Publications

The Global Fund partnership brings together a myriad of strengths: finances; technical expertise; the experience and knowledge of communities affected by HIV, tuberculosis and malaria; innovation; and a capacity for constant evolution. The partners who comprise the Global Fund come with diverse abilities and points of view, yet they share a determination to serve people, to strive for social justice, and to achieve impact against HIV, TB and malaria and ultimately end the epidemics. This report delivers a summary of the impact and results the Global Fund partnership was able to achieve by 2015, showing cumulative progress since the Global Fund was created in 2002. It is a collective effort, combining the strong contributions made by governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by HIV, TB and malaria.

Thailand has joined the commitment to the 2011 UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV to prevent and control the AIDS epidemic and pursue the strategy of 3 Zeroes: (1) Zero HIV new infection; (2) Zero AIDS death; and (3) Zero AIDS stigma and discrimination. The Thailand National Strategic Plan of HIV (2014‐16) has set the 2016 targets to reduce new HIV infection by two‐third, peri‐natal transmission rate less than 2%, AIDS related deaths reduced by half, and discrimination to key populations and people living with HIV reduced by half. The National AIDS Committee (NAC) further approved the policy of ending AIDS epidemic in Thailand by 2030 as the national priority on November 28, 2014, and directed all related agencies at the national and subnational level to mobilize efforts to achieving the objectives. In addition, Thailand has developed key measures and the operational plan for 2015‐19 to support the ending AIDS policy. The measures have applied strategies of test and treat regardless of CD4 level with the focus to most affected areas and populations.

HIV/AIDS takes an enormous physical toll on those infected by the virus as well as those who care for them. However, the psychological toll of the epidemic is just as significant. The psychological and social effects of HIV/AIDS are magnified in young people. Children and adolescents are an ever-growing part of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 2004, an estimated 2.2 million children under the age of 15 were living with HIV.

Young people aged 10 to 24 in Asia and the Pacific account for thirty-five percent of new HIV infections in the region. Many young people face difficulties in accessing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information, commodities, and services because of the compounding issues that they face. Moreover, many existing HIV programs catering to young people do not always include SRH services or link them to relevant youth-friendly SRH services.  Youth LEAD‘s report, "Our Rights Matter Too: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Young Key Populations in Asia and the Pacific", provides an overview of the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) needs, issues, and priorities of young key populations (YKP) in Asia and the Pacific. The report addresses the gaps in knowledge on the SRHR needs of #YKP in the region, offers recommendations based on a regional study, and contributes essential information for policy and advocacy efforts.

UN Women has developed twelve Flagship Programming Initiatives (FPIs) to further deepen its programming and achieve transformative results for gender equality and women’s empowerment. FPIs are high-impact, scalable programmes that will carry the bulk of UN Women’s growth. They build on and supplement, not replace, UN Women’s ongoing programming work. All FPIs adopt a human rights-based approach by strengthening the voice of women and girls to remove structural barriers for gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE). Each FPI is guided by international human rights treaties and contributes towards achieving the outcomes and goals articulated in UN Women’s Strategic Plan. Each FPI is based on a comprehensive theory of change (TOC), which articulates the causal linkages and actions required by national, CSOs, UN, ODA and private partners in order to achieve transformative change in the lives of women and girls. The role of UN Women in each of these partnerships will be context-specific. In some countries, UN Women will focus on creating a coalition for change while in some other it will play a broader operational role.

Jumping Hurdles: Access To HIV Health Services for Young Men Who Have Sex with Men and Young Transgender Persons in Asia and the Pacific presents the barriers in accessing health services and the recommended elements of youth friendly services shared during the 3rd Regional Consultation. It is a part of YVC’s advocacy efforts targeting healthcare providers and governments in selected countries in the region. The discussion paper also strategically compliments the new WHO’s Consolidated guidelines on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations by offering an insight into the specific needs of the populations lying at the intersection of being young and being sexually marginalized.

Globally, AIDS-related illnesses are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women of reproductive age. In areas such as Western and Central Europe and Australia, women account for a  elatively low percentage of people living with HIV. However, in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, South and South East Asia and the Caribbean, the percentage is significantly high.  HIV prevalence among women and children is relatively low in Sri Lanka compared to other Asian countries. Some of the factors that may be contributing to the low prevalence of HIV/AIDS among women in Sri Lanka are its cultural context that strongly emphasizes moral values, high literacy level, better health care and increased accessibility to health institutions including those for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and PMTCT initiatives. However, Sri Lanka is in midst of flourishing economic development and hence multiple social, cultural and economic changes are taking place in the country. In spite of this economic boom, there are certain dangers lurking beneath the surface. Risk of HIV/AIDS can be stated as one such important public health issue especially in relation to women and children.

This third edition of the World Female Imprisonment List shows the number of women and girls held in penal institutions in 219 prison systems in independent countries and dependent territories. The figures include both pre-trial detainees/remand prisoners and those who have been convicted and sentenced. The List also shows the percentage of women and girls within each national prison population and the proportion of the national population that are imprisoned females (the female prison population rate per 100,000 of the national population). The information is the latest available at the end of July 2015. In addition, this edition includes information about trends in female prison population levels since 2000.

The compilation for this report is part of the Republic of Nauru Government’s commitment to the 2011 United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration to achieve: Zero new HIV infections, Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS Related Deaths. This report will also provide a good baseline for monitoring progress towards the associated targets that call for the reduction on sexual transmission of HIV and elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015. The Government of Nauru continues to regard HIV and AIDS as a high priority on the country’s socioeconomic development agenda. There can never be any meaningful development if the HIV and AIDS epidemic is not adequately addressed through clear prioritization, implementation and monitoring of high impact interventions which the Republic of Nauru embedded into the Ministry of Health and Medical Service Strategic Plan 2010 – 2015. 

UN Women’s work at the regional and national level is informed by the global commitments set out in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under negotiation. 2014 was a significant year for this work with the convergence of the 20-year review of the BPfA, the Third International Conference on Small island Developing States, the 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), at which Member States reviewed the implementation of the MDGs, and planning for the SDGs in the post-2015 development agenda. Across all of these processes, there was a consistent call for accelerated achievement of gender equality as a precondition for sustainable and inclusive development through increased financial investments, more political will and stronger partnerships.