Tools and Guidelines

An essential part of HIV programme planning and management is to determine the programme’s priorities and the approaches it will adopt to achieve its outcomes of HIV prevention, care and treatment.

Different HIV epidemics require different approaches. However, regardless of the epidemic stage, it is usually more efficient to target specific populations with HIV prevention and care programmes and services. This does not mean that the impact of the epidemic is restricted to these populations.

In Modules 3 and 4, we worked on setting priorities for interventions with populations most affected by HIV. In this module, we will build on that work and set some initial targets for programmes.

The focus of this module is the implementation of HIV prevention, care, and treatment strategies. It is composed of 6 submodules:

• Submodule 6.1: Minimizing sexual transmission of HIV and other STIs
• Submodule 6.2: HIV prevention and care among drug users
• Submodule 6.3: HIV counselling and testing
• Submodule 6.4: The continuum of care for people living with HIV/AIDS and access to antiretroviral therapy
• Submodule 6.5: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission
• Submodule 6.6: Prevention of HIV transmission through blood

National AIDS programmes have become increasingly complex over the past ten years and the role of the programme manager has expanded to accommodate this complexity. The complexity of this role varies from country to country, and is somewhat easier in countries with larger AIDS programmes, in which roles are distributed across a multidisciplinary team.

This module outlines some of the systems that can support the efficient management of a national AIDS programme. These include human resource management, financial management, commodity management and information management.

This module covers the elements of strategic information necessary for developing a clear understanding of the exact nature of the AIDS epidemic and the response to the epidemic in a particular place: the surveillance systems that provide information on HIV prevalence and changing patterns of risk and vulnerability; the monitoring and evaluation framework that provides information about the process, outcome and impact of the interventions; and the strategic research agenda that can fill in gaps in information and provide guidance for reviewing interventions and strategies.

The training modules on National AIDS Programme Management were developed by the WHO Global Programme on AIDS in the early 1990s to assist AIDS country programme managers at national and subnational levels in developing their capacity to manage the complex range of programmes and activities under their responsibility. Intercountry training courses using those modules were conducted by the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, followed by training at the national level during the 1990s. Those courses resulted in the development of the skills of many senior staff in the Region – and many of them are still playing critical roles as national programme mangers or senior policy-makers today.

The transmission of HIV among injecting drug users and related populations of sex workers, youth and other vulnerable people is greatly adding to the burden of disease in countries worldwide. Evidence from 20 years of research shows that needle and syringe programmes (NSPs) prevent, control and ultimately reduce prevalence of HIV and other blood-borne infections among injecting drug users.

Promoting universal respect for human rights has been one of the fundamental goals of the United Nations since its creation, and the development of a comprehensive international human rights normative and standard-setting system within the United Nations was one of the great achievements of the 20th century. The United Nations Development Fund for Women has worked for gender equality and women's empowerment for over 30 years, and since the 1990s the organization has placed a particular emphasis on supporting implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This guide consolidates insights and experiences gained by UNIFEM to date, to assist staff in further deepening the HRBA within programming. It’s a contribution we share with partners in our common effort to advance women’s human rights.