| Preventing HIV Infection,
Promoting Reproductive Health
Previously known as AIDS Update, this is the
12th annual publication to provide information about actions taken
by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, to prevent HIV infection.
UNFPA has worked to improve reproductive health
for more than 30 years; never has the need been more urgent. UNFPA
is at the forefront of international prevention
efforts, integrating HIV prevention throughout all reproductive
health services. We work with countries, at their request, to plan
and implement programmes that provide life-saving information and
services.
Young people, especially if poor, are at great
risk: nearly half of all new infections occur between the ages
of 15 and 24. UNFPA supports programmes that provide the
knowledge, skills and services young people need in order to protect
their reproductive health and prevent HIV infection. Such programmes
also strive to build a supportive environment free of stigma and
discrimination.
Moreover, ending the epidemic requires caring adults to arm adolescents
against infection—through
education, participation and decision-making that delays the start
of sexual activity and keeps girls in school. For UNFPA, 2002 represented a year of increasing
internal commitment and focused action, and acceptance of greater
responsibility and accountability for ensuring
a strong and coordinated system-wide response to HIV/AIDS. Highlights
of our many HIV prevention activities at the global, regional and
country levels include:
-
Establishing a dedicated HIV/AIDS branch
within the UNFPA structure;
-
Disseminating institutional guidelines
on HIV prevention to all staff, and application of the strategy
in several regions;
-
Designation as the convening agency
for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) on
HIV/AIDS issues pertaining to young people and to condom programming;
-
Establishing a position dedicated to
HIV prevention programming on each regional UNFPA Country Technical
Services Team (CST);
-
Completing
an internal independent evaluation of UNFPA’s
thematic work on HIV/AIDS, and participating in the five-year
evaluation of UNAIDS.
UNFPA has a mandate to prevent sexually transmitted
infections of all kinds and to promote reproductive rights. Our
HIV prevention efforts are based on this
mandate. We have found ways to work in diverse social, cultural
and religious settings, based on decades of addressing sensitive
issues that cut across many different sectors. This experience
is directly
relevant to the fight against HIV/AIDS. We bring this experience
to our partnerships in UNAIDS and with governments and civil society,
working together to bridge any differences and provide an ever
more effective response. Partnerships are a priority upon which
progress depends.
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