By Zayamu Hassan
The United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) Coordinating Board (PCB) has approved, the Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework (UBRAF) for 2022–2026.
It has also approved the UNAIDS budget for 2022 and 2023. The Board gave the approval at a special session.
The approved budget is set at up to a threshold of US$ 210 million per year.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the special session, the UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, said: “We must prevent a resurgent AIDS crisis. COVID-19 lockdowns and other restrictions have badly disrupted the use of HIV prevention services, access to HIV testing, and in many countries this led to steep drops in HIV diagnoses, referrals to care services, the initiation of HIV treatment and limitation in access to viral load testing. This is of great concern. That’s why approval of the UBRAF is so important.”
The UBRAF is the overall framework for the collective contribution of the UNAIDS Joint Programme to the global HIV response.
In a statement, the UNAIDS said that it is the framework for leveraging the advantages, strengths and mandates of the 11 UNAIDS Cosponsors and the Secretariat for the full and effective implementation of the Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026: End Inequalities, End AIDS, placing people and communities at the centre and in strong partnership with other stakeholders.
Under the new UBRAF, from 2022 to 2026 the Joint Programme will, among other things, “maximize its global leadership and advocacy, create and promote the distribution of global public goods that are critical to ending AIDS, support countries and communities through coordinated technical guidance and support.
It will also facilitate and support strategic information and knowledge-sharing, convene and facilitate multistakeholder dialogues to achieve enabling environments and leverage inclusive partnerships and investments to close programmatic and policy gaps for greater accountability, efficiencies and impact.
Areas of intensified focus and investment under the UBRAF include tackling inequalities in order to ensure equitable access to services for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, fostering leadership and support for innovative approaches to achieve more inclusive HIV services.
Others are benefit from scaled-up HIV combination prevention and testing as well as treatment, with a focus on closing service gaps among those who are the furthest left behind and champion the empowerment and resourcing of communities for stronger community-led responses that lead scaled-up service delivery and respond to needs.
“Thank you for approving the framework and the budget. I took note and am encouraged by the clear requests and support by Board members for a fully funded UBRAF at US$ 210 million to help the Joint Programme deliver transformative and life-saving work towards the goals in the Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026,” added Ms Byanyima at the session’s closing.
