Joint United Nations Programme On HIV/AIDS - Partnerships

Partnerships

The United Nations Declaration Commitment on HIV/AIDS provides the guiding framework for UNAIDS action. Promoting partnerships among various stakeholders is reflected within the leadership section of the Declaration of Commitment. In particular, it calls for complementation of government efforts by the full and active participation of civil society, the business community and the private sector through:

• Establishing and strengthening mechanisms that involve civil society including faith-based organizations (FBOs), the private sector, and people living with HIV/AIDS at all levels
• Encouraging and supporting local and national organizations to expand and strengthen regional partnerships, coalitions and networks
• Full participation of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), those in vulnerable groups and people mostly at risk, particularly young people
• Addressing issue of stigma and discrimination.

UNAIDS works to promote partnerships among and between this diverse and broad range of non-state entities. This calls for increases in both the number of new actors, as well as in innovative ways of working, to facilitate increased capacity of non-state entities to respond effectively to the epidemic at all levels.

With the momentum generated by the UN Special Session on HIV/AIDS, the main challenges are to:

• Sustain and deepen involvement of those contributing and critical to the response such as PLWHA organizations
• Move beyond the organizations already involved and reach out to optimally engage a broad range of sectors/actors.

UNAIDS has collaborated with the Roman Catholic Church, especially Caritas Internationalis, in the fight against AIDS, something which materialized in a December 2005 message by Pope Benedict XVI.Partnerships in civil society However, it indicated in a 2009 communiqué that it did not agree that condoms were unhelpful in AIDS prevention.La Croix article