Who is involved?
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| © UNICEF/HQ00-0138/Noorani |
HIV/AIDS shows no signs of weakening its grip on human society. New epidemics are growing with alarming speed, and children continue to be left out of efforts to combat the pandemic.
We can make a difference by taking bold and decisive action to prevent new infections and improve the quality of care and treatment for those who are HIV-positive.
In 2005, the Secretary-General of the United Nations reaffirmed that the only way to achieve the Millennium Development Goals was to break with business as usual and dramatically accelerate and scale up action until 2015. This will only be possible if all stakeholders in the fight against HIV/AIDS work together in partnership.
The UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign will support such partnerships to advance action for children, adolescents and young people affected by HIV/AIDS.
The Organization of African First Ladies is an example of the leadership that will be needed if AIDS is to be stopped. Through their campaign 'Treat Every Child as Your Own', 40 African First Ladies focus on making sure that there will be no new infections among the youth of Africa. With global support and representing every part of the continent, they work at national and regional levels.
Meeting the challenge demands strengthened partnerships among many actors. The 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS included a long list of those with a critical role in the fight against HIV/AIDS:
- governments
- the UN system represented by UNAIDS, which brings together 10 UN agencies in a common effort to fight AIDS
- intergovernmental organizations
- people living with HIV/AIDS and vulnerable groups
- medical, scientific and educational institutions
- non-governmental organizations
- the business sector, including generic and research-based pharmaceutical companies
- trade unions
- the media
- parliamentarians
- foundations
- community organizations
- faith-based organizations
- and traditional leaders
The HIV/AIDS community has expanded to include the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the World Bank Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Program for Africa, as well as a significant increase in responses from civil society and faith-based organizations.
Coordinating the contributions of all these actors is a daunting but essential task. Unless it is successful, there is a danger that isolated interventions will lead to the proliferation of small projects that are not linked to wider and longer-term programmatic, sectoral or national interventions. The number of international contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS often strains the capacity of national coordinating bodies, leaves gaps in national responses and increases the risk of duplication.
The UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS Campaign will provide a platform for everyone involved in halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among children, adolescents and young people.
