TITLE: AIDS in New World!

General Objective:
To discuss the global HIV challenge: identifying obstacles, assessing progress,
renewing commitment

Specific Objective:
To discuss the global HIV challenge: identifying obstacles, assessing progress,
renewing commitment
To discuss the agreements of ASIA & UN against HIV/AIDS
To discuss the diplomatic initiatives in MDGs no. 6
To discuss the status of the global HIV epidemic
To discuss the addressing societal causes of HIV risk and vulnerability
To enumerate the different ways of preventing AIDS.
To enlist the different actions of the United Nations and the Philippines against
AIDS.

Overview of HIV/AIDS
HIV is a virus that is transmitted from person to person through the exchange of body fluids such
as blood, semen, breast milk and vaginal secretions. Sexual contact is the most common way to
spread HIV AIDS, but it can also be transmitted by sharing needles when injecting drugs, or
during childbirth and breastfeeding. As HIV AIDS reproduces, it damages the body's immune
system and the body becomes susceptible to illness and infection. There is no known cure for
HIV infection.
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS, is a condition that describes an advanced state
of HIV infection. With AIDS, the virus has progressed, causing significant loss of white blood
cells (CD4 cells) or any of the cancers or infections that result from immune system damage.
Those illnesses and infections are said to be "AIDS-defining" because they mark the onset of
AIDS. Like HIV, there is no known cure for AIDS..
Overview of combating HIV/AIDS
Fighting the epidemic of HIV/AIDS requires involvement of many key sectors of society,
including partnerships with the private and public sectors, civil society and individual
consumers.

The first session on Private Sector Leadership commemorating World AIDS Day 2007
at the World Bank, Washington DC, was organized by the South Asia Finance and
Private Sector (SASPF) unit, the South Asia Region (SAR) AIDS team and IFC Against
AIDS. It focused on the role of private sector partners in implementing innovative
approaches to effectively combat HIV/AIDS.


Phillip Hay

- Communications Advisor at the World Bank,
-served as moderator for the event.

Juan Jose Daboub

Managing Director at the World Bank
- welcomed participants and gave a brief introductory presentation.
- noted that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the main threats to global development.
-he said that the private sector must join forces to find a comprehensive and sustainable
response to the epidemic.

Jyrki Koskelo

-Vice President, Africa, Global Financial Markets and Funds at the International Finance
Corporation (IFC), introduced the role of the IFC and the World Bank in the fight against
HIV/AIDS.
-stated that the role of the private sector in this fight has thus far been underestimated,
and yet it is one of the sectors that can contribute to produce significant results in
tackling the epidemic-- if the opportunities are properly explored.
-He mentioned that the IFC currently has 25 projects dealing with HIV/AIDS in 10
different countries, and that while the IFC is not a beginner in this effort, they are still
gaining experience in this field.
- He concluded that he believes that IFC is on the right track and will continue to look for
new ideas in combating this pressing issue.

Tamsin Smith

President of Product (RED) provided a brief history of the Product (RED) initiative.
-She showed a film clip which explained how the brand Product (RED), licensed to
partner companies such as Nike, Apple, Motorola, Converse, Gap, and American
Express, raises money for the Global Fund to fight AIDS.
-She explained that the model is based on the assumption that people want to help the
HIV/AIDS cause, but they dont know how to do it or how their actions will make a
difference.

Paranjpye

-filmmaker in India, explained that in India a major issue in the fight against the HIV
epidemic is the lack of awareness of the subject, even amongst educated people: a
recent study indicated that 40% of college students in Mumbai believed that HIV/AIDS
was contracted by kissing, and another 45% attributed it to mosquitoes.
- she pointed out the huge influence that a feature film treating the subject of HIV/AIDS
could potentially have in educating people and raising awareness for the entire country.
India, she said, urgently needs a contemporary film that treats AIDS not only as a
medical issue, but as a human rights issue. And while the urgent need to launch an
aggressive film movement on HIV/AIDS is not being disputed.

Michael Cover

-Senior Vice President of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide was the last presenter.
Cover stressed the importance of communication as a tool for fighting the HIV/AIDS
epidemic globally. Ogilvy, he said, is a Global PR company with offices in 6 continents.
-Cover concluded by stating that the World Bank has a role to play in its work with
private sector partners by helping to identify opportunities for private/public partnerships
and facilitating them.
-In the question and answer session, audience members asked about the existent
political denial of the epidemic in many countries, whether there are efforts to reform the
workplace standards of companies involved in Product (RED), and the role of the World
Bank in interfacing with the private sector.

Praful Patel
-Vice President of the South Asia Region at the World Bank, gave concluding remarks.
-summarized the key messages from each of the presentations and shared his
experience of working with HIV/AIDS at the Bank. He stressed that the private sector
has a lot to offer, and that the World Bank must now face the challenge of assuming the
mantle of leadership in facilitating the much needed private/public partnerships.

The global HIV challenge:
identifying obstacles,
assessing progress
renewing commitment
Obstacles from global fight to HIV/AIDS
Apurt from the humun sufferlng cuused by these dlseuse, HIV/AIDS ln purtlculur hus the
potentlul to lmpuct negutlvely on the socloeconomlc development of lndlvlduul socletles becuuse of
the ussocluted hlgh udult mortullty ln some countrles, especlully ln sub-Suhurun Afrlcu. Desplte the
progress mude ln the response to HIV/AIDS durlng the lust decude, the HIV pundemlc remulns one
of the most serlous chullenges to globul heulth und probubly wlll contlnue to be one of the leudlng
cuuses of deuth und dlsublllty ln the world for the next decudes. Slnce the lnltlul descrlptlon of HIV
us the cuusutlve ugent of AIDS, more thun 60 mllllon people huve been lnfected wlth the vlrus, und
more thun 25 mllllon people huve dled.

What are the agreements of ASIA & UN against HIV/AIDS?
ADB, UNICEF |olns forces for chlldren wlth mu|or ugreement


7hey slgned u mu|or ugreement, |olnlng forces ucross Aslu und the Puclflc reglon to
flght dlspurltles, reduce poverty, und ensure thut equltuble und sustulnuble
development beneflts ull chlldren.
7he outcome from thls ugreement wlll be un lmproved purtnershlp whlch wlll
enhunce the cupucltles of both ADB und UNICEF to dellver on thelr long-term
ob|ectlves of poverty reductlon, lncluslve growth und chlld welfure,
-ADB Presldent Huruhlko Kurodu.




UNICEF ls commltted to worklng wlth the ADB to ensure thut thls reglons rupld
growth doesnt leuve behlnd the most dlsudvuntuged chlldren,. 2ur ugreement wlth
ADB ls crltlcul to worklng for equltuble development.
- UNICEF Executlve Dlrector Anthony Luke

A brlef hlstory ubout ADB Presldent Huruhlko Kurodu:


Born on 25 2ctober 1944, Mr. Kurodu holds u BA ln
Luw from the Unlverslty of 7okyo und u Muster of
Phllosophy ln Economlcs from the Unlverslty of 2xford.
He |olned the Mlnlstry of Flnunce ln 1967. Elght yeurs luter.
He wus seconded to the Internutlonul Monetury Fund.
Before |olnlng ADB, Mr. Kurodu wus Speclul Advlsor to
the Cublnet of Jupunese Prlme Mlnlster Junlchlro
Kolzuml und u professor ut the Gruduute School of
Economlcs utHltotsubushl Unlverslty ln 7okyo.
He wus elected Presldent by ADB's Bourd of Governors
ln November 2004 und wus reelected ln November 2006
for u new flve-yeur term.
A brlef hlstory ubout UNICEF Executlve Dlrector Anthony Luke:

NEW Y25K, USA, 16 Murch 2010 UNICEF toduy
welcomed the UN Secretury-Generul's
unnouncement thut Anthony Luke wlll tuke over
us Executlve Dlrector of UNICEF ufter
Ann M. Venemun's term ends on 30 Aprll.
2n 1 Muy 2010, Anthony Luke becume the slxth
Executlve Dlrector of the Unlted Nutlons
Chlldren's Fund, brlnglng to the posltlon
more thun 45 yeurs of publlc servlce.

What are the diplomatic initiatives in MDGs no. 6?
Some governments requlre the deportutlon of pregnunt workers, whlch forces muny
to go for unsufe ubortlons thut cun put women ut rlsk of HIV trunsmlsslon or other
lnfectlons, und rules often prevent spouses und purtners from |olnlng workers.
Muny recelvlng countrles belleve they ure protectlng thelr own nutlonuls by lmposlng
rules llke mundutory testlng or screenlng.
But women's uctlvlsts suy these often only encouruges people to hlde thelr HIV
stutus, does llttle to stop mlgrutlon flows ucross borders und educute them to get
them to uctuully chunge or uvold rlsky behuvlour.

Status of the global HIV epidemic
Adults and children estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS as of the end of 1999
Region No. of persons
Sub-Saharan Africa 24,500,000
South and Southeast Asia 5,600,000
Latin America 1,300,000
North America 900,000
East Asia and Pacific 530,000
Region No. of persons
Western Europe 520,000
Eastern Europe and Central Asia 420,000
Caribbean 360,000
North Africa and Middle East 220,000
Australia and New Zealand 15,000
Data are adapted from the UNAIDS report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic: new HIV estimates,
available at www.unaids.org/epidemic_update/report/epi_core.ppt.Accessed 16 November 2000.
Defining HIV risk and vulnerability

Risk is defined as the probability or likelihood of a person many become infected w/
HIV. Certain behaviors create. increase and perpetuate risk. Examples include with
unprotected mo sex w/ partner, and injecting a drop whose HIV status is unknown,
multiple sexual partnership involving unprotected sex, and injecting drugs used w/
contaminated needles and syringes.

Vulnerability
Result from a range of factors outside the control of a individual that reduce the ability
if individual and communities to avoid HIV risk. These factors may include: (1) lack of
knowledge and skills required to protect oneself and others; (2) factors pertaining to
the quality and coverage of services (e.g. inaccessibility of service violation, or social
and cultural norms. These norms can include practices, beliefs and laws that stigmatize,
and disempowering certain population, limiting their ability to access or use HIV
prevention, treatment, care, and support services and commodities. These factors,
alone or in combination, may create or exacerbate individual and collective vulnerability
to HIV.
Different ways to prevent HIV/AIDS
Avoiding AIDS as easy as...
y A bstain
y B e faithful
y C ondomise


UNAIDS coordinates its own collective efforts on scaling up prevention, within the ambit of universal
access to prevention, care, support and treatment, through building on the comparative advantages of the
UNAIDS Cosponsors and Secretariat to support scale up of high quality, comprehensive HIV prevention
programmes at all levels. UNAIDS also collaborates with a large number of other stakeholders and
promotes and supports the development of strong HIV prevention constituencies. The main focus of
UNAIDS on intensification of HIV prevention is at country level as part of its ongoing efforts to support
countries to strengthen their overall national responses to the AIDS epidemic.

The UN therefore intends to promote:

y the implementation of prevention programmes, particularly for the most vulnerable
groups;
y safe sex ;
y measures to address the increase in risk-taking behaviour among young people;
y the evaluation of the risks of mother-to-child transmission and the risks associated
with drug dependence;
y The development of training programmes for healthcare staff and other
professionals caring for those with HIV/AIDS.


UN & Philippine does action about HIV


WHO-World Health Organization

Global surveillance of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is a joint effort of
the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS. The UNAIDS/WHO working group
on global AIDS and STI surveillance, initiated in November 1996, is the coordination
and implementation mechanism for UNAIDS and WHO to compile and improve the
quality of data needed for informed decision-making and planning at national, regional
and global levels.
The primary objective of the working group is to strengthen national, regional and global
structures and networks for improved monitoring and surveillance of AIDS and STIs. For
this purpose, the working group collaborates closely with WHO Regional Offices,
national AIDS programmes and a number of national and international institutions.
Since its inception, this working group has established itself as one of the best
examples of synergistic collaboration between UNAIDS and its Cosponsors. It is chaired
on rotation and meets weekly to discuss an agreed agenda. In its present form the
working group is a coordination mechanism cutting across several departments in WHO
and UNAIDS.
In addition, the working group collaborates closely with the six WHO Regional Offices
with national collaborating centres (US Bureau of the Census, EuroHIV, US Center for
Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), Robert Koch Institute, Health Canada and
others). Experts have come together in reference groups on specific issues (for
example, HIV estimates and projections, HIV surveillance in hard-to-reach populations)
and provide guidance and technical advice on selected issues.
This working group provides a forum for information sharing, coordination, joint planning
and evaluation of activities. It helps avoid duplication of activities and fosters the
involvement of other partners and bodies, making extensive use of a network of
collaborating centres, institutions and experts to support epidemiological work on AIDS
and STIs.


Areas of work
The working group deals with a wide range of issues directly or indirectly related to the
global surveillance of AIDS and STIs. For description purposes, these activities can be
grouped into four main areas of work.

1. Global surveillance of HIV, AIDS, STIs and related risk behaviours
This involves the collection of information from all member states, normally through
WHO Regional Offices, its compilation into a global database and regular analysis and
feedback through global reports and publications. Data are collected directly from
national AIDS programmes, from the scientific press, from reports of consultants and
missions and from international conferences, in collaboration with international and
national institutions like the US Bureau of the Census and the European Centre for the
Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS. Every effort is made to ensure that the information
is as complete and up-to-date as possible.
The information compiled in the global database is used to produce UNAIDS/WHO
epidemiological fact sheets for each individual country. The fact sheets contain the most
up-to-date information relevant to HIV, including demographic, social, behavioural and
STI data. They were first issued in June 1998 and were last updated in 2006.
The data are also used to develop estimates of HIV prevalence and mortality published
in the AIDS epidemic update just prior to World AIDS Day (1 December) every year.
Since there is no direct measurement of HIV prevalence or AIDS mortality, the global,
regional and country estimates have often been the subject of controversy, with some
experts and activists suggesting that the official estimates are either too low or too high.
The working group ensures that estimates are produced jointly by UNAIDS and WHO
with feedback from all member states and WHO Regional Offices. In addition, there are
continuous efforts to improve both the availability of data and the methodologies used to
produce estimates and projections. A reference group (UNAIDS reference group on
estimates, modelling and projections) composed of HIV epidemiologists, demographers
and modelers was established to assist the working group in this task.
The latest country-specific AIDS estimates were published in the 2008 Report on the
global AIDS epidemic.


2. Development of guidelines and tools for surveillance of HIV, AIDS and STIs
The working group gathers examples of best practices and experiences from all regions
on the collection of HIV, AIDS, STI and behavioural data at country level and uses them
to develop global guidelines and training materials to be used in designing, monitoring
and evaluating national surveillance systems.
Existing HIV surveillance systems are still often based on the model developed by the
WHO Global Programme on AIDS at the end of the 1980s, which was based on the
experience gained in the African epidemic. Taking stock of the experience gained since
then and looking at the differences in the epidemic scenarios across the world, a
revised system, Guidelines for second generation HIV surveillance (2000) has been
developed through a series of collaborative meetings.
The new system builds on the existing HIV surveillance activities and focuses more on
the monitoring of "mature" epidemics, the adaptation of tools to slow progressing
epidemics and the more consistent collection and use of behavioural data for risk
assessment and evaluation of preventive interventions.
Other guidelines and tools produced by the UNAIDS/WHO working group on global
AIDS and STI surveillance include:
Guidelines for measuring national HIV prevalence in population-based surveys (2005)
The pre-surveillance assessment: Guidelines for planning serosurveillance of HIV,
prevalence of sexually transmitted infections and the behavioural components of
second generation surveillance of HIV (2005)
Guidelines for HIV surveillance among tuberculosis patients, second edition (2004)
Case Study on estimating HIV infection in a concentrated epidemic: Lessons from
Indonesia (2004)
Guidelines for effective use of data from HIV surveillance systems (2004)
Guidelines for conducting HIV sentinel serosurveys among pregnant women and other
groups (2003)
Estimating the size of populations at high risk for HIV. Issues and methods (updated
July 2003)
Initiating second generation HIV surveillance: practical guidelines (2002)
Guidelines for using HIV testing technologies in surveillance: selection, evaluation and
implementation (2001)
Guidelines for sexually transmitted infections surveillance (1999)

3. Support to regional and national surveillance activities
The main responsibility for country support remains with WHO Regional Offices and the
UN Theme Groups.
The working group provides support to regional and national HIV, STI and behavioural
surveillance activities through regular regional and intercountry meetings and
workshops, fielding of staff or external consultants, briefing of national and international
staff in headquarters and, in some cases, direct financial support.
UNAIDS and WHO have been implementing, with support from the European
Commission, a three-year project that has provided financial and technical support to
several countries while field-testing the basic concepts of second-generation HIV
surveillance.
The working group provides technical and financial support to all WHO Regional Offices
for intercountry HIV surveillance activities. Funding is also available for support to a few
countries in the implementation of STI surveillance.

4. Research and development of new epidemiological tools
Continuous research into new epidemiological tools for monitoring the spread of HIV
and other aspects related to the HIV epidemic is required due to the changing realities
of the epidemic and the development of new sampling and testing methodologies.
This UNAIDS/WHO working group, in collaboration with international and national
institutions, plays a leading coordinating role in the development of new methodologies,
in operational research and in the assessment of new and emerging problems related to
the HIV epidemic. Examples include the use of Demographic Health Surveys for HIV
prevalence studies and the utilization of mapping tools, such as the Health
Mapper developed by WHO, other GIS tools for HIV surveillance, the integration of HIV
with other disease surveillance systems, the monitoring of antiretroviral resistance, and
the use of alternative HIV testing methodologies (with saliva, urine) in surveillance.
In addition, more advanced tools for the estimation and projection of the HIV
epidemic are being developed in an effort to improve the accuracy of the information
and its usefulness for the planning and monitoring of preventive and care efforts.

PHILIPPINE SURVEILLANCE

HIV is one of the diseases that have to be combated as reflected in the
Millennium Development Goals and is also being addressed in the Department of
Health's Medium Term Development Plan.

The DOH initiated HIV behavioral and biological surveillance in the Philippines in
1993, one of the first such systems in Asia. Since that time, surveillance data has
been collected regularly to provide the HIV and risk behavior prevalence data
that is necessary to enable the country to monitor and respond to its epidemic.

The overall purpose of the Philippines Integrated HIV Behavioral and Serologic
Surveillance System (IHBSS) is to provide data to improve the country response
to the epidemic with the following specific objectives:

y Quantifying the magnitude of HIV infection
y Understanding how HIV is spreading - or might potential spread
y Assisting in HIV / AIDS program planning
y Advocating for prevention and care services
y Aiding in program evaluation

Conclusion
In 2001, leaders of 189 nations recognized that AIDS is among the greatest
development crises in human history and they agreed to a set of targets to halt and
begin to reverse the epidemic by 2015.
Since 2001 important progress has been made in the fight against AIDS. Political
commitment, coordination among partners, and money available
for HIV/AIDS prevention and care have all increased significantly; access
to treatment, testing and counseling has greatly improved globally; and blood for use
in transfusions is now routinely screened for HIV in most countries.
However, progress is very uneven across the world and many more efforts are still
needed in the fight against HIV. For instance, most people at high risk of HIV infection
have no access to prevention services, a large number of babies are born with HIV,
and huge numbers of children orphaned or made vulnerable by the epidemic have no
proper care and support. In addition, there are other barriers to the effective fight
against AIDS; for instance, stigma, discrimination and denial about issues such as
sexuality and drug use.


Recommendation:
One of the central reasons that a new recommendation was proposed by the ILO
Governing Body was that our constituents wanted to find a way to help address stigma
and discrimination. To this day stigma and discrimination still means job losses, it still
means a lack of access to jobs, and it still means that through fear and going too late for
an HIV test that potentially a life is lost. Through an international human rights
instrument such as this proposed recommendation we can more confidently tackle
stigma and discrimination, make sure that people could access voluntary counseling
and testing and be referred for treatment in time and we can help save businesses and
small enterprises and ultimately, lives.