Independent Evaluation of the UN system response to AIDS in 2016–2019

UNAIDS, the UN Joint Programme on AIDS, has long been held up as an exemplary expression of UN reform. The UBRAF is evidenced-based and proposes actions that are globally relevant to ending AIDS by 2030 in line with SDG targets. However, significant decreases in resource availability, has resulted in growing tensions between the Secretariat and UNAIDS Cosponsors. These tensions are exacerbated as Cosponsors shed staff with HIV expertise and as decreases in core resources for Cosponsors compared to the Secretariat are combined with demanding requirements for reporting. While a pragmatic approach to programme management and advocacy at country level shows the real advantages of a joint co-sponsored programme, the UBRAF itself offers little guidance as to how to set priorities when resources are constrained. Nor does it offer a means for understanding the specific contribution of the Joint Programme to national responses, or holding Cosponsors and the Secretariat accountable for their performance. Recommendations offer a way forward that has the potential to break what otherwise may become a continuing cycle of decline and establish new and more effective ways of working and demonstrating clear results.