UNAIDS in Brazil: Supporting the national response to HIV/AIDS

The establishment of the HIV/AIDS Theme Group was the outcome of the reform of the United Nations System in 1996, which led to the creation of UNAIDS - representing six co-sponsoring organisations (UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UNESCO, WHO, World Bank and subsequently UNDCP) - with the overall aim of bringing the HIV/AIDS epidemic under control worldwide.

In the case of Brazil, the Integrated Plan of the UNAIDS Theme Group (TG UNAIDS) to support Brazil in the areas of sexually-transmitted infections and diseases (STI/STD), of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) reflects the measures adopted by this country in terms of policies and strategies to bring these diseases under control.

The Brazilian Government's decision to contract loan arrangements with the World Bank in 1993 and 1998 was the moving force behind this country's high profile response on a national scale to the epidemic. Other resources were also deployed, including a major reorganisation of the public health services network and the active involvement of civil society, especially of those people living with or affected by HIV and AIDS. These are the basic political and administrative strands which make up the National STD/AIDS Programme in Brazil. The Programme operates at several different levels - Federal, State and Municipal - through a tiered network of STD/AIDS co-ordinating facilities.

Brazil's response to sexually transmitted infections is now basically rooted in a complex network of political, technical and logistical engineering within which the UN System plays a key role. This role differs from that undertaken by the System elsewhere. In Brazil, its contribution consists not only of putting its agencies' technical resources at the disposal of the National Programme, but also of the management of substantial financial resources made available under World Bank auspices or by the Federal Government. These funds are channelled through the administrative structure of the various relevant UN agencies operating in Brazil.

In this respect, UNDP, UNDCP and UNESCO in particular have been able, in the course of AIDS Projects I and II, to employ a formidable array of administrative/ managerial expertise, together with technical and sci-entific support and functions, for the benefit of the National STD/AIDS Programme. The experience of working in this way with the Brazilian authorities also has been of significant benefit and long-term usefulness to the UN System and its agencies comparative advantages.

The Integrated Plan of the TG UNAIDS in Brazil represents the concerted efforts of 16 international, government and civil society organisations. The Plan is a collective enterprise, which can and should be adjusted from time to time in response to changing circumstances and demands.

The Plan moreover represents a contribution to the debate to be held during the UNGASS in June 2001. The document reaffirms the commitment on behalf of the Brazilian Programme and of UNAIDS to control STD and AIDS both within this country and - through horizontal cooperation activities - in other developing countries affected by the epidemic.