GENEVA, 23 June 2011—The governing body of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Programme Coordinating Board, met in Geneva from 21-23 June to review progress and put in place new measures to ensure greater efficiency and accountability in the AIDS response.
UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, presented his progress report on the first day of the meeting in which he highlighted the successful outcome of the 2011 United Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS. He also stressed the significance of the adoption of a new Security Council Resolution on AIDS which addresses the link between violence against women and HIV in conflict and post conflict settings.
At the High Level Meeting on AIDS, UN Member States adopted a new Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS which sets bold new targets in responding to HIV. “This declaration has set the agenda for the future of the AIDS response and provided a roadmap for ending the epidemic,” said Mr Sidibé.
During his speech the Executive Director of UNAIDS also outlined the need to reinforce the concept of shared responsibility in responding to AIDS, particularly at a time when international resources for AIDS are declining. “We need a new type of partnership, a new way to do business which will mean a shift away from donor dependence, towards country owned and country led responses,” he said.
The main item on the agenda of the 28th Meeting of UNAIDS’ Programme Coordinating Board was the Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework 2012-2015, which was unanimously endorsed by the Board. The Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework has been designed to improve the coherence, coordination and impact of the UN’s response to AIDS, to maximize the impact of the UNAIDS family at country level.
The Accountability Framework will ensure accountability in both programmatic results and in delivering value for money. The Board requested the UNAIDS Secretariat to produce annual reports on the implementation of the framework.
The meeting also included discussions on ensuring that food and nutrition security are integrated into HIV programming. The Board requested UNAIDS to review national AIDS strategies to identify gaps and needs in including food and nutrition and to implement an action plan to address the needs.
More than 300 participants and observers from UN Member States, international organizations, civil society and non-governmental organizations attended the meeting, which was chaired by El Salvador with Poland acting as vice chair and Egypt as rapporteur.
The UNAIDS Executive Director’s report to the Board, the decisions, recommendations and conclusions, and an overview of all documents presented at the 28th PCB can be found at: unaids.org
