AIDS strategy: Achieving Universal Access -Additional information
2 June 2008
What do we want to achieve
Our common international goal is to halt and reverse the spread of
HIV by 2015.
To achieve this we need to provide Universal Access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
We believe that greater focus and effort on HIV prevention is our best hope of stopping the epidemic.
We also need to sustain momentum in AIDS treatment and do more to support the needs of adults and children living with and affected by HIV.
Achieving Universal Access describes the UK’s policy and contribution
to achieve Universal Access and to halt and reverse the spread of HIV.
The supporting evidence is set out in
Achieving Universal Access - evidence for action
(592
kb).
The needs and rights of those most affected
HIV can affect anyone, but certain groups are more affected,
including women, young people, children, sex workers, Men who have sex
with Men, Injecting Drug Users, prisoners and migrants. These groups are
often most neglected in the AIDS response. We must ensure that those
most vulnerable to and affected by HIV can access quality services.
But providing services, by itself, is not enough. Women and girls cannot always decide if, when, how and with whom they have sex. Addressing gender inequality and harmful gender norms is therefore vital for reversing the spread of HIV.
Stigma and discrimination toward People Living with HIV (PLWH) and vulnerable groups also present major barriers to achieving Universal Access. Acts of discrimination deny people’s rights to information, services, care and support.
But we can challenge these barriers by empowering vulnerable groups to act on their own behalf and in their own interest.
Supporting more effective and integrated service delivery
As the second largest bilateral donor on AIDS, the UK has provided
significant funds to support the global AIDS response. This has helped
to galvanise international action, increase funding and deliver
significant results. However, coverage of key services remains
unacceptably low.
If we are to achieve Universal Access, and to halt and reverse the spread of AIDS, there is an urgent need to ensure that new and existing resources result in increased access to services for those who need them. This requires us to focus on what services we deliver, how and to whom.
We need to take action across a range of health interventions and services - Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, including maternal health services, TB and malaria.
These interventions and other elements of Universal Access, such as testing and treatment, require capable effective health workers, systems to ensure distribution of services and supplies, and plans that provide for everyone – women, young people, children, vulnerable groups.
To capture all of these elements, this strategy includes a £6 billion target for spending on health up to 2015 including HIV and AIDS. This will help maximise progress on AIDS through closer integration of AIDS, TB, malaria, SRH and maternal health services; and through supporting the provision of a capable, effective health workforce.
Making money work harder through effective partnerships
Providing Universal Access to comprehensive HIV prevention,
treatment, care and support requires adequate long-term resources.
Global financing for AIDS has increased, but it is still not sufficient
to implement all the interventions needed over the coming years.
We need to make the money work harder by preventing more infections and saving more lives with the resources that we have. We need to use economic growth to enhance the sustainability of AIDS services and we must build capacity at all levels – from community to national level.
All of this requires deep, broad partnerships between national governments, international partners and civil society, including networks of PLWH, as well as the private sector.
Our actions on AIDS
The UK supports evidence-informed, rights-based and country-led
efforts to provide Universal Access to integrated AIDS and Sexual and
Reproductive Health and Rights Services that meet the needs and rights
of those most affected. Therefore, we will:
- Spend £6 billion on health including HIV and AIDS to 2015
- Focus our efforts on comprehensive HIV prevention
- Support the provision of more health workers in Africa
- Work with others to achieve Universal Access to family planning by 2015
- Work with governments and civil society in eight African countries to develop social protection policies and programmes that will provide effective and predictable support for the most vulnerable households, including those with children affected by AIDS.
- Intensify efforts to increase the coverage of HIV and AIDS services for Injecting Drug Users in countries where they are most affected.
- Work in partnership with governments, multilateral agencies, and civil society and through nine bilateral programmes to improve the international environment on harm reduction.
- Increase by at least 50% funding for research and development of AIDS vaccines and microbicides over 2008-13.
- Work with others to reduce drug prices and increase access to more affordable and sustainable treatment over the long term.
- Ensure The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria implements the Paris Declaration target on use of common arrangements and procedures, including programme based approaches.
- Work with development partners, both within and outside of the International Health Partnership (IHP), to ensure that sector-wide approaches to health strengthen the AIDS response and that targeted AIDS programmes also strengthen the wider health system.
- DFID will continue to lead the UK’s AIDS response internationally, and we will continue to work closely with other UK Government departments to implement this strategy.
- Continue to put people at the heart of our strategy, including strengthening the engagement of people living with HIV in our work.
Supporting evidence
is set out in
Achieving Universal Access - evidence for action(592
kb).
Updating “Taking Action” – the public consultation
A public consultation on updating the Government’s strategy for tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world was launched in May 2007. DFID received over 90 submissions in direct response to this consultation.
Since June 2007 DFID has received over 50,000 letters, postcards and e-mails from members of the public about various aspects of AIDS policy and expenditure. DFID Ministers have also received more than 700 letters from MP’s writing on behalf of constituents and other interested groups.
We are grateful for the contributions made and interest shown in this important issue.
Universal Access
The UK Government is fully committed to the international goal of Universal Access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
The UK led efforts to secure the commitment of the G8 to the goal of Universal Access to treatment by 2010 at the Gleneagles G8 Summit in 2005.
We subsequently worked hard to ensure that the goal of Universal Access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support was endorsed by the international community in 2006.
