The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is a unique UN partnership which brings together the collective mandate, strategic expertise and capacities of 11 Cosponsoring organizations and the Secretariat - together the Joint Programme, to lead the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Coordinated by UNAIDS Secretariat , the Cosponsors of the Joint Programme are:
UNAIDS Division of Labour guides the Joint Programme in collectively delivering integrated and impactful contributions at the country, regional and global levels. It clarifies the roles and responsibilities of each member of the Joint Programme based on their mandate and comparative advantages, including lead agencies in specific results areas in accordance with the 2021 2026 Global AIDS Strategy. and UNAIDS Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework (UBRAF) which provides the blueprint for the Joint Programme's contribution for its implementation.
UNAIDS Cosponsors and the Secretariat work jointly at the global, regional and country levels, uniting expertise for effective UN support to countries and fully applying and promoting UN reform to optimize impact.
At global level, active coordination takes place through UNAIDS Committee of Cosponsoring Organization and multiple coordination fora such as on specific global initiatives, policy and programmatic areas, advocacy, strategic information, management, governance and evaluations. Joint planning, monitoring and reporting at this level also allows for an effective, coherent and optimized delivery of UNAIDS mandate.
At the regional level, Regional Teams on AIDS composed of UNAIDS Cosponsors and the Secretariat’s Regional Support Teams on AIDS as well as any other UN agency engaged in HIV work, provide leadership for coordinated effective guidance and support to countries for the implementation of the Global AIDS Strategy and progress towards the global AIDS targets. The Regional Teams amplify and complement country level work by addressing regional dimensions of the AIDS response and fostering synergies across countries. They leverage regional institutions, platforms and/or partnerships with governments, communities, civil society, academia, the private sector and other partners to support HIV responses.
At the country level, Joint UN Teams on AIDS bring together all UN staff working on HIV to leverage and ensure well-coordinated and effective UN support to the national HIV responses to progress towards achievement of the national and global targets on AIDS using an inequalities lens. The Joint UN Teams work in close collaboration with governments and other national entities, communities of people living with. affected by and at risk of HIV, other civil society and development partners engaged in the HIV response to close gaps and HIV related inequalities to optimize collective impact and reach the global AIDS targets.
Under the overall leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator, the Joint UN Joint Teams on AIDS are fully part of the UN Resident Coordinator’s system and contribute to the development and delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) to support national priorities and progress towards achievements of the SDG. Within the UNSDCFs, Joint UN Plans on AIDS define the collective strategic, prioritized and catalytic contribution of the Joint Programme to the national HIV response and the broader SDGs. These plans are informed by national HIV strategic plans and other development plans and frameworks as well as guided by the UNSDCFs, UNAIDS Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework (UBRAF) and overall UN reform especially joint programmes.
A core principle of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and of the HIV response, is that no one should be left behind. The AIDS epidemic cannot be ended without the needs of people living with and affected by HIV, and the determinants of health and vulnerabilities being addressed.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNCF), which Joint UN Plans on AIDS are fully part of, defines the UN development system’s contributions to support the country to advance progress towards achievements of the SDGs.
The global HIV response, led by the Joint Programme, has made remarkable gains in saving lives in many countries and towards ending AIDS as a public health threat, in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.3.
This has also contributed to multiple other SDGs and is a source of inspiration for the broader health and development agenda. Leveraging the UN power and in the spirit of the UN Cooperation Frameworks the Joint Programme’s work is aligned with and contributes to good health and well-being (SDG 3), while advancing progress to uphold human rights (SDG 16) and gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls (SDG 5); ending poverty, hunger and inequalities (SDGs 1, 2 and 10); expanding quality education (SDG 4) and decent work (SDG 8) ; and promoting sustainable communities (SDG 11), while exemplifying what is needed for achieving SDG 17 and multilateralism. UNAIDS focus on inequalities and people-centred actions echoes the UN Our Common Agenda and the system-wide reform. UNAIDS is fully aligned and contributes to the objectives of the UN80 initiative and holds true its key principles: enhancing operational efficiency, assessing how mandates – or key tasks – from Member States are implemented, and exploring structural reform.
The HIV response advances at least 10 Sustainable Development Goals.
