UNGASS+5: What's missing?

UNGASS+5 Daily Diary - 1 June 2006

Looking at the recent UNGASS+5 country reports and the content of the universal access consultations (and the voluminous report published by UNAIDS yesterday) the epidemic is outpacing what governments, the UN and civil society are doing to slow it down and reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS.

The outcome of the current UNGASS+5 review in New York will in large part provide a framework for re-focusing the AIDS response in the coming five years. In that light, I would like to see the following five things added to the outcome of the meeting this week:

1. One reason is because the majority of promise and commitments governments made in the original UNGASS Declaration of Commitment (DoC) in 2001 have not been met. The conclusion of the current review must include, first and foremost, a strong reaffirmation of commitment to implement fully the promises embodied by the 2001 Declaration, including taking urgent action to achieve retroactively those 2003 and 2005 targets that have not yet been met.
2. An unprecedented, inclusive, country-driven process took place in the past six months, as requested by the General Assembly, to identify practical actions for scaling up AIDS prevention, support, care and treatment services. Over 100 national and seven regional consultations, as well as a Global Steering Committee were organised. And yet, incredibly, the resulting operational recommendations, as outlined in the Secretary General’s Report on Scaling-up HIV Prevention, Treatment and Care towards Universal Access, are included only indirectly in the draft Review outcome document currently under negotiation. The Review should at least recognise this effort and conclusion (or throw it out) and make an unambiguous commitment that, by the end of 2006, national AIDS strategies and financing plans reflecting the urgent need to scale up significantly HIV prevention, treatment, care and support towards explicit targets will be completed. In addition, it should state that no credible, costed, evidence-informed, inclusive and sustainable national AIDS plan will go unfunded.
3. In a repeat run of the 2001 negotiations, it seems some countries are not willing to talk about people who are vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. It is essential that we continue to speak about vulnerable groups. Specific references must be included regarding participation of vulnerable groups in decision-making and implementation of prevention, support, care and treatment strategies – especially those groups not mentioned in the original Declaration. These include men who have sex with men, injecting and other drug users, sex workers, people living in poverty, prisoners, migrant labourers, women, youth and vulnerable children, people in conflict and post-conflict situations, and refugees and internally displaced persons.
4. In preparing for the current review, independent civil society monitoring of various aspects of the Declaration were organised in 37 countries. A number of governments also consulted with civil society groups in preparing their national progress reports. The current Review should build on this accomplishment to generate a joint commitment by governments, national parliaments, international donors, regional organizations, the United Nations system, civil society, private sector and communities most affected by HIV/AIDS and other stakeholders to work closely together to achieve nationally and globally agreed targets, and to ensure mutual accountability and transparency at all levels through participatory review of AIDS responses.
5. Finally, UN Member states should commit to ensure the involvement of civil society – including people living with HIV/AIDS – at all levels of national and donor decision-making. This includes: funding allocation decisions; policy-setting; determining programmatic priorities; as well as design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes.