Publications

Multiple agencies and actors have voiced their concerns around the exclusion of pregnant women from clinical trials and the associated harm and risks of these policies. More recently, the importance of allowing pregnant women the opportunity to take part in clinical trials has received renewed attention during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Recognizing the urgency of addressing this issue, the IMPAACT Network and WHO held a workshop to refine optimal approaches to studying the safety and efficacy of new HIV-related drugs during pregnancy and to establish the next steps for creating materials and methods that would support the implementation of such studies.

Existing inequities have been widely acknowledged as barriers to achieving global and national goals and targets in HIV, TB and malaria programmes. These inequities have become even more pressing amidst the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the magnitude and extent of health inequalities remain poorly documented and understood. This is the first monitoring report devoted to systematically assessing the global state of inequality in the three diseases, quantifying the latest situation of inequalities within countries and change over time. The report is timely due to the renewed emphasis on equity in prominent global initiatives and plans, including the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and global strategies to end AIDS, TB and malaria.

This annual surveillance report is an initiative of Special Preventive Programme, Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health. The report aims to provide strategic information to facilitate planning of services and intervention activities for the prevention, care and control of HIV/AIDS.Following a commentary, data collected from the five main components of our surveillance programme (the HIV/AIDS voluntary reporting system, HIV prevalence surveys, sexually transmitted infections caseload statistics, behavioural studies and HIV-1 genotyping studies) were presented as tables and graphs. Findings of the risk behavioural surveys such as the HIV and AIDS Response Indicator Survey (HARiS) and other studies were also included in this report.

This publication provides guidance for developing HIV prevention cascades using a basic approach, but allowing for flexibility and country/area-specific adaptations, based on differences in service delivery and data collection. It is intended to assist national and subnational HIV prevention programme managers—from government entities and nongovernmental organizations/community-based organizations (NGOs/CBOs)—involved in the implementation, administration, monitoring and evaluation of HIV prevention programmes. Prevention cascades can be part of an overall strategic information plan to monitor progress in addressing the HIV epidemic nationally and globally and to strengthen programmes.

HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) can compromise the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in reducing HIV incidence and HIV-associated morbidity and mortality. Minimizing the spread of HIVDR is a critical aspect of the broader global response to antimicrobial resistance. WHO recommends that countries routinely implement nationally representative HIVDR surveys. The WHO HIV drug resistance report 2021 shows substantial progress in the implementation of HIVDR surveillance. Between 2014 and 2021, 56 countries implemented HIVDR surveys using WHO-recommended methods. The HIV drug resistance report 2021 summarizes findings from 38 countries that had finalized the surveys by the time of this report and shared data with WHO.

Trends in women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health in the past 10 years: progress for many but not for all The past 10 years have been a time of progress for many of the world’s women, children and adolescents, and the Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) movement, launched in September 2010, has been one of the key multilateral drivers of progress in this regard. The movement’s mobilizing efforts have contributed to dramatic success throughout the decade in many indicators relevant to women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, such as in reducing maternal and child mortality and in improving child nutrition and education. Yet, inequities have persisted across regions and countries, and within countries.

We can end AIDS by 2030. Some countries are making remarkable progress, showing us what is possible. But globally, we are simply not bending the curves fast enough to stop the AIDS pandemic. In this report the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) issues a stark warning. The red light is flashing. Progress against AIDS, which was already off track, is now under even greater strain as the COVID-19 crisis continues to rage, disrupting HIV prevention and treatment services, schooling, violence-prevention programmes and more.

The 90–90–90 targets were missed, but not by much. At the end of 2020, 84% of people living with HIV knew their HIV status, 87% of people living with HIV who knew their HIV status were accessing antiretroviral therapy, and 90% of people on treatment were virally suppressed.

After the first five years of the implementation of the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women, this mid-term review was conducted to take stock of the progress of the implementation of the plan so far, highlighting advances among ASEAN Member States to strengthen the prevention of and response to violence against women in the region. The review highlights how all the priority areas are interlinked to each other.

The latest publication is the UNODC Handbook "Framework to Measure and Report on Gender-related SDG Results." It has been published to provide a better understanding of progress towards gender equality in UNODC mandated areas. Improving efforts to measure the progress and comparison of gender equality linked to normative, research and technical assistance support provided by UNODC, ensures the better usage of resources, both financial and human and improves the monitoring and reporting of a programme.