UNIFEM Review of Women's Leadership and Participation in the HIV and AIDS Response - Call for Input

Experience shows that AIDS policies and programmes do not work for women until women's organizations - particularly those of HIV positive women and people with gender expertise - help shape their content and direction.

Currently, there is insufficient data from a gender equality perspective on country-level decision-making related to HIV and AIDS policies. To respond to this, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), with support from UNDP, is conducting a review of the composition of national-level decision-making bodies, such as the national AIDS coordinating authorities, country coordinating mechanisms of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, as well as local-level coordinating bodies tasked with addressing HIV and AIDS...

The review will identify the number and position of women in decision-making positions within these mechanisms, with an emphasis on exploring the role and space accorded to HIV positive women, as well as women affected directly by the epidemic, such as care-givers within households and communities. The review will also examine the presence of gender experts or gender expertise within these mechanisms.  The review and analysis will produce recommendations for policy-makers and
programme implementers to ensure the promotion of women's participation within the national HIV and AIDS response, as well as provide guidance for ensuring gender expertise as a critical aspect of the planning and implementing of national strategies for HIV and AIDS.

UNIFEM and UNDP will disseminate findings in the form of a joint UNIFEM-UNDP report and will develop advocacy strategies to promote the inclusion of women infected and affected by HIV and AIDS and other women's rights advocates and experts as decision-makers at local and national levels in the response to the epidemic.

We look to you, as stakeholders in the AIDS response, to contribute to this effort.  Please share your answers to a few of the questions in our questionnaire internal link to ‘UNIFEM Review Questionnaire for us to include as a direct quote and/or as a basis for analysis in the report.  We also welcome any other relevant insights, analysis, or materials you wish to share with us as we continue to develop this review.  In particular, we wish to receive references to model practices or programs that you see as representing best practice.

Thank you in advance for your participation in this review.

Questionnaire:

1. Are there particular challenges or opportunities that women face when participating in or leading the response to HIV and AIDS? And how does this vary between the local, national, and global
   levels?
2. What lessons have you learned and recommendations would you share about strategies to increase women's participation and strengthen their leadership, particularly of HIV positive women?
3. What is the role of civil society leadership on women and AIDS, including networks of HIV positive women?
4. Where does gender expertise exist and what effect does it have on the success or efficacy of programs for women and girls? Can you share examples?
5. What are the capacity needs to strengthen women's leadership and participation in the AIDS response?

Please submit all answers via email to:

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Programme Specialist, Gender and HIV/AIDS, UNIFEM

and

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Project Consultant

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