The Angolan UNAIDS Family has responded to the rising needs of the response by reinforcing the UN structure (Theme Group and Working Group) in its competencies, composition and agenda, and in drawing up a Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS to provide a concrete support and the needed expertise to the national response, ensuring harmonization and synergy. The Resident Coordinator and the Vice Minister of Health, Coordinator of the Technical Committee of the National AIDS Council, will shortly sign the JP document agreement.
In this context, and following the UNAIDS workplan, during 2005 the Theme Group has supported the government in reinforcing the “Three Ones” vis-à-vis the current institutional framework, in a central role in coordinating the national response. A technical working group integrated by Theme Group members, the Global Fund and the World Bank (HAMSET) Project has produced a draft of regulations that includes two sub-committees linked to the National Institute to Fight AIDS and to the Technical Committee of the National Commission to Fight AIDS and Endemic Diseases; the first one to support the implementation of the National Strategic Plan and the second one constituted by the National Technical Working Group in monitoring and evaluation, recently created with UNAIDS support.
The National Technical Working Group in monitoring and evaluation, actually placed at the National Institute to Fight AIDS, is actively working to put in place a national monitoring and evaluation framework, integrating the matrix developed by UNAIDS and updated regularly as a monitoring tool of the national response. This matrix will be harmonized with the Country Response Information System once the national monitoring and evaluation framework is approved and the system launched in 2006.
During 2005, UNAIDS continued supporting the pioneer experience of the Angolan Civil Society in providing holistic care to people living with HIV and in creating a solid platform for universal access implementation. The government commitment has been clearly demonstrated by the National AIDS Council in its recent resolution of scaling up access to antiretroviral treatment to the 18 provincial capital cities by September 2006.
In working towards universal access, the UNAIDS family has given substantial support to expanding and decentralizing voluntary counselling and testing and prevention of mother-to-child transmission services. UNICEF has supported the national institute in covering priority border provinces with these services to support decentralizing services to care for people living with HIV, including providing access to antiretroviral therapy.
To ensure a strong presence of the UN in supporting the national response, UNAIDS family will focus its energy in continue enhancing the UN capacities through the implementation of the UN Joint Programme.
In the context of national coordination mechanisms, a crucial action that UNAIDS will undertake next year is aimed to support the National AIDS Commission and the National Institute to Fight HIV in its coordinating function, ensuring participation of civil society, people living with HIV and international development partners. Furthermore, it is central to put in place an operational monitoring and evaluation framework to ensure accountability of funds and programme development based on results.
Parallel to that, the UNAIDS Family will provide technical support to the implementation and decentralization of the national strategic plan, giving emphasis, in the context of universal access to prevention, treatment and care and support, to the following areas: institutional capacity enhancement in coordinating the response at all levels and in policy design including a prevention strategy and access to caring for people living with HIV: specific technical areas such as information, education and communication; voluntary counselling and testing; clinical care; and laboratory, procurement/management of drugs and supplies, and general management.
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