HIV/AIDS and the Efforts of Worldwide Organizations
HIV/AIDS has remained to be one of the leading pandemics that various countries have channeled their efforts towards reducing its infections and as well as high its death rates. Various worldwide organizations channel their efforts towards supporting governments to help unanimously reduce its spread (Nsabimana).
The Role of the United Nations
The United Nations has been on the forefront of this struggle for almost two decades upon its establishment with its activities increasingly multiplying around the globe. The disease AIDS has caused the United Nations AIDS to establish updated policies. These changes have resulted in the prevention of newborn child infection, disease treatment, and knowledge an understanding of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) (Nsabimana).
Role of United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established in 1946 under the United Nations to help meet emergency needs of children. It has well-established policies that support communities and governments to reduce inequities in HIV service as well as properly addressing factors of gender, age, and poverty so as to make people vulnerable (Srivastava et al pg. 1217). Precisely, it supports governments to deliver health services aimed at preventing mother-to-child prevention, enable early infants’ tests, link specific children diagnosed with HIV treatment and generally prevent new infections in adolescents. Additionally, it provides innovation and knowledge leadership that is very crucial in disseminating evidence on children as well as AIDS that shape policies and programs. UNICEF plays a crucial role in the provision of technical assistance to governments to strengthen pediatric HIV services as well as scaling up HIV infant testing through the innovative point of care technology. The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) under the UNICEF and the Africa Society for Laboratory Medicine work to towards accelerating access to point-of-care (POC) technologies related to HIV in the national diagnostic programs that operate in 10 countries(Srivastava, et al pg. 1228). All these programs are greatly initiated by the UNICEF so as to help prevent infants from HIV infected mothers from being infected, provide an early diagnosis for those infants that have already been infected and reduce early mortality rates in the early months of their lives, helping greatly towards fighting this pandemic.
The Role of the World Health Organization (WHO)
World Health Organization is one of the most crucial bodies that greatly aim to helping individual states reduce the high infections and death rates that are caused by the HIV/AIDs in the whole world (Skarbinski et al, pg.589). As an organization having been established in 1948 and headquartered in Geneva in Switzerland it develops strategic plans, guideline and standards to greatly aid countries to scale up all health sectors so as to provide a great access to HIV/AIDS diagnostic services. It is the world leading international organization advising different countries on issues of scaling up in the health sectors in response to HIV/AIDS. It does this through the provision of unique resources that are used to generate evidence on best practices, developing guidelines and developing tools for delivering appropriate health services to fight HIV (Adithyan, Bal and Anna, pg. 3). In addition to that, it helps in investing in indigenous sub-regional and regional institutions can best help in meeting the increasing country demands of high quality, affordable and relevant technical support. In addition to scaling up of health institutions in individual countries, WHO develops a comprehensive package of prevention and treatment improving treatment so as to reach up against a wide population of people requiring a suitable rapid introduction, adaptation as well as dissemination in countries. Often the organization has been supporting capacity building, training of health workers and as well as strengthening health systems (Skarbinski et al, pg.592). It provides training materials to health centers as district hospitals so as to create room for more health physicians that are integral for the handing the increased cases of these infections. Most areas that have a high population lack highly trained and qualified practitioners that are necessary for ensuring that the victims are well taken care of. The increasing applicability of this approach currently be implemented in different countries is a representation of unprecedented opportunity to rapidly expand and increase services for both prevention and chronic HIV care and treatment. Finally, WHO plays a crucial role if securing adequate diagnostics and medicines to help countries provide required services to its citizens (Adithyan, Bal and Anna, pg. 6) This is also enabled by procuring affordable and quality supplies of health equipment and materials as well as strengthening the procurement and supply management to enable efficient delivery within the stipulated time frame to enable effective diagnostics of a patient suffering from this disease.
Role of the United Nations in Fighting HIV/AIDS
The United Nations is one of the famous organizations established in 1945 to deal with various issues between countries, such as securing international and intergovernmental cooperation as maintaining international order (Shannon et al, pg. 56). Reduction of the high rate of death and infection of HIV/AIDS is one of the core functions it plays. Towards women, UN has decentralized its functions to small bodies responsible for dealing with specific roles. Since HIV has affected more women than men, a decentralized operations agency, UNICEF works with the governments as well as NGOs in the field of medicine in improving the lives of women by initiating programs and policies for building national and local capacities to provide education on best sex practices. Thus knowledge aims at establishing self-reliance in women to be able to make decisions on various sex practices that aid in the prevention of the disease with information that women seem to be inferior when it comes to making a decision when compared to men making them more vulnerable to HIV infections compared to men (Poulin, Kathryn and Susan, pg. 18). In the absence of a cure, prevention becomes not only an integral element but also the only alternative towards fighting this particular pandemic. Through UNFPA, UN focuses on reducing the transmissions of HIV by addressing reproductive and sexual health as well as the right of key populations, especially women who are the top victims (Shannon et al, pg. 65). Through UNFPA, UN supports the empowerment of women and girls though helping in preventing the infections of HIV among these groups through ensuring accessibility to rights based on sexuality and reproductive health, fighting gender-based violence, early child marriage, and discrimination. It also supports governments in the provision of specific needs to women as well as girls which are factored out in the assistance of humanitarian (Poulin, Kathryn and Susan, pg. 23).
Conclusion
HIV/AIDS has attracted efforts from different stakeholders, especially worldwide organizations, to aid in its prevention and diagnostic. With high levels being experienced in developing countries, various organizations have channeled their efforts to different targets in society that are vulnerable and have been known to record high cases of being infected. UNICEF greatly works with individual countries, with efforts being channeled towards reducing infant infection and early mortality rates through preventing mother-to-child transmissions and diagnosing infected children. WHO supports individual states mainly through developing standards and guidelines to ensure that countries are up to scale in responsive to this disease. UN, through decentralized sub-organizations, has policies to empower women and instilling knowledge as well as provision of specific needs to women and girls as factored out in humanitarian assistance.
Work cited
Adithyan, G. S., Bal Rakshase, and Anna Mia Ekstrom. "A study on HIV knowledge and preventive behavioral practices among FSWS in Mumbai." Journal of AIDS and HIV Research 9.1 (2017): 1-7.
Nsabimana, John. "Children affected by armed conflict: a review of the United Nations Security Council, International Court and UNICEF's work on children in situations of armed conflict." (2014).
Poulin, Michelle, Kathryn Dovel, and Susan Cotts Watkins. "Men with money and the “vulnerable women” client category in an AIDS epidemic." World Development 85 (2016): 16-30.
Shannon, Kate, et al. "Global epidemiology of HIV among female sex workers: influence of structural determinants." The Lancet 385.9962 (2015): 55-71.
Skarbinski, Jacek, et al. "Human immunodeficiency virus transmission at each step of the care continuum in the United States." JAMA internal medicine 175.4 (2015): 588-596.
Srivastava, Aradhana, et al. "Linkages between public and non-government sectors in healthcare: A case study from Uttar Pradesh, India." Global public health 11.10 (2016): 1216-1230.
