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 Page 6 of 17 |
Programme Priorities |
| HIV/AIDS | |
Reproductive health, including family planning and sexual health Adolescent reproductive health Reducing maternal mortality Emergency assistance in refugee situations HIV/AIDS Population and development strategies Advocacy Women's empowerment and gender issues Strengthening programme effectiveness Decentralization National capacity-building Monitoring and evaluation Training Contraceptive requirements and logistics management needs Partnership with NGOs and civil society ICPD+5
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During 1997, UNFPA supported HIV/AIDS-prevention activities in 132 countries, compared to 124 countries in 1996 and 114 counties in 1995. The Fund's support continued to be provided in line with national HIV/AIDS policies and programmes and within the global strategy of the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS). The Fund participates in UNAIDS theme groups in 119 countries and chaired such groups in 8 countries during 1997. The reproductive health guidelines issued by UNFPA in 1997 specify the types of support the Fund can provide in the area of HIV/AIDS: the supply and distribution of condoms, and of appropriate supplies and equipment at the primary health care level; in-school and out-of-school education activities; training of reproductive health information and service providers; IEC activities focusing on HIV/AIDS, as part of population and reproductive health programmes; and operations research on integrating HIV/AIDS-prevention activities into reproductive health programmes at the primary health-care level, as well as research on the socio-demographic consequences of the epidemic. At the country level, most UNFPA-supported activities are integrated into reproductive health information and service programmes and advocacy programmes. During 1997, in addition to collaboration and cooperation with the other UNAIDS co-sponsors, the Fund collaborated closely with NGOs involved in implementing UNFPA-supported HIV/AIDS-prevention projects in 80 countries. Youth and adolescents are among the groups most vulnerable to HIV infection and thus a target for UNFPA assistance. So are women. According to recent estimates by UNAIDS and WHO (HIV/AIDS: The Global Pandemic) the epidemic continued to expand in 1997, with an estimated 5.8 million new HIV infections -- approximately 16,000 a day. Over 40 per cent of the new infections among adults occurred in women. The majority of newly infected adults are under 25 years old. UNFPA employed innovative approaches in some 96 countries to address the needs of in- and out-of-school youth, young women, males in the labour force, employees of the police and the military, and female prisoners. Modern media and traditional channels of communication have been used to raise awareness among policy makers and the general public. In Kenya, for example, under the UNAIDS theme group framework, support has been provided to "road-shows" in rural towns and trading centres to convey messages in an entertaining and interactive manner. In Latvia, multimedia events such as "Rock Against AIDS" and "New Rap Generation Against AIDS", together with film clips and television serials, have targeted youth and adolescents. Similarly, in Namibia, two drama groups, Puppets Against AIDS (PAAN) and Yatala, have organized "Dramas for Health" workshops that highlight the health and social implications of HIV/AIDS and convey HIV-prevention messages. In 1997, UNFPA provided 172.8 million condoms worth $5.5 million to 55 countries and procured an additional 15.8 million condoms on behalf of other agencies. Female condoms were provided to two countries. Surgical gloves and equipment to enable safe clinical practices were also supplied during 1997. In support of country-level activities, UNFPA provided assistance for a number of HIV/AIDS-prevention activities both at the regional and interregional levels in 1997. For example, in the Africa region, HIV/AIDS-prevention modules form an integral component of the UNFPA regional IEC training programmes in Abidjan and Nairobi. HIV/AIDS was high-lighted as one of the critical issues affecting the reproductive health of youth and adolescents at the African Forum on Adolescent Reproductive Health held in Addis Ababa in January 1997. In the Asia and Pacific region, a new NGO-executed project was undertaken to promote advocacy for adolescent reproductive health and responsible sexual behaviour among adolescents. UNFPA is also supporting two regional training programmes for service providers from Central and Eastern Europe -- one at The Netherlands School of Public Health; the other at the University Medical School of Debrecen, Hungary -- both of which include HIV/AIDS-prevention components. Similarly, in the Latin America and Caribbean region, UNFPA has supported the inclusion of HIV/AIDS components in the reproductive health curricula in schools of health sciences. HIV/AIDS prevention has also been incorporated in all regional projects on reproductive health. Moreover, the Fund has provided support, inter alia, to WHO and The Population Council for research in the area of STD/AIDS prevention.
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| Foreword | Introduction | UNFPA in 1997 | Programme Priorities | |