US embassy cable - 04PRETORIA5344

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 005344 
 
SIPDIS 
 
INFO AMEMBASSY GENEVA 
AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 
AMEMBASSY ROME 
AMEMBASSY DAKAR 
 
USAID/DCHA/OFDA MMARX, SKHANDAGLE, CPRATT 
 
ANTANANARIVO FOR YMALCION; GABORONE FOR TPIERCE; HARARE 
FOR CBUZZARD; LILONGWE FOR KWIYO; LUANDA FOR ADWYER; 
LUSAKA FOR WPENOYAR; MASERU FOR JDORNBURG, KALBRECHT; 
MBABANE FOR SDORSEY; MAPUTO FOR SPOLAND, SBLISS; WINDHOEK 
FOR TDOOLEY-JONES; GENEVA FOR KYLOH; DAKAR FOR OFDA/WARO; 
NAIROBI FOR OFDA/ECARO; ROME FOR FODAG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OTRA, SF 
SUBJECT: UNAIDS/UNOCHA Consultation on HIV/AIDS and 
Humanitarian Response in Africa 6-8 October 2004 
 
 
Summary 
 
1. The worldwide increase of natural disasters and 
complex emergencies, complicated by rising cases of 
HIV/AIDS continue to disproportionably affect sub- 
Saharan Africa. Correspondingly, there is a growing 
recognition that humanitarian action must respond 
to this dual challenge. UNAIDS and OCHA regional 
offices in Johannesburg organised a regional 
technical consultation on "HIV/AIDS and 
Humanitarian Response in Africa: Putting Theory 
into Practice" from 6-8 October 2004 in 
Johannesburg, South Africa. Over sixty people 
attended representing U.N agencies, NGOs, donors 
and others. USAID/OFDA and USAID's Regional 
HIV/AIDS Program (RHAP) staff attended to learn how 
OFDA could respond to HIV/AIDS in emergencies via 
all sectors. After the consultation, OFDA staff 
travelled to Lesotho to visit agricultural projects 
that have HIV/AIDS components. 
 
Background 
 
2.  Earlier this year, the U.N. Inter-Agency Standing 
Committee's (IASC) published the "Guidelines for HIV/AIDS 
Intervention in Emergencies Settings" to help individuals 
and organizations in their efforts to address the special 
needs of HIV-infected and HIV-affected people living in 
emergency situations.  The guidelines include activities 
that should be accomplished in ten different sectors and 
in three phases of an emergency:  emergency preparedness; 
minimum response (to be conducted in the acute phase); 
and comprehensive response (conducted in the post-acute 
phase). 
 
3. In order to ensure effective implementation of the 
Guidelines, the regional offices of UNAIDS and OCHA in 
Johannesburg performed an HIV/AIDS mapping assessment in 
southern Africa based on the IASC guidelines and 
circulated the results to UN Country teams in the sub- 
region. The aim was to:  1) raise awareness around 
HIV/AIDS and humanitarian response; and 2) initiate an in- 
country process of mapping existing HIV/AIDS related 
interventions within humanitarian planning and 
programming. Similar mapping exercises are planned for 
West and East Africa. 
 
4. Equipped with both leadership and practical 
tools, the next step was to sponsor a regional 
forum with the following objectives:  1) to share 
and compile country and sub regional experiences on 
policies, practices and lessons learned; 2) to 
examine key technical issues around the 
implementation of HIV/AIDS interventions in 
humanitarian planning and programming; and 3) to 
propose the establishment of an interagency 
regional/sub-regional network to mobilize, support 
and coordinate technical and financial support. 
This technical consultation took place in October 
and over sixty people attended representing U.N 
agencies, NGOs, donors and others. 
"HIV/AIDS and Humanitarian Response in Africa: 
Putting Theory into Practice" 
 
5. The consultation consisted of presentations and 
discussions ranging from HIV/AIDS policy 
considerations in humanitarian response, HIV/AIDS 
in humanitarian planning, HIV/AIDS interventions in 
humanitarian programming, the role of sub-regional 
and regional coordination, and the identification 
of a mechanism to implement the actions identified. 
 
6. Discussions were held on numerous issues but 
definitive answers were not always agreed upon. The 
issue of low vs. high prevalence rates was raised 
and whether the interventions should vary. For 
example, HIV/AIDS in southern Africa is considered 
by some to be "the" emergency. Most of the 
countries in the region have HIV prevalence rates 
of over 20%; and with HIV/AIDS further diminishing 
people's coping strategies, the effect has erased 
many of the developmental gains made over the last 
30 years. Participants also noted that there were 
different definitions of low and high prevalence 
being used by various donor and UN agencies, and 
that IASC Guidelines did not differentiate or 
prioritize based on prevalence rates.   Concerns 
were also expressed over the effectiveness of 
separating development and humanitarian agendas to 
respond to HIV/AIDS given the limited response 
through the Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) for 
such activities. One issue that did have an answer 
was the relationship between conflict and the 
increase in HIV infections. The common assumption 
was that this was true. However, Paul Spiegel, an 
epidemiologist at UNHCR has found that the data 
does not always support this assumption. This issue 
highlighted the need for common indicators and 
methodologies when collecting and analyzing data. 
 
Consultation Conclusions and Outcomes 
 
7.  A process for information sharing on HIV/AIDS and 
emergencies including tools, best practices, etc will be 
explored through IRIN/Plus News. The IASC Task Force on 
HIV/AIDS and Emergencies is encouraged to continue its 
work and explore recommendations with regards to 
preparedness planning and assessments. It was widely 
believed that the IASC Task Force on HIV/AIDS and 
Emergencies should be merged with the IASC Task Force on 
Gender Based Violence and information sharing with 
affected countries be strengthened. 
 
8. Mobilizing resources can be accomplished by creating a 
forum for donors to share policies and approaches that 
will attempt to ensure harmonization on funding 
eligibility for HIV/AIDS interventions in emergencies. 
 
9. In conclusion, the meeting highlighted the 
critical need to engage leadership within 
governments and relevant organizations including 
the UN and NGOs to address HIV/AIDS in emergency 
settings and to refocus humanitarian response in 
view of the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS. 
Participants acknowledged the large amounts of 
money being spent for HIV/AIDS by the President's 
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the 
Global Fund for AIDS, TB, and Malaria (GFATM) and 
World Bank Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Program (MAP), 
as well as the need to get them involved in 
HIV/AIDS in humanitarian response. 
 
FRAZER