UNAIDS: The First 10 Years

UNAIDS The First 10 Years42Noerine Kaleeba,founder of The AIDSSupport Organisation inUganda and a memberof the original staff ofUNAIDS with MarinaMahathir from Malaysia,former nongovernmentalorganizationrepresentative in theUNAIDS ProgrammeCoordinating Board,speaking at the 51 stUnited Nations GeneralAssembly in 1996.UNAIDScommitment. Furthermore, there was no easy fix for the socioeconomic and politicalfactors that drove the epidemic in so many countries, such as poverty, inequality of women,conflict and forced migration.Piot’s report spelt out the three mutually reinforcing roles that apply to activities at country,intercountry and global levels. The organization would be a major source of globallyrelevant policy on AIDS, and would develop, promote and strengthen international bestpractice and research. It would work on programmes, catalyse and provide technicalsupport to help build and strengthen the capability for an expanded response to AIDS,particularly in middle- and low-income countries.There were many expectations about what UNAIDS could deliver. Not merely was UNAIDSexpected to focus the world’s attention on AIDS and to gain political commitment, but itwas also meant to ensure an expanded response to AIDS at country level, broad based andmultisectoral, incorporating AIDS into all aspects of human development and economicplanning. These objectives were based on the assumption that the six cosponsoringagencies would work together at all levels in a harmonious and supportive manner, thatUNAIDS would draw on the special strengths and advantages of all six Cosponsors, andthat the Cosponsors would integrate work on AIDS into all their relevant programmes. Thiswas not to be the case for at least the first two to three years of the programmes.Manipoud, External Relations Officer in UNAIDS, explained: “Some order had to be putinto the situation. There was so much duplication – UNICEF, UNESCO [and] WHO had anumber of similar programmes, creating lots of competition for funding. You’re not doingcoordination and coherence for the sake of coordination and coherence; you’re doing it tobenefit and strengthen the national responses which countries are putting together: bettersupport of the UN system to the countries; that was the expectation”.