Publications

As per follow-up to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS in 2001, Thailand not only contributed successfully to the submission of the 2008 Country Progress Report to UNAIDS for monitoring results following the country’s commitment throughout the past two years, it also seeks to develop the mechanism in monitoring the country’s progress, with the continual participation of diverse sectors ranging from the government, non- governmental organizations, civil society, academics, international organizations and development partners. Such a mechanism will entail a national sharing database that is utilizable efficiently for HIV/AIDS prevention and alleviation.

Sri Lanka remains one of the few countries in the region with a low level HIV epidemic despite sharing some of the conditions such as sex work, networks of men who have sex with men and large population of heroin users. In addition, many infections that have been identified are associated with overseas work.

The Philippines began planning for its Country UNGASS Report (January 2006 to December 2007) as early as June 2007 and earnestly begun preparation in July 2007 with the widest inclusion of various stakeholders from government, donors, civil society, and communities of most at risk populations and people living with HIV and AIDS.

Papua New Guinea country report on progress of HIV and AIDS interventions for 2006/2007 is in fact the 1st report on UNGASS indicators. The First report attempted in 2005 was only a short narrative one which was sent late to Geneva. It fell short of relevant indicators and therefore was not included in the consolidated report to the UN General Assembly.

In June 2001 Pakistan along with other member states of the United Nations adopted the Declaration of Commitment(DoC)on HIV/AIDS in the United National General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS. This was an effort to compliment the framework for achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for halting and beginning to reverse the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2015 in all countries around the world.

This is an official submission to the UNAIDS secretariat for the monitoring of progress towards the Declaration of Commitment unanimously adopted in the 2001 UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV and AIDS. This report is presented exactly as submitted by the country, without editing or other alteration. This and other member state submissions will form the basis of the Secretary-General’s report to the General Assembly in June as well as the 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic which will be launched at the International AIDS Conference in August 2008.

The need to have a more inclusive process with better representation from both civil society and government stakeholders dominated much of the thinking behind this round of UNGASS reporting. A series of workshops and working sessions were convened with government and civil society stakeholders to obtain data for Parts A and B of the National Composite Policy Index (NCPI) questionnaire as well as for the narrative component of the report, verify and to vet the completed inputs as well as presentation of the draft and final report.

The process of preparing the Lao PDR UNGASS country progress report 2008 began in early December 2007. Following recommendations of UNAIDS, and based on the Guideline of UNAIDS on Monitoring the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS for 2008, the Center for HIV/AIDS/STI (CHAS) in collaboration with UNAIDS, and external consultants prepared a roadmap and the tools for data collection.

With more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. Located between 2 oceans, the Indian and the Pacific, Indonesia is a Southeast Asian country home to more than 250 ethnic groups and thus has great cultural diversity. More than 245 million people inhabit the islands (July 2006 est.), making it the fourth most populous country in the world. Although one can find all major religions in the country, most of the inhabitants (88%) are Muslim and as such, Islamic views have a strong influence on state policy. (Crisovan, 1996). This report expresses not only the government’s point of view but also presents opinions and information from all stakeholders in the AIDS response. Various partners have been actively engaged in producing data used herein.

India, along with other Member States adopted the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, in the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS in June 2001. The Declaration of Commitment (DoC) reflects global consensus on a comprehensive framework to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halting and beginning to reverse the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2015. Under the terms of the Declaration of Commitment (DoC), success in the response to AIDS is measured by the achievement of concrete, time-bound targets. In line with this commitment, this is India’s country progress report for the period between January 2006 and December 2007. The report is prepared by NACO in consultation with civil society and support from development partners. The report presents the overview of epidemic, the strategic national response, its impact and the challenges that lie ahead.