Recently, a collaborative effort of UNAIDS, the UNDP Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, UNDP country offices, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) and national HIV/AIDS NGOs and CBOs started an initiative to reinforce national capacity to address the development dimensions of the epidemic. It is now generally recognised that HIV/AIDS is rooted in societies' structural economic and socio-cultural characteristics such as the extent and distribution of poverty, the concentration of wealth, the position of women and gender inequity. Together with the processes and determinants of socio-economic development, these characteristics all play important roles in creating the conditions for the epidemic to thrive.
Generally, those who become infected tend to be in their most economically and socially productive years and are those with responsibility for financial and other support and care of others. In many countries, these also include the better educated and skilled: incapacitation among this group has particular implications far beyond immediate families and communities.
The coping mechanisms and capacities of affected communities can be stretched to the limit as people shoulder responsibilities for those who are infected and their survivors, including orphans. Collectively these impacts result in a cumulative loss of human resources, erosion of capacity for development, and ever-deepening personal and social distress.

Although HIV infection spreads with alarming speed, the broader impact of the epidemic across numerous sectors --including tourism, agriculture, enterprise and industry, health, social welfare and education, public administration and security-- may remain obscured for several years. As a result, the epidemic tends to be perceived narrowly as a health problem, with responses designed and implemented accordingly, although in some countries perceptions have broadened over time to recognise the inter-sectoral nature of the problem. HIV/AIDS represents an unprecedented challenge to development, requiring broad, creative and innovative responses.

UNDP's HIV and Development workshop

Several years of capacity development efforts by UNDP and its partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America resulted in UNDP's HIV and Development workshop and support materials written in English and Spanish. The overall goal of the workshop is to broaden understanding of the social and economic causes and consequences of the epidemic. It also seeks to reinforce multi-sectoral responses at the national level by strengthening involvement, partnerships and collaboration among a broad range of social partners such as policy-makers, programmers, practitioners, PLWHAs and CBOs.
The workshop is based on the premise that people, local communities and sustainable human development are at the centre of effective responses and that hope, consensus and respect for human dignity are the key principles underlying effective and expanded responses. The training activity brings together participants with diverse experience and expertise, transcending traditional sectoral and professional boundaries and interests. In response to discussions with collaborating partners the workshop was adapted and training materials were developed in English and Spanish. The programme and other materials were reviewed and adapted at two orientation meetings in Barbados (English version) and Cuernavaca, Mexico (Spanish version). The workshop draws upon existing best practices and highlights specific characteristics of multi-sectoral responses, such as:

• an inclusive, participatory consultation process designed to identify local characteristics of the problem and to build consensus as to priority activities
• an explicit legal and ethical policy framework to guide all activities
• mechanisms that ensure meaningful involvement of PLWHAs in responses to the epidemic
• partnership between public and private sectors, in particular, recognition of the critical role of NGOs and CBOs
• sector-specific activities (e.g., rural development, tourism, employment, education) that address development implications of the epidemic within and across sectors; for example, research to identify locally specific social and economic determinants of the epidemic and ways of addressing them and how best to explore the gender-differential impact of the epidemic.
• analysis of developmental causal factors, such as poverty and labour mobility, that play an important role in the dynamics of the epidemic
• difficult issues, including human rights aspects of the epidemic and matters relating to employment policy.

The workshop also looks into the national strategic plans, in order to identify any obstacles for their implementation.