Media Release
For immediate release.
No Time Commitment is No Commitment at All
Calling for targets and accountability in the new UN Declaration on HIV/AIDS
New York, June 3, 2011
The HIV/AIDS Accountability Forum, a coalition of international non-governmental
organizations promoting an actionable accountability framework for government commitments
to HIV, including AIDS Accountability International (AAI), GESTOS, the Global Network Of People
with HIV/AIDS (GNP+), International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS (ICW), and
World AIDS Campaign warn that changes being proposed by Member states will result in a
weak and ineffectual Outcome Declaration, hindering the possibility of achieving Universal
Access by 2015. Of particular concern is the proposal to remove absolute numbers or timeline
targets for prevention. Also of concern is the proposed removal of references to appropriate
prevention interventions in concentrated epidemics from the Zero Draft. If these proposals are
adopted at the United Nations High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS taking place in less than a week
(June 8-10, NY) we believe the result will be an increase HIV-related discrimination, new
infections, and unnecessary death globally.
The HIV/AIDS Accountability Forum is strongly supportive of proposed changes that will
increase efforts to achieve universal access to treatment, prevention, voluntary testing, care,
support and human rights. We welcome language committing to increased access to
comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services and strengthening TRIPS flexibilities;
these are important contributions to the response.
The HIV/AIDS Accountability Forum is adamant that a major disaster would be to remove
and/or extend time lines for achieving the targets that are being discussed. This includes not
setting specific targets for reduction of HIV transmission, universal access to antiretroviral
therapy for people living with HIV, and 100% eradication of vertical transmission. Specific
targets are also required for universal access goals to care, support and social protection.
Strong and ambitious global prevention and treatment strategies and targets with clear
accountability mechanisms are required given the fact that 18 million people are estimated by
the World Health Organisation to be in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART) by 2015. Access to
services for co-morbidities including TB/HIV, hepatitis C, and cervical cancer that threaten
investments made in ART scale up are also required.
“No set time commitment to meet these goals is like writing the goals in disappearing ink,“ said
Alessandra Nilo a Strategic Policy Coordinator at Brazilian based organisation GESTOS.
The HIV/AIDS Accountability Forum proposes a three step accountability framework based on
the principle of political accountability for goals in the response to HIV and AIDS, which is
crucial to translate commitment into actions. The steps: transparency, dialogue in performance
and political action (detailed in the appendix) are essential in effecting universal access to HIV
prevention, treatment and care by 2015. “These are reasonable and achievable,” said Louise
Binder, International Steering Committee member of the ICW.
The HIV/AIDS Accountability Forum is clear that, accountability for goals does not mean
punishing countries because they have been unable to reach goals in all cases. “We understand
that national targets will not always be reached. There can be clear and logical reasons which
civil society can well understand. The setting of goals should not frighten countries, it can
enhance performance, partnership, meaningful dialogue, and create a shared vision between
member states and civil society” said Kevin Moody, International Coordinator and CEO for the
Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+)
The HIV/AIDS Accountability Forum strongly urges member states at the High Level Meeting to
fulfill their commitments to prevention and universal access to all populations with time limits
and explicit references based the Forum’s accountability framework.
The following organisations support the call for greater accountability:
Canadian Treatment Action Council
Blueprint for Action on Women and Girls and HIV/AIDS
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For further information contact:
Lisa Grafström, AIDS Accountability International, Coordinator HIV/AIDS Accountability Forum
lisa@aidsaccountability.org, +46 734 381 787
Alessandra Nilo GESTOS- HIV+, Communication and Gender alessandra.nilo@gestos.org,
+55.81.99879145
Louise Binder louise.binder@sympatico.ca, +1 416-410-6538
The HIV/AIDS Accountability Forum is a Ford Foundation funded initiative with the main aim to
strengthen advocacy efforts for accountability in the response to HIV and AIDS.
The Accountability Framework in brief:
The Accountability Framework in the 2011 Resolution - A Three-Step Accountability
Mechanism
The framework provides a basic three-step accountability mechanism involving people living with,
affected by and vulnerable to HIV. On the one hand, the right of civil society to hold governments
accountable for poor performance is balanced by the responsibility to avoid simplistic and antagonizing
blaming. On the other hand, the legitimate expectation of government for civil society to understand
and constructively engage with the complexities of the response and the limits to government power is
balanced by its duty to show leadership and act decisively wherever possible.
1. Transparency
The dialogue on accountability cannot start unless stakeholders including people living with, affected by and
vulnerable to HIV, have sufficient and equal access to the relevant data on the national response collected through
national M&E systems. Further, it is essential that this data is presented in a way that enables civil society
stakeholders to engage with it and draw conclusions from it. It is important to note that the failure by
governments to provide transparent access to the relevant data is sufficient grounds for legitimate demands for
accountability.
Governments are urged in the 2011 Resolution on HIV and AIDS to:
- Reaffirm all previous commitments set out in the 2001 Declaration of Commitment and the 2006 Political
Declaration to ensure sufficient resources for developing and sustaining national M&E systems that, for the sake of
meaningful comparison, align with a set of global indicators as requested by UNAIDS
- Ensure meaningful participation of civil society including people living with, affected by and vulnerable to HIV in
the monitoring and evaluation process
- Produce reliable information that must be accessible and available to civil society and other stakeholders.
2. Dialogue on performance
The 2011 HLM resolution must restate previous commitments by government to engage with all relevant
stakeholders in periodic reviews of country performance in the response in relation to the relevant national or
global targets for service coverage and governance principles. The reviews will give government opportunities to
explain instances of poor performance, and civil society stakeholders can assess whether those explanations are
acceptable or whether to demand political accountability. Obviously, the failure of government to participate in
such reviews, or a politically biased engagement only with some civil society stakeholders, are sufficient grounds
for demands for accountability. The reviews should ensure the broadest possible engagement and representation
of women and people living with, affected by and vulnerable to HIV.
Governments are urged in the 2011 Resolution on HIV and AIDS to:
- Reaffirm previous commitments by government commitments set out in 2001 Declaration of Commitment and
2006 Political Declaration to engage with all relevant stakeholders in annual reviews of country performance,
coordinated by National AIDS Councils or equivalent, in relation to the relevant national and global targets for
service coverage and governance principles.
- Emphasize that such reviews lie at the core of the national dialogue between stakeholders through which country
ownership is forged. The reviews should ensure the broadest possible engagement and representation of women
and people living with, affected by and vulnerable to HIV.
3. Political action
Access to data and dialogue between stakeholders are no ends in themselves but should determine which forms of
political action are necessary. Where stakeholders can agree with government that unified action is required in
relation to potential funders or global agencies such action will increase the leverage of country demands. Where
government accepts responsibility for poor performance in some aspect of the response it should take action to
improve that performance. Where civil society actors do not accept government explanations for poor
performance, or disagree with government plans to remedy poor performance, civil society stakeholders should
take political action to try increase the leverage of their demands for political accountability.
The 2011 resolution on HIV and AIDS needs to emphasize that:
- The annual reviews referred to above must lead to agreements on how governments could improve their
performance and political action by stakeholders to ensure an improved response.