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Although classified as a middle- income country, with a population of almost 20 million, Sri Lanka has achieved remarkable social and health indicators, some of which are at par with those of developed nations. Sri Lanka is classified as a country with a low level epidemic of HIV in the Southeast Asia region, with an estimated HIV prevalence of less than 0.1% among adults (15-49 years). Almost three decades since the detection of the first HIV infection in Sri Lanka, a cumulative total of 1,196 HIV infections have been reported to the National STD/AIDS Control Programme (NSACP) as of December 2009, out of which 326 have been reported as AIDS, and 202 individuals have been reported to have succumbed to the illness. Over the years a slow but gradual increase in the number of reported cases has been observed, in part due to the increase in testing facilities and availability of antiretroviral therapy, which has encouraged more people to come forward for HIV testing.

The 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS adopted by the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) are the guiding force of the global response on AIDS. Pacific Parliamentarians renewed this Declaration in Honiara in 2008. This is the second time Vanuatu has submitted a Country Progress Report to monitor the Declaration of Commitment to HIV/AIDS. The first Progress Report covered the period January 2004 to December 2005. This Progress Report covers the period January 2008 to December 2009.

This 2010 UNGASS Country Progress Report was prepared on the basis of an inclusive and consultative process, led by the Solomon Islands Ministry of Health HIV/AIDS Unit and the Solomon Islands National AIDS Council (SINAC). Clinical and policy staff of the HIV/STI Unit, the Ministry of Health and other government and civil society stakeholders, including NGOs and faith based organisations, were involved in preparation process.

Singapore’s HIV epidemic is classified as a low-level epidemic. The first case of HIV was diagnosed in Singapore in 1985. Since then, the cumulative total number of HIV-infected Singapore residents has increased from 2 in 1985 to a cumulative total of 4,159 as of 30 June 2009.

At the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) held in 2001, 189 Member States adopted the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS; and PNG was among these States that initially adopted this Declaration. Every two years member states are required to report to the UN General Assembly, a on their progress towards achieving the goals of the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS. The first UNGASS reporting round was in 2004. PNG submitted its first UNGASS report in 2008.

This report was compiled by the Monitoring & Evaluation Officer of the HIV/AIDS & STI Program with the assistance of the Secretariat of the Pacific Communities. Consultations with staff members from the Ministry of Health, Finance and Budget Office of the Ministry of Health, Palau Red Cross Society, and the National Advisory Group on HIV/AIDS known as the Palau HIV/AIDS and STI Advisory Group (PHASAG) were held. The PHASAG meets 4-6 times a year and has played an active role in reviewing the HIV/AIDS & STI Program budget. They were actively involved in the workshop for reviewing the national HIV/AIDS & STI strategy in November 2007. Relationship between government and civil society has improved through increased collaboration and involvement in key areas of HIV/STIs. Due to the small population, the members of PHASAG are all involved in various boards and other organizations; however, the group had always garnered quorum to conduct its business.

The process of UNGASS report preparation began in early 2010, with a request from the FSM National HIV/AIDS Coordinator to each of the state level HIV/AIDS/STI program managers to begin collecting relevant information to prepare an update of the 2008 report. The four state managers, assisted by their staff collected the information necessary to be included in the National Composite Policy Index (NCPI), the National AIDS Spending Assessment (NASA), and any other specific information required for the UNGASS report.

The process of stakeholder consultation to participate in the compilation of the Country Progress Report on HIV in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) began in August 2009 when the UNAIDS Pacific Office, in collaboration with the RMI Ministry of Health’s Clinical Care Manager for the STD and HIV & AIDS Program, convened a Pre‐Planning Meeting to explain the purpose and process for compiling the UNGASS Country Progress Report on HIV. Up to 30 different government and civil society stakeholders were invited to the meeting to identify their contribution to the Report.

The Maldives commenced UNGASS report preparation at a very late stage. Since Maldives has very little or no experience in UNGASS reporting, request for technical assistance was sent to UNAIDS, and UNAIDS supported by providing two external consultants to facilitate data collection and drafting of the narrative report. A working group was formed with representative of government (health and other sectors), civil society including NGOs / CBOs and UN agencies to prepare the report.

Malaysia initiated the process of consultation in preparation of the 2010 UNGASS Country Progress Report in early November 2009. It was a matter of priority and concern for both the Government and civil society partners that this report would be able to capture as much of the opinions and viewpoints of not only that of the Government but most importantly those of the many civil society stakeholders in the response to HIV in Malaysia.