Yechury, Polit Bureau Member of the Comunist Party of India in New Delhi, India on Monday 18 December 2006.

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From left to right Indian Minister of Finance, P. Chidambaram in conversation with Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director UNAIDS along with Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Parmanent Secretary of the Department for International Development (DFID) at North Block in New Delhi, India on Monday 18 December 2006.

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Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director UNAIDS and Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Parmanent Secretary of the Department for International Development (DFID)exchange notes after meeting with Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram outside his office at North Block in New Delhi, India on Monday 18 December 2006.

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Photo credit for Bihar: R. Rahi
Photo credit for New Delhi : S. Sharma

 

Political leaders in the north Indian State of Bihar were urged to rapidly scale up HIV awareness, prevention, care and support by AIDS leaders from the United Kingdom and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) during a special joint delegation visit on Saturday 16 December. At the same time, the delegation commended the commitment in the State to achieving these aims.

On a one-day visit to Bihar at the invitation of the State Government of Bihar, Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Permanent Secretary, Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom and Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, met with key political figures and visited the University. The joint delegation commended the political leaders’ resolve to fight AIDS and called for sustained political commitment, greater support from development partners and continued participation of elected representatives in strengthening a decentralized response to the HIV epidemic.

The joint mission was an opportunity to explore how local responses to the AIDS epidemic can be supported and strengthened through initiatives that are locally sensitive and aligned with commitments made at the global level.

In July 2006, Bihar became the first north Indian state to establish a legislative forum with a formal constitution and institutional mechanism for elected representatives to address AIDS issues in the State. The “Bihar Legislative Forum on HIV and AIDS” was launched as a way to raise awareness among political leaders in the State at all levels and to support a stronger capacity of all sectors to address the challenges posed by AIDS.

Since the inception of the forum, Bihar leaders have been advocating this approach with their political peers. Six other states in the northern region of India have now committed themselves to replicate the Bihar model. However, it was emphasized that leaders’ commitment is only one of the steps for a successful AIDS response.

In his speech at the Bihar Legislative Assembly, Dr. Peter Piot indicated that the state had to face “the challenge of strong leadership, management and coordination of all AIDS activities and the challenge of reaching ALL of Bihar’s people to effectively prevent and treat HIV infection.”

Sir Suma Chakrabarti emphasized that “action is needed to spread accurate messages so that people, especially women, can protect themselves. Action is also urgently needed to tackle stigma and discrimination faced by people living with HIV.”

As part of the visit, the joint delegation met representatives of the government, the legislature, civil society, United Nations staff and donor agencies to explore ways to improve the coordination of resources for AIDS control at all levels. The delegation recommended that the technical and financial resources of development partners be pooled to ensure that the Bihar AIDS response keeps pace with the evolving nature of the epidemic, and to ensure that technical and financial support is in line with the needs of the State AIDS Control Society to reach all high risk groups. “The State AIDS Control Society should regularly inform you, the people’s representatives, on the progress of the HIV control programme in Bihar,” argued Dr. Peter Piot, in speaking to the Bihar Legislative Forum.

Although Bihar’s HIV prevalence rate is lower than the national HIV prevalence rate of 0.9%, the social drivers of the epidemic make it particularly vulnerable. One in six people are migrating to urban centres in search of work and a better standard of living. Wide-spread stigma and misconceptions are causing marginalization and exclusion. The state’s vulnerabilities are compounded with a backdrop of increasing levels of sex work and low levels of condom use.

During the visit to Bihar, the joint delegation emphasized the need for a muti-sectoral response, including HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. Nothing less than such a comprehensive response can ensure that all people living with HIV and all those people at high risk of infection have access to vital HIV services. DFID and UNAIDS underlined their support to Bihar in its continuous efforts to control the AIDS epidemic.

The one-day visit to Bihar was part of a wider joint DFID / UNAIDS mission to India in which Dr Piot and Sir Chackrabarti will also meet with political leaders, senior government officials and parliamentarians, students and representatives from non governmental organizations and from the donor community in Delhi.

In Malawi, the involvement of civil society in the process of setting targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support has resulted in ambitious targets addressing the needs and expectations of those living with or affected by HIV.

“Malawi is well on the way to endorsing targets,” said Desmond Johns, UNAIDS country coordinator in Malawi. “We’ve seen a process with limited civil society involvement grow into a process with meaningful dialogue and participation. All of this is producing a much better end result,” he added.

The process of setting targets for universal access in Malawi began early in 2006 when a small group of partners made up of representatives from the national ministries, donor organizations, the United Nations and non-governmental organizations met to identify the objectives and challenges to scaling up the country’s national response. Only two national and two international civil society umbrella organizations took part to this initial consultation.

Noting the limited role attributed to national civil society at this stage, a group of 20 organizations, led by Action Aid and the National Association of People Living with HIV & AIDS in Malawi (NAPHAM), decided in March 2006 to form a coalition in order to articulate a stronger position on the question of universal access. Starting a parallel process, the coalition undertook to review and if necessary challenge the preliminary targets set by the working groups.

The incentive to combine both processes and establish a truly inclusive mechanism to set targets for scaling up the response to AIDS came after the Global Fund review in June and July which revealed that many of the targets established by the working groups had already been exceeded.

“We were in presence of two parallel processes which did not communicate and could not benefit from each other’s strengths,” said Johns. “This situation underlined how important it is to bring all stakeholders around the same table. As of October, this became UNAIDS priority,” he added.

A three-day consultation was held soon after which brought together 350 participants from a wide range of stakeholders. Sixteen representatives from faith and community based organizations and groups of people living with HIV gave presentations on their experiences and the challenges they faced in responding to the epidemic in their communities. The presentations added a new and fresh perspective to the discussions.

In November consultations were extended to the provincial and district levels to ensure the widest possible participation. An international consultant facilitated the discussions to give everyone an opportunity to contribute. He also arranged to seek and incorporate the views of those who could not attend the meetings and gave them time to review the targets and submit comments before they were consolidated.

“We finally felt that our voices were being heard and taken into account,” said Sembereka from Malawi Network of Religious Leaders living with or Personally affected by HIV and AIDS, and member of the secretariat of the Civil Society coalition on Universal Access. “We represent people living with or affected by HIV and this is an unprecedented opportunity to make a difference in the response to HIV. There remains a lot of room for improving civil society participation. Our contribution should be an integral part of planning and monitoring the scale up of the response to AIDS,” he added.

The final national level stakeholder meeting took place on 29 November to communicate the proposed targets and the revised and costed National Action Framework. The targets are due to be endorsed by a Cabinet of Ministers before the end of the year.

“The inclusive process in November was an opportunity to bring a greater level of ambition to the universal access targets, develop consensus and build ownership of the targets and to prioritize and cost the National AIDS Framework, so that it would constitute the implementation plan for Universal Access. This is a great example of the Global Task Team recommendations and Paris Declaration actually taking life,” concluded UNAIDS Country Coordinator Desmond Johns.

The number of people living with HIV in the Middle East and North Africa has risen to 460,000 and some 68,000 people were newly infected in 2006 alone. In a bid to curb the region’s growing epidemic, countries have been working with UNAIDS to secure additional funding to scale-up the AIDS response in the region.

Securing external funding is particularly challenging in the Middle East and North Africa due to limited support from external donors. One of the donors operating in the region is the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria which has now become one of the main sources of AIDS funding for the region. The fund was created in January 2002 to attract, manage and disburse additional financing to support locally-driven strategies in response to AIDS, TB and malaria.

To date, the Global Fund has approved a total of US$ 6.6 billion to over 450 grants in 136 countries. Of the US$ 6.6 billion approved, US$ 2.9 billion has been disbursed to public and private recipients in 129 countries.

The grant application process can be complex and many countries in the region have solicited UNAIDS to assist in processing their applications. UNAIDS has played a role in raising awareness and creating a climate which has enabled countries to establish a country coordination mechanism thus making it possible to develop their grant proposals. UNAIDS facilitates provision of technical expertise to these areas and helps countries not only to develop their grant applications but also to implement the grants once approved.

In the most recent round of grants (Round Six) UNAIDS Regional Support Team and Country Offices in the Middle East and North Africa worked with five countries in the region to help formulate their proposals. Grants were approved for four out of the five countries with funding amounting to some US$ 26 million.

“UNAIDS works with countries at every opportunity to help ‘make the money work’ so that funds reach the people that need them most,” said Michel Sidibe, Director of UNAIDS Country and Regional Support Department. “As countries move towards the goal of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, adequate funding from both external and domestic sources is absolutely vital.”

Currently, 13 out of the 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa meet the eligibility criteria for Global Fund support and 10 out of 11 countries who have applied for Global Fund funding for AIDS to date have succeeded in obtaining funds, amounting to a total of US$ 127 million.

The UNAIDS Secretariat has provided assistance in developing 73% of all the proposals on AIDS in the region that have been approved between Rounds One and Six, including support to proposals from Algeria, Djibouti, Jordan, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan, and Tunisia.

As well as working with countries on grant proposals, UNAIDS also continues to support the implementation of grants and resolve major coordination and implementation difficulties or capacity-building challenges in all countries where grants were already in place from earlier rounds. Through the Global Implementation Support Team – GIST - UNAIDS, together with Cosponsors and the Global Fund headquarters, are providing a common action plan to support counties in solving bottlenecks, at the request of countries.

Typically the activities funded by the grants are wide-ranging and include development of second-generation surveillance and monitoring and evaluation; working with people most at risk of HIV infection such as young people, people who inject drugs and sex workers; reinforcing civil society––including non-governmental organisations, community-leaders and people living with HIV; increasing access to care, treatment, and psycho-social support of people living with HIV; and other specific interventions, such as coordination, blood safety, voluntary counselling and testing, and sexually transmitted infections.

“The availability of Global Fund resources in the region have created a new reality and represents a critical turning point in the national responses in the Middle East and North Africa,” said Oussama Tawil, Director of UNAIDS Regional Support Team for the Middle East and North Africa. “This is essential in particular in a context where the allocation of public resources remains relatively limited and primarily oriented to health care responses and other donor resources generally still represent limited support.”

The assistance UNAIDS provides to countries is coordinated with the World Health Organisation and other Cosponsors through an agreement which ensures complementary responses to countries and joint funding of regional training on the development of Global Fund proposals.

“Using the frameworks of the 'Three Ones' and 'Universal Access', UNAIDS will focus in 2007 on resolving bottlenecks, supporting the implementation process with scaled-up and diversified technical assistance ensuring that efforts in countries go beyond the 'project-mode' with regards to the Global Fund grants,” said Tawil.

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Photo Credit: UNAIDS/P.Virot

The State of the World’s Children 2007 report published on 11 December by UNAIDS Cosponsor UNICEF underlines that empowering women is pivotal to the health and development of families, communities and nations.

The report emphasizes the fact that gender inequality and the low status of women in society are two of the principal drivers of HIV. Latest data show that women now make up 48% of all people living with HIV, and the proportion of women infected with HIV is increasing in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region most affected by AIDS, 60% of all adults and three out of four young people living with the virus are female.

“When women are empowered to lead full and productive lives, children and families prosper,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman.

Despite progress in women’s status in recent decades, the lives of millions of girls and women are overshadowed by discrimination, disempowerment and poverty. Girls and women are disproportionately affected by AIDS and women in most places earn less than men for equal work. Millions of women throughout the world are subject to physical and sexual violence, with little recourse to justice. As a result of discrimination, girls are less likely to attend school; nearly one out of every five girls who enroll in primary school in developing countries does not complete a primary education. Education levels among women, says the report, correlate with improved outcomes for child survival and development.

“If we care about the health and well-being of children today and into the future, we must work now to ensure that women and girls have equal opportunities to be educated, to participate in government, to achieve economic self-sufficiency and to be protected from violence and discrimination,” Veneman said.

The AIDS epidemic illustrates all too vividly how much needs to be done to overcome the social, cultural and economic factors that put women at risk of HIV and that unduly burden them with the epidemic’s consequences.

“Governments have made repeated commitments to improve the status of women and acknowledged the linkage with HIV,” said Sarah Russell of the UNAIDS-led Global Coalition on Women and AIDS. “In some areas, they have made progress. But by and large, efforts have been small-scale and haphazard. There is an urgent need for more systematic approaches.”

The State of the World’s Children shows how promoting gender equality and empowering women – Millennium Development Goal number 3 – will propel all of the other goals, from reducing poverty and hunger to saving children’s lives, improving maternal health, ensuring universal education, combating AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and ensuring environmental sustainability.

“UNICEF’s new report calls for seven key interventions to empower women,” noted Russell.

A roadmap to gender equality

• Education : Key actions include abolishing school fees and encouraging parents and communities to invest in girls’ education.
• Financing : Little recognition has been given to the resources needed to meet the goal of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Investment to eliminate gender discrimination must be integrated into government budgets and plans.
• Legislation : National legislation in property law and inheritance rights should ensure a level playing field for women, alongside measures to prevent and respond to domestic violence and gender-based violence in conflict.
• Legislative quotas : Quotas are a proven method of ensuring women’s participation in politics. Of the 20 countries with the most women in parliament, 17 use some form of quota system.
• Women empowering women : Grassroots women’s movements have been vocal champions for equality and empowerment and should be involved in the early stages of policy formation so that programmes are designed with the needs of women and children in mind.
• Engaging men and boys : Educating men and boys, as well as women and girls, on the benefits of gender equality and joint decision-making can help nurture more cooperative relationships.
• Improved research and data : Better data and analysis are critical, especially on maternal mortality, violence against women, education, employment, wages, unpaid work and time use, and participation in politics.

“Immediate and sustained action on all seven tracks will be critical if the world is to make meaningful progress towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support,” she added.

Some 260 participants gathered in Lusaka for the 19th Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS governing board meeting. The meeting brought together representatives from government, civil society, donors and the United Nations to push for greater UN action to strengthen country efforts against AIDS.

General view of the participants attending the 19th PCB meeting hold in Lusaka, Zambia, 6-8 December 2006

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Mr. Ruphia Banda, Vice-President of Zambia, Mrs. Gunilla Carlsson, Minister of International and Cooperative Development of Sweden, Mrs. Silvia T. Masebo, Acting Minister of Health, Zambia and Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS, during a meeting prior to the PCB session.

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One of the 19th PCB sessions was chaired by: (from left to right) Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS, Mrs. Gunilla Carlsson, Minister of International and Cooperative Development of Sweden, Mr. Ruphia Banda, Vice-President of Zambia, Mrs. Silvia T. Masebo, Acting Minister of Health, Zambia.

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Namwene Phiri addressing the participants to the "Keep the Promise" session after receiving a prize for her contribution to the New York and Toronto banners.

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Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS addressing the participants to the reception hosted by the Minister of Health of Zambia and the Swedish Minister of the International and Cooperative Development at the 19th PCB meeting hold in Lusaka, Zambia, 6-8 December 2006

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UNAIDS Executive Director Dr Peter Piot met with the Delegation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the PCB. The DRC has just completed its first democratic elections with the election of President Joseph Kabila. The DRC has been wracked by civil war for a number of years and the elections herald the start of a new era for the DRC. Dr Piot said in the opening plenary that the new era provides an opportunity to step up the pace of the AIDS response in the DRC.

From left to right: Dr Engwanda, Head of NGO’s Forum for HIV/AIDS, DRC, Mr Eusebe Honsounko, UNHCR Representative, DRC, Prof Mashako Mamba, Academic Member of Delegation, DRC, Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS, Mme Jaynet Kabila, Head of Kabila Foundation, Dr Pierre Somse, UNAIDS Country Coordinator: DRC, Mr Jean-Pierre Bongo, Head of DRC Network of People living with HIV/AIDS, Mme Annie Faray, Head of NGO Fighting against Sexual Violence, Mr Dede Watchiba, Head of M&E Unit, National Multisectoral Programme.

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All photo credit: S. Katilungu

Bringing together musicians, artists and other famous faces, UNAIDS Special Representative HSH Princess Stephanie of Monaco continues her creative efforts to raise awareness and resources for the AIDS response.

The Princess is teaming up with the artists from the acclaimed musical Le Roi Soleil, as well as other famous international performers, to host two shows early next year at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

Audiences attending the performances will be treated to an extraordinary “medley” show featuring selected songs from the musical accompanied by the Monaco Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to raising funds, as with all her AIDS activities, Princess Stephanie also hopes the event will bring the issues of AIDS and stigma and discrimination to the forefront.

Proceeds from the event will go to the Fight AIDS Monaco organization and the building of a special house – the ‘Maison la Vie’ - in Provence, France which will be a centre for dialogue for people living with HIV and will offer care and support services. The house is planned for opening by 2008 and Princess Stephanie hopes people living with HIV will come and “recharge their batteries”,gain self-confidence and build skills to face the challenges posed by AIDS.

The planned musical event is one of a several activities organized by the Princess for the benefit of people living with HIV. On World AIDS Day she hosted a charity auction in Monaco and earlier this year Princess Stephanie again showed her creative fundraising skills by launching a charity pop single “L'Or De Nos Vies” (The Gold of Our Lives).

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot, AIDS activist Lynn Murchison and Hunger Project President Joan Holmes took part in an event in New York to commemorate World AIDS Day.

Speaking at the event, the UN Secretary-General highlighted the importance of accountability – the theme of this year’s Worlds AIDS Day – by saying, “ Accountability requires every President and Prime Minister, every parliamentarian and politician, to decide and declare that “AIDS stops with me”.

Dr Piot gave a brief overview of the epidemic saying that the latest global AIDS figures give reason for concern and for some hope. He also highlighted the need for more attention to be brought to women and girls.

Ms Holmes took the opportunity to endorse the recent recommendation of the Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence for the creation of a new, unified and ambitiously funded agency for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The event was chaired by Rev. Kevin Bean and attended by approximately 400 people. It was organized by The Hunger Project, UNAIDS and St. Bartholomew’s Church and co-sponsored by African Regional Youth Initiative, EngenderHealth, The Interfaith Center of New York, Islamic Cultural Center of New York, MaAfrika Tikkun, Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood, Muslim Women’s Institute for Research and Development, Population Council, World Council of Churches and World Council of Conservative Synagogues. Entertainment was provided by PG and Love Choir and Salah.