Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on HIV Programming

BANGKOK – A number of changes and improvements have been underway in the Asia-Pacific region. In December 2010, a five-day meeting was convened to apply the new UNESCO Regional Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS and the revised UNAIDS Division of Labour to existing initiatives and priority areas in the region. The meeting also provided an opportunity to integrate ten newly established HIV and AIDS Focal Points and introduce the recently appointed Regional HIV and AIDS Advisor as part of a renewed focus on country-level representation and impact.

The meeting provided a forum for sharing experiences and best practices, as well as for skills training. UNESCO focal points on HIV programmes attended the meeting from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. The meeting aimed to increase participants’ understanding of UNESCO's contribution to national AIDS responses, and the role of UNESCO staff in addressing key priorities at the country level.
The first two days of the workshop acted as an induction meeting for the newly appointed HIV Focal Points in Asia-Pacific countries. The three-day joint learning meeting included four modules critical to UNESCO’s work at country-level, namely planning, advocacy, resource mobilization, and monitoring and evaluation. Participants shared their experience through presentations and best practices in displays in “country corners” around the meeting room, and through opportunities to network and share experiences throughout the meeting.

To see programming in action, site visits were prepared to the Healthy Sexuality Exhibition at the National Science Museum and Sex Workers in Groups (SWING), a nonprofit working with male sex workers in Bangkok. Presentations and discussions were delivered by external participants from PLAN International, UNAIDS, UN Cares, UNFPA and UNICEF. Participants concluded by undertaking a programme implications exercise which challenged them to consider future actions, new or strengthened partnerships and collaborations, and new directions for programming.

Visit the UNESCO Bangkok website for more information about ongoing activities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Publication Date: 15-03-2011