Publications

Violence against women is not a new phenomenon, nor are its consequences to women’s physical, mental and reproductive health. What is new is the growing recognition that acts of violence against women are not isolated events but rather form a pattern of behaviour that violates the rights of women and girls, limits their participation in society, and damages their health and well-being. When studied systematically, as was done with this report, it becomes clear that violence against women is a global public health problem that affects approximately one third of women globally. This report, developed by the World Health Organization, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the South African Medical Research Council presents the first global systematic review and synthesis of the body of scientific data on the prevalence of two forms of violence against women — violence by an intimate partner (intimate partner violence) and sexual violence by someone other than a partner (non-partner sexual violence). It shows, for the first time, aggregated global and regional prevalence estimates of these two forms of violence, generated using population data from all over the world that have been compiled in a systematic way. The report also details the effects of violence on women’s physical, sexual and reproductive, and mental health.

There is limited research conducted in the Asia-Pacific region exploring the linkages between HIV and violence against women (VAW). While research conducted in sub-Saharan Africa and in hyper-epidemic settings have established that violence against women drives and fuels the HIV epidemic, there has been little analysis done in countries with concentrated epidemics such as those in the Asia-Pacific region, and therefore little is known about how they overlap. Perhaps as a result, policy and programmatic responses on VAW and HIV are not always coordinated and often run in parallel. This Discussion Paper was commissioned to review and analyse existing qualitative and quantitative research on the relationship between violence against women and girls and HIV in the region. The paper clearly demonstrates that violence is a risk factor for HIV, with women living with HIV more likely to report a history of violence. It also shows that HIV is a risk factor for violence, including from intimate partners. It also demonstrates that key HIV-affected groups of women and girls, particularly sex-workers and female drug users, face disproportionate violence.

The purpose of UNITAID is to contribute to the achievement of global long-term goals for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria through its interventions in product markets. These goals have determined the Strategic Objectives described in this Strategy for the coming four years and are shared by the international community at large. The Strategic Objectives have also been guided by the market landscapes, which UNITAID regularly publishes and updates twice a year, and which identify opportunities for market interventions. The Objectives have been divided into three categories: active (UNITAID already supports interventions that will continue throughout the period of the Strategy), potential (clearly identified by the landscapes but not yet considered for funding) and exploratory (identified by experts and stakeholders but not yet vetted through landscape analysis).

The purpose of this report is to highlight new developments and key challenges that UNITAID has faced as an organization and donor during 2012. This report will be the last to follow the Board approved key performance indicators (KPIs) set for the UNITAID Strategy 2010-2012. The report summarizes UNITAID’s results measured against the targets for 2012 set by its Executive Board at the beginning of the Strategy cycle for 2010-2012. The report summarizes UNITAID's results measured against the targets for 2012 set by its Executive Board at the beginning of the Strategy cycle for 2010-2012.

This document is a semi-annual update to the second edition report. The purpose of this document is to highlight developments that have occurred since July 2013 – namely, in the areas of policy development, implementation and scale-up of the Xpert® MTB/RIF assay and efforts to define the characteristics of next-generation molecular tests that could replace smear microscopy. An updated technology pipeline is included for reference; however, a detailed report on newer technologies, including technologies other than nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), will be published in 2014 (third edition).

The technology landscape highlights current and emerging tools for improved diagnosis of TB. The emphasis of this report is on Nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) products, where the most significant recent development has been seen. A variety of options, either commercially available or in late-stage development, are designed for detection of TB, first and/or second-line drug resistance, or for TB diagnosis and drug resistance combined. Commercialized technologies and those in late-stage development do hold promise in expanding the potential for TB diagnosis via NAATs. However, GeneXpert remains the leading technology in this area and is the last product endorsed by WHO in 2010. While a growing portfolio of TB NAAT assays are commercialized or in late-stage development, none is expected to be endorsed by WHO in 2013, and few tests are anticipated to have the necessary evidence base for endorsement over the next two to three years.

At the turn of the 21st century, the United Nations (UN) established 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with targets set for 2015. Designed to drive progress worldwide and endorsed by all countries, the targets have been the focus of international and national development efforts for more than a decade. This special supplement of the Global Tuberculosis Report 2013 summarizes the status of progress towards targets set within the MDG framework and for the response to TB/HIV and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) specifically, and the actions needed to either move beyond or accelerate towards these targets. Snapshots are provided globally, regionally and for the 22 high-burden countries (HBCs) that have about 80% of the world’s TB cases and that have received the greatest attention at the global level since 2000.

Nearly 20 years after the WHO declaration of TB as a global public health emergency, major progress has been made towards 2015 global targets set within the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Two years ahead of the deadline, the Global Tuberculosis Report 2013 and accompanying supplement Countdown to 2015 assess progress towards the 2015 targets and the top priority actions needed to achieve and/or move beyond them. This is the eighteenth global report on tuberculosis (TB) published by WHO in a series that started in 1997. It provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic and progress in implementing and financing TB prevention, care and control at global, regional and country levels using data reported by 197 countries and territories that account for over 99% of the world’s TB cases.

This report summarises the results of qualitative research that was conducted to better understand reasons for initiating, continuing and ceasing treatment among PLHIV in the Pacific Islands. In total, 49 PLHIV were inter-viewed, including 23 HIV-positive people in Fiji, 11 HIV-positive people in Guam, 2 HIV-positive people in Kiribati, 5 HIV-positive people in Samoa and 8 HIV-positive people in Solomon Islands. A training workshop was held in November 2011 where the team of 10 PLHIV peer researchers, 2 training support facilitators and the team leader worked in collaboration to develop the method for the study. In-depth interviews were selected as the research method to gain a detailed understanding of the participants’ treatment experiences. Research participants were recruited through PLHIV support networks where they exist and through health clinics that provide treatment to PLHIV.

This paper documents the recent developments, opportunities and challenges in intellectual property rights and access to affordable medicines in China. In particular, the paper finds that there have been impressive achievements in the national response to the HIV epidemic in China. Examples include the rapid expansion of government-supported antiretroviral (ARV) schemes and the development of a legal framework on intellectual property to address access to affordable pharmaceutical products in China. Adoption of the National Intellectual Property Strategy by the State Council in June 2008, and the revisions to the Patent Law and the Implementing Regulations with strong focus on public health protection are among the most prominent legal and policy achievements over the recent years, founding an enabling environment for action.