UNDP wants local councils set up to curb AIDS spread

MANILA, Philippines –  The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said there is a need to establish and strengthen “coordinating mechanisms” for HIV/AIDS at the local levels to curb the spread of the virus.

According to UNDP counry director Renaud Meyer, local coordinating mechanisms “such as local AIDS councils” are needed to “coordinate and monitor local AIDS responses, and provide guidance on issues related to HIV risks, vulnerabilities and impact with AIDS.”

Meyer said partnerships with civil society groups and the community should also be strengthened “to raise public awareness about the HIV epidemic and mobilize multi-sectoral support required to combat it.”

“We, at the UN, firmly believe that the key to achieving the Millennium Development Goal is through the localization of responses to where it impacts the most,” he noted in a recent speech, referring to MDG 6, which is to “halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.”

Meyer said while the Philippines is almost three decades “into the AIDS response, stigma and discrimination continue to prevail in the country.”

Citing a baseline study in October 2009, he said six out of 10 persons with HIV surveyed have lost their jobs because of their condition. And similarly, one out of 10 was denied job promotion.

“For the next couple of years, it would be interesting to see how HIV would be mainstreamed in local governance processes, ensuring that local planning and budgeting processes have taken into account HIV issues,” he added.