Children and HIV and AIDS

Inter-Agency Task Team on Children and HIV and AIDS

Introduction

The Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Children and HIV and AIDS plays a critical role in ensuring the effective implementation of the global agenda for children affected by AIDS as articulated in the Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS. The IATT's work is guided by recommendations from the Global Partners Forum (GPF) on Children Affected by HIV and AIDS.

Background

The Global Partners Forum (GPF) on Children Affected by HIV and AIDS was established in 2003 to give momentum to fulfilling global commitments for children affected by AIDS laid out in the United Nations General Assembly 2001 Declaration of Commitments on HIV/AIDS and the Millennium Development Goals. The GPF brings together leaders from Governments, NGOs and UN agencies to review global progress, set global priorities, and make commitments.

The first Global Partners Forum held in Geneva in October 2003 was convened to accelerate the implementation of actions to meet these global commitments. This meeting resulted in endorsement of the Framework for the Protection, Care, and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS (2004) by more than 30 organizations as of now.

The February 2006 GPF meeting, held in London, was co-hosted by UNICEF and the UK Government. It identified the following seven areas as priorities for global action:

1. Strengthening civil registration to promote child protection and services
2. Develop social welfare systems with budgetary allocation
3. Accelerating the exiting momentum towards education for all
4. Integrate and provide routine HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment services for children.
5. Integrate a multi-sectoral response for children affected by AIDS into development instruments including PRSPs
6. Strengthen capacity, effectiveness and participation of civil society
7. Strengthening monitoring and evaluation.

The interagency task team on children and HIV and AIDS (IATT) is a technical, task oriented group supporting a coordinated, accelerated and expanded evidence based response to protect and promote the rights of children affected by AIDS. The work of the IATT is guided by recommendations from the GPF and the IATT is responsible for planning the GPF meetings. Specific objectives of the IATT are to:

• Promote coordination and harmonization of policy guidance and programming;
• Advocate, both internally and externally for accelerated implementation of evidence based interventions;
• Promote the development and sharing of technical and programming information 
• Support and broaden networking and collaboration

The IATT meets once a year, with most activities conducted and managed through working groups. The IATT has the following six working groups:

• Civil registration 
• Communities’ role in the response 
• Education 
• Monitoring and Evaluation 
• National Plans of Action 
• Social Protection

The IATT’s steering committee coordinates the work of the IATT and monitors the work and performance of the working groups.

The IATT works closely together with the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS (JLICA) which engages practitioners, policymakers, and scholars in collaborative problem-solving, research, and analysis to address the needs of children living in the context of HIV/AIDS. The goal of th JLICA is to protect and fulfill the rights of children affected by HIV/AIDS by mobilizing the scientific evidence base and producing actionable recommendations for policy and practice.