|
CHARCA
(Coordinated
HIV/AIDS Response through Capacity Building and Awareness)
In the HIV/AIDS epidemic, gender plays an integral role in
determining an individual’s vulnerability to infection.
There is increasing evidence that gender inequality is
fuelling the epidemic. Social norms define ‘his’ or ‘her’
ability to access care, support or treatment, and the
ability to cope when infected or affected. Young persons,
especially girls are vulnerable to the epidemic.
CHARCA (Coordinated HIV/AIDS Response through Capacity
Building and Awareness) is a joint UN System effort to
empower young women in the age group of 13-25 by
addressing them within the context of their families,
partners, immediate community and the society. Providing
information, improving skills, building leadership,
increasing support network systems and creating a positive
enabling environment are the pillars of the project.
Through dynamic partnerships between governments at the
National, State and District levels, NGOs, CBOs, and the
joint UN system (ILO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNIFEM,
UNODC, WHO, UNAIDS, Secretariat), the project is being
implemented in the districts of Bellary (Karnataka),
Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), Udaipur (Rajasthan), Kanpur (UP),
Kishanganj (Bihar) and Aizawl (Mizoram).
CHARCA is supported by the United Nations Foundation,
Royal Netherlands Embassy (RNE), Ford Foundation,
Australian Aid (AusAID) and Swedish Agency for
International Development Cooperation (SIDA) [CHARCA
Website]
DevInfo
DevInfo is a powerful database system which monitors
progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. It
generates tables, graphs and maps for reports and
presentations. DevInfo has been developed in cooperation
with the UN system and has been adapted from UNICEF
ChildInfo technology. The database maintains indicators by
time periods and geographic areas to monitor commitments
to sustained human development.
In the run up to the UNDAF 2008-2012, DevInfo will be
modified to include the UNDAF monitoring indicators and
used system wide to facilitate tracking progress against
UNDAF Outcomes/Outputs, as well as 11th Plan targets.
In India, Dev Info is housed in the Department of
Statistics of the GOI and UNICEF leads the UN inter-agency
team to support the development and roll-out of DevInfo.
[DevInfo
Website]
HIV/AIDS and UN Workplace in India
The HIV/AIDS and UN Workplace in India project started in
December 2003. The objective of the project is to ensure
that the UN staff members in India have access to
information and services on HIV/AIDS and are equipped to
protect themselves.
To supervise the project performance, an Inter Agency Task
Team (IATT) from ILO, UNDP, UNAIDS, WHO and UNICEF has
been created. ILO is the lead agency for this initiative
and looks after the overall implementation of the project.
Operations Management Team in India (OMT)
The Operations Management
Team in India (OMT) was established by the UN Country Team
in 2005 (UNCT) and is an integral part of the Resident
Coordinator System. The OMT provides guidance and
management support to the UN Country Team on operational
matters for greater operational efficiencies in both
programme and administrative operations, including the
management and implementation of common services.
The OMT will further UNDAF
implementation by supporting opportunities for common
operational services and joint offices where feasible and
by streamlining cash transfer arrangements of respective
Agencies.
Solution Exchange
In a country as large and
vibrant as India, government and development partners
operate in knowledge rich environments where there is
continuous experimentation and innovation of creative
ideas. While some of this knowledge has been codified,
shared and replicated, there remains a large pool of
knowledge gained through experience that remains
undocumented, out of reach of practitioners and in danger
of being forgotten.
Solution Exchange is a
recent knowledge sharing initiative of the UN Country Team
in India that attempts to harness this knowledge. Members
of Solution Exchange are development practitioners and
professionals from government, donors, civil society,
academia and the private sector. There are over 7000
members participating in these communities.
Solution Exchange brings
field level experience into the discussions, getting
members together virtually through e-mail groups and
face-to-face towards the common objective of problem
solving and knowledge sharing. The UN serves as a catalyst
and plays a facilitation role, offering an impartial space
where all practitioners participate at no cost.
The Solution Exchange
Communities of Practice are organized around broad themes
that reflect India’s national development goals and
targets as well as the MDG’s and include Work and
Employment, Water and Environmental Sanitation, Maternal
and Child Health, HIV/AIDS, Gender, Food and Nutrition
Security, Decentralization, Education, ICT for
Development, Microfinance and Disabilities..
Each Community of Practice
is moderated by a resource team located in the UN Agency
that has the mandate in that area. The moderators post
members’ queries to the community, collate the responses
and compile a consolidated reply. Often, the resource team
also guides the members to additional resources.
Some examples of the issues
discussed on Solution Exchange are the Rajasthan Draft
Policy on Water, the Draft National Farmers’ Policy,
arsenic levels and drinking water quality, building
management capacities of CBO’s, referral transport in
health emergencies, National Capacity Building Framework
and National AIDS Control Programme III.
Solution Exchange fosters
familiarity and trust between professionals working across
organizations and regions of India who share a similar
passion about reducing poverty and promoting sustainable
development. Participation in Communities leverages
India’s real-life knowledge base to help ensure that no
one needs to reinvent the wheel.
Solution Exchange is funded
by the UN Resident Coordinator System and supported by
DFID, Swiss Development Cooperation and GTZ.
[Solution
Exchange Website]
UN Tsunami Recovery Framework
The United Nations team for
Tsunami Recovery Support (UNTRS) comprises seven
UN-agencies: FAO, ILO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, and
WHO. To facilitate efforts in Tsunami recovery and to
support the Government in its efforts for rehabilitation,
a joint office was set up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The
joint UN office helps facilitate information sharing,
ensure synergies in interventions in different sectors and
also encourages joint learning by an autonomous Tamil Nadu
Resource Centre (TNTRC) in Chennai. It was established in
partnership with a range of renowned NGOs as well as the
Government of Tamil Nadu. The TNTRC is also networked to
five district resource centres throughout Tamil Nadu.
The main programme areas
include the provision of psychosocial support to people
affected by the tsunami; social integration to address
trafficking and HIV/AIDS prevention and care; rebuilding
livelihoods by improving living and livelihood conditions,
increasing equality within communities and improving the
condition of women; addressing health and nutrition issues
including water and sanitation, maternal health, health
education as well as disease surveillance; education;
shelter and habitat development; water supply, sanitation
and hygiene; healthy environment for long-term security
and sustainability including the development of a
comprehensive coastal zone management strategy and a focus
on the mid- to long-term consequences of rehabilitation
efforts on the natural resilience of social and ecological
systems along the coast; capacity building for disaster
risk management and coordination support, and knowledge
networking and Information and Communication Technology
[UNTRS
Website]
|
