The extraordinary UNDG meeting was held to discuss ways to collaborate at the country level to respond to the UN General Assembly Special Session Declaration of Commitments, the Secretary-Generals initiatives on HIV/AIDS, and in particular to current plans to launch a Global Fund for HIV/AIDS and Health.

This guidance note to UN Country Teams is intended to strengthen a coordinated response of the UN System to HIV/AIDS at a country level. The issues proposed for consideration are: policy dialogue; advocacy and programmes for a multisectoral response; UN theme groups on HIV/AIDS; targeting specific populations; capacity building; resource mobilization; development instruments and mechanisms; partnerships; regional expansion; and technical guidance and support.

This report was prepared at the request, and with the support of, the USAID Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI). Topics discussed include demobilizaton and the HIV/AIDS challenge, definitions, trends and actors; and demobilizaiton and HIV/AIDS interventions. The contention is that the multi-phase nature of demobilization activities presents opportunities for the inclusion of HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives and care of people already affected. They argue that of paramount importance for the success of HIV/AIDS programs is a participatory approach that engages ex-combatants and communities of return in activity planning and implementation.

The United Nations Country Team in Cambodia is building on the UNDAF to significantly enhance its support to the national response against HIV/AIDS. In doing so, the UNCT has developed this Common Strategy that clearly sets out the future emphasis of the Team. The UNCT is committed to the governments efforts to achieve the Millennium Declaration Development Goal on HIV/AIDS to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. Through the development of this Common Strategy, the CT reflected on the roles and responsibilities of each UN agency as well as the UN system.

UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS Final Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, Global Crisis - Global Action

UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS Final Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, Global Crisis - Global Action

The UNDP Corporate Strategy outlines the specific role and activities of UNDP in the area of HIV/AIDS. The objective of the Strategy is to ensure policy coherence within UNDP at global, regional and country levels, while still allowing flexibility for country offices to respond to country specific needs. Section V entitled The Response of the Resident Coordinator System links up with the UNDG Guidance Note on HIV/AIDS, empahsizing the critical role of the Resident Coordinator System for a coordinated and coherent response by the UN system.

UN Secretary General's letter to UN Resident Coordinators: Follow up to UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS

UN Resident Coordinator System - Country Level Action in Support of Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS: UNDG Cover Letter

UN Resident Coordinator System - Country Level Action in Support of Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS: UNDG Guidance Note on HIV/AIDS

UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS - Transcript of Secretary-General, Kofi Annan's Press Conference

This document aims to define a broad framework for UN support to the Government of Viet Nam as part of the national response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It articulates a coherent vision and selective priorities for the UN system, as distinct from those of each agency, the Government, and other development partners. It is intended to ensure a better response of the UN system as a whole to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Viet Nam. The strategic priorities listed in this document are based on the analysis of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Viet Nam and of strengths and weaknesses of the national response. It also takes into account the role and comparative advantage of the UN system.

This Plan of Action is the outcome of a dialogue between three groups of partners: churches, ecumenical and church-related organizations in Africa; churches, ecumenical and church-related organizations in Europe and North America; and the World Council of Churches. The Plan is part of the response, by these groups of partners, to the urgent challenge presented by the epidemic of HIV/AIDS: a challenge to which all religious organizations have been struggling to respond, which is depopulating Africa faster than any calamity since the slave trade. What it attempts to achieve is a new and realistic initiative which will make it possible for church leaders and their congregations to speak honestly about HIV and AIDS, and to act practically in response to it.

Current Issues in Comparative Education vol. 3, number 1, Discussant papers on Deadly education: the spread of HIV/AIDS

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HIV/AIDS, including a discussion on why efforts to fight the AIDS epidemic in Brazil have reached such promising results

summary of meeting that discussed HIV/AIDS in southern Africa, operating principles of UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS, appraisal of Country Teams, and regional support mechanism.

This document reports on the mid-term UNSSP performance monitoring review aimed at documenting how the UN system adds value at global and country levels and updating of the UNSSP to ensure that the UN is responding to the current challenges and threats of the epidemic, contributing to the achievement of the goals of the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, and implementing PCB decisions subsequent to the five-year external evaluation of UNAIDS.

This report presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations of an evaluation into the performance of the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS - UNAIDS. The purpose of the evaluation is to assess the extent to which UNAIDS has met expectations in terms of increasing attention to the social, economic and developmental issues associated with the spread of HIV and strengthening interagency collaboration in response to the challenge.

This document sums up the decisions of the PCB in response to the Five Year Evaluation of UNAIDS and the UNAIDS Executive Director's Report to the PCB.

The Action Guide is focused on the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, approved by the United Nations General Assembly Special Session in June 2001. The primary responsibility for implementing the Declaration rests with governments. The role of the United Nations system is to support government efforts, and this guide has been prepared to assist United Nations Country Teams in this important process.

Presents the core indicators used in measuring progress in implementing the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS.

UN Regional Director's Meeting, 9 July 2003, Maputo, Mozambique

The meeting "Regional Follow Up on the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS - The UN response to HIV/AIDS in Countries on Eastern Europe and Central Asia", brought together Regional Directors, Heads of Delegations and staff of the UNAIDS Cosponsors in Moscow, Russian Federation, 25 March 2002. It was organized by the UNAIDS Secretariat and hosted by the UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS in the Russian Federation.

Earlier assessments of UN Theme Groups have catalogued their modus operandi and underlined the diverse contexts in which they operate. They did not however provide much insight into the factors that constrain or assist their effectiveness, nor did they allow any genuine comparative appraisal of their role in support of country efforts. This in-depth assessment is therefore meant to address these questions. At the same time it allows the Cosponsors and Secretariat to reflect on what they can do to strengthen the joint UN response at country level.

UNAIDS has developed the Country Response Information System (CRIS) as an information tool for national AIDS councils or equivalent. The CRIS comprises several databases including the Indicator Database that stores data relating to the UNGASS indicators. These indicators directly feed the HIV/AIDS MDGs. The present version of the Indicator Database, in five UN languages was released in June 2003. To date, 75 countries have been trained in its use and almost 20 countries are using the CRIS for data storage and analysis. Technology: HTML, XML, Visual Basic scripting, SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE), Windows 2000, Microsoft Office.

Thailand's Response to HIV/AIDS: Progress and Challenges