HIV and AIDS

ESCAP provides technical support to governments and other stakeholders by:

• Carrying out analysis on key aspects of the epidemic, with particular reference to multisectoral approaches;
• Advocating for more supportive policies and programmes, including legislation that addresses stigma and discrimination;
• Issuing pioneering studies, such as on the role of older persons and HIV and AIDS, with an emphasis on family support.

ESCAP, along with members of the Asia-Pacific Regional Thematic Working Group on Health as well as other partners, also works to integrate HIV issues into the wider development agenda to maximize the impact of policies and interventions.  In February 2012, ESCAP, with the support of seven other UN entities, convened the “Asia-Pacific High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Assessment of Progress against Commitments in the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS and the Millennium Development Goals”.  

The Meeting brought together, for the first time, some 200 ministers and senior officials from justice, law enforcement, drug control, health and social protection, as well as civil society, to consider legal and policy barriers that impede universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, and that compromise the rights of people living with, and affected by, HIV.   Governments, with input from people living with HIV and civil society, endorsed a roadmap that identified means of greater regional cooperation and committed to actions to review national laws and address other issues that hinder universal access.