UNFPA has many opportunities to play a critical role in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Even with a focused perspective to adhere to its defined mandate and to concentrate on its comparative advantage and core areas, UNFPA has a decisive responsibility within the global partnership to deliver specific results in the areas of work outlined above.

In all of these areas, programme staff will need guidance and training to build their own capacities to assist national programmes in operationalizing the policies and programmes.

A process to brief all the technical staff of the Country Technical Service Teams, whatever their areas of specialization, has begun and will continue. Training in technical areas such as logistics management of reproductive health commodities are also scheduled at headquarters to develop strategic frameworks and networking mechanisms.

UNFPA country offices are the front line for action. For this strategy to be implemented and make a difference, country teams, including Country Representatives, have a critical role to play.

Workshops will be organized to orientate them accordingly. This is the best way to ensure that the policies and the strategic actions recommended in this document find their way into country programme documents.

This strategy supposes that Country Representatives and their teams will be proactive, playing a more visible role in the HIV/AIDS Theme Groups at the country level, with Country Representatives being more active as Theme Group Chair, and staff members being more active at the level of the Technical Working Groups where appropriate.

Such activities will help ensure that the recommended strategic actions of UNFPA are taken into consideration in the joint programme; and results-oriented, to ensure the maximum
impact of interventions.

Finally, the strategic orientations contained in this document have been defined at a particular period of the involvement of UNFPA in the global fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

As more information and knowledge are acquired about the nature and dynamic of the epidemic, as more experience and insight are gained about effective ways to handle it, and as partnerships to fight the epidemic are expanded, these strategic priorities and choices will need to be adjusted.

This document should be revisited regularly and the strategic priorities redefined, keeping in mind all these elements and resource availability, ensuring that UNFPA remains effective in its response to the pandemic.

It is clear that one overarching concept will remain: HIV-prevention efforts are relevant to all countries regardless of the stage of the epidemic and are most effective when implemented early.

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