UNAIDS Initiative on HIV/AIDS and Security
First Quarterly Report 2002
As a follow up to the UN Declaration of Commitments on HIV/AIDS,the UNAIDS Secretariat, through the Humanitarian Unit, hasdeveloped atwo year strategic work plan to strengthen leadership and partnerships on HIV/AIDS as a security issue. TheUNAIDS Initiative on HIV/AIDS and Securityfocuses on the following main areas: (1) National Security, including national uniformed services such as armed forces and civil defence forces; (2) Community Security, including vulnerable populations affected by conflict; (3) International Security, including international peacekeepers and humanitarian workers.
Relocation of the UNAIDS Humanitarian Unit
The UNAIDS Humanitarian Unit has been relocated to Copenhagen, joining the UN Nordic Office already hosting UNDP, WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA. The relocation is a result of an offer by the Government of Denmark to support the new Initiative on HIV/AIDS and Security by providing foroffice premises free of charge to UNAIDS. This has been done in recognition of the humanitarian dimensions of the HIV/AIDS epidemic which has met with a particular interest in the Nordic countries.
UNAIDS Humanitarian Unit
c/o UN Nordic Office
P O Box 2530, 3 Midtermolen
2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Tel: (45) 35 46 71 40 / 42 / 43 / 44
Fax: (45) 35 46 71 41
For the purpose of practical information sharing, the quarterly report is divided into the following sections:
- HIV/AIDS and Human Security
- HIV/AIDS and Conflict
- HIV/AIDS and Uniformed Services
- HIV/AIDS and Peacekeeping Operations
HIV/AIDS and Human Security
TheInter-sessional meeting of the Human Security Networkon Human Security and HIV/AIDS ( was held in Bangkokon 22 January where Ulf Kristoffersson, UNAIDS Chief of Humanitarian Unit, delivered a keynote address.
To mark the 100 years anniversary of the Nobel Prize and in conjunction with the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize granted to theUnited Nations, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Paris in cooperation with the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), organised a high-level seminar on AIDS as a Global Security Issue in Paris on 25 Januarywhere the UNAIDS Executive Directorparticipated, together with the Chief of the Humanitarian Unit,and delivered one of the keynote addresses.
The Inter-Agency Advisory Group (IAAG) on HIV/AIDS held its eighteenth meeting in Romeon 8-9 April where AIDS and Security featured as one of two main issues discussed. The recommendations from this meeting included: (1) Encouraging information sharing and continued collaboration with Cosponsors and other partners on the UNAIDS Initiative on HIV/AIDS and Security; (2) Further work to define the relationship between HIV/AIDS and human security issues and to delineate specific action; (3) Improve mechanisms related to HIV/AIDS prevention and care in emergency and conflict situations, through the existing IASC Reference Group on HIV/AIDS in Emergencies (see below); (4) Need to address HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and care among humanitarian workers; (5) Suggestion that HIV/AIDS and food security and livelihoods be one of the substantive items for the next IAAG meeting in 2003.
In Cosponsorship with UNAIDS and UNFPA, WHO convened a high level Consultation on Healthand Human Securityfrom 15-17 April in Cairo, Egypt, where Jean-Louis Lamboray, UNAIDS Chief of Technical Network Development, delivered a key note address onHIV/AIDS as a Security Issue.
HIV/AIDS and Conflict
Women and Girls.Through UNIFEM, anHIV/AIDS Gender Advisor in Sierra Leonehas been recruited in order to meet the specific needsof women and girls affected by HIV/AIDS and the long standing conflict in the region. This project is currently being envisaged in other areas affected by conflict including Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Children.UNAIDS and UNICEF, through Save The Children Fund U.K., areconducting a gaps analysis study in the Great Lakes region to outline the constraints of humanitarian organizations in responding to HIV/AIDS among children and adolescents in conflict situations. The study will also serve as a mapping exercise by which there will be a systematic analysis of what is being done where. This analysis will be followed up by programmes to build staff capacity in these countries as well as other regions affected by conflict.
Refugees.In close collaboration with UNAIDS, UNHCR has developed a Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS for 2002-2004 which was introduced to the UNHCR Advisory Group on HIV/AIDS on 19 February. This strategic plan will begin to be operational in the context of the Mano River Union Initiative on HIV/AIDS (see below) and in the Great Lakes region.
Sub-Regional Initiatives.The first technical consultations have taken place on the Mano River Union (MRU) Initiative on HIV/AIDS, comprising of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, aimed at strengthening coordination and collaboration between UN agencies, governments and civil society partners in order to harmonise strategies, policies, interventions and advocacy on STI/HIV/AIDS prevention and care for displaced populations, refugees and returnees, host communities, war-affected women and children, and security and peacekeeping forces.
General.The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Reference Group on HIV/AIDS in Emergencies has been reactivated (March 2002) with responsibilities including: (1) Finalising the revision of the UNAIDS/UNHCR/WHO Guidelines for HIV Interventions in Emergency Settings; (2) Finalising a minimum package for HIV/AIDS intervention in conflict and post conflict phases; (3) Strengthening coordination at field level; (4) Linking with other non-UN agencies and (5) Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS into the OCHA Consolidated Appeals (CAP).
UNFPA together with UNHCR and the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children held a consultative meeting on HIV/AIDS in Conflict from 18 – 19 April in NY where UNAIDS was represented by Ulf Kristoffersson, Chief of Humanitarian Unit, who was one of the keynote speakers, and Joan Sullivan from the UNAIDS Inter-Country Team for West and Central Africa.
HIV/AIDS and Uniformed Services
A UNAIDS Strategic Meeting on HIV/AIDS and National Security was held in Copenhagen from 4-5 April with military experts from Kenya and Norway and UNAIDS country and regional staff from the five main Inter-Country Teams to develop a generic plan of action on HIV/AIDS interventions for uniformed services, with emphasis on young recruits.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Following preparatory work, including advocacy and situation and response analysis, UNAIDS together with relevant Cosponsors and partners is currently working to develop HIV/AIDS intervention for uniformed services in Ukraine (already underway), Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Through UNFPA, UNAIDS is supporting a two year program with the armed forces in the Ukraine which will be adapted in the sub-region. Ukraine is also a major troop contributing country to UN peacekeeping operations which has been reflected in the HIV/AIDS program for armed forces incorporating specific pre-deployment training for troops serving abroad.
West and Central Africa.UNAIDS, including the Inter Country Team (ICT) for West and Central Africa (WCA), participated in a workshop on Armed Forces and HIV/AIDS in ECOWAS from 15-16 April inBamako. The workshop resulted in the planning of the development of a defense sector plan for each country and the identification of support needs at sub-regional level. The ICT WCA seized the occasion to organize a technical consultation with the armed forces of the three countries of the Mano River Union. The ICT WCA will formalize the collaboration with ECOWAS by drafting a multi-sectoral collaboration framework.
Southern and Eastern Africa.An initial and informal mapping was developed on the different existing HIV/AIDS interventions for uniformed services in Southern and Eastern African countries. Following the identification of seven priority countries in the region, a situation and response analysis is currently being prepared for HIV/AIDS interventions for uniformed services in those countries.
South East Asia. The Greater Mekong sub-region has been identified as a priority sub-region for HIV/AIDS interventions for uniformed services including China, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and Viet-nam. The Philippines has also been identified as a priority country for South East Asia.
HIV/AIDS and Peacekeeping Operations
Testing.As a result of the UNAIDS Expert Panel on HIV Testing in UN Peacekeeping Operations, held in Bangkok in November 2001, a report of the panelwas finalised and presented in February to the UNAIDS Executive Director.
Awareness Training. The HIV/AIDS Awareness Card for Peacekeeping Operations has been produced andis being distributed in ten languages-- English, French, Russian, Kiswahili, Urdu, Bengali, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and Hindi-- covering all major nationalities serving in peacekeeping operations world-wide. A baseline study is currently being undertakenin UNMEE (UN Mission for Ethiopia and Eritrea) to monitor the impact of the card and the general HIV/AIDS awareness training for peacekeepers.
DPKO Trust Fund for HIV/AIDS. Through contributions from the Danish Government, UNAIDS has contributed USD 500,000 to the newly established Trust Fund for HIV/AIDS to support DPKO activities in order to reduce the likelihood of transmission to and by all peacekeeping staff (civilian, military and civilian police). Specifically it will provide funding for HIV/AIDS policy officers (currently being recruited by DPKO) to implement educational and other projects including the HIV/AIDS Awareness Card, for which the peacekeeping staffare the principal audience.
Upcoming. In cooperation with UNAIDS, UNFPA, CDC (Centre for Disease Control) and the US Department of Defense (DOD), DPKO is organising a workshop on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis in Oslo from on 13 - 16 May.
General.The UNAIDS Steering Committee on HIV/AIDS and Security which met three times in 2001 to review and guide issues related to HIV/AIDS and security, particularly in the context of peacekeeping operations, was disbanded. The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) has agreed to establish a similar mechanism in order to assist in integrating and mainstreaming HIV/AIDS prevention and support in UN peacekeeping operations.
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