This calendar is the fruit of a worldwide collaboration between many UN
organizations, Civil Society partners and their dedicated staff.
After an amazing competition which brought to us the theme of “Access to Healthcare for All” through the eyes of people around the world, the winning photos have made their way to our 2013 calendar. You will find a soft copy available for download here. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
With the help of UNPLUS, the UN system-wide advocacy group for staff living with HIV, and UNCARES, the inter-agency programme designed to reduce the impact of HIV in the UN workplace and on the local population, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), is working to address the issue of HIV on many levels.
With the support of UNAMI’s training unit, Paul Gorshel, current Chairperson of UNPLUS, and a representative of UNCARES for the Middle East and North Africa Region, facilitated a forum in Baghdad this month to address the issues confronting staff and non-staff who are affected by HIV/AIDS. Continue reading
By Rosemary Maina (UN Plus Tanzania)
As the sun rises, I board the plane, heading to most famous and beautiful city: Johannesburg, South Africa.
Down deep inside, I knew life would never be the same after completion of my mission and training! The atmosphere in which I was welcomed was marvelous. There was no need to be introduced around, as though we all knew each other as sister and brother from another mother.
This was also a great opportunity to meet most of my secret friends and some UN Cares team members! The ones with whom we normally meet and share experiences and voice our concerns – the UN PLUS members! They are my best friends and with their support I don’t feel alone any longer. They are my role model. At this time the number of participants was big, from many countries even from other continents. Continue reading
UN Cares & UN Plus empowering staff for healthy, productive lives
By Yvonne Kasine (UN Plus/UNICEF Rwanda)
As a UN Cares Focal Point and UN Plus member I participated in UN Cares Workshop and the HIV Training of Trainers Workshop organized by UN Cares and UN Plus in Johannesburg from 5th to 9th November 2012.
The training helps me so much, as I gained from experiences shared by different countries. I will use the best practices presented from the different countries in improving the implementation of our UN cares and UN Plus activities in Rwanda.
The United Nations (UN) in Liberia has joined Mozambique, Swaziland, Rwanda and Ghana in launching the ‘Friends of UN Plus’ as part of its efforts to achieve a work environment that is free from stigma for all UN staff living with HIV and their families. The ‘Friends of UN Plus’ will implement various activities for staff living with HIV, including events and campaigns to sensitize the UN community around HIV-related stigma and discrimination and support groups for staff living with HIV. The group will also partner with the national network of people living with HIV to address issues that are of concern to staff living with HIV such as access to HIV treatment.
Please visit the following page for more details.
This World AIDS Day, UN Plus joins Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) and other groups/organizations in supporting the “Call to Action” created in Marrakech, Morocco last week by leaders from the international community of people living with HIV.
Whilst acknowledging the major gains made in the HIV response, as highlighted in the UNAIDS World AIDS Day report, this ‘Call To Action’ asserts that we will no longer tolerate the inequities in access to quality HIV treatment and effective prevention, nor the blatant human rights violations that continue to be perpetrated against us, and that we must stand together to fight these injustices.
Please download the call to action in different languages below and distribute them as widely as possible!
Dear Members, Partners and Friends,
First and foremost, we would like to express our deep gratitude and appreciation to all the contestants who expressed interest in this project and have entered the competition.
Taking the time to participate in raising awareness is no small feat and should be recognized.
As you might know, the contest is now closed for applications and the selection process will soon be started.
We wish to inform you, though, that due to certain practical constraints, the online voting phase of the selection will not take place.
Instead, the pictures will be directly submitted to the jury comprised of three independent photographers who will judge the photos on their artistic and technical value, as well as their pertinence to the theme “Access to Healthcare for All”.
Once the judges have voted and the results compiled, they will be communicated officially. The announcement will be made on October 12th.
In the meantime, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us, should have any other questions regarding the contest or any other UN Plus issue.
Best regards,
UN Plus team
By Siphiwe Banda (UN Plus Advisory Group / UNDP Malawi)
The HTC week is an initiative of the Malawi Government and its objective is to bring counseling and testing to the grassroots as well as the urban areas. This programme takes place across the country in all the districts. Continue reading
In the Global Village of the International AIDS Conference’s main events, lied a space where all those who wished had a voice, and an opportunity to share their thoughts. This Community Dialogue Space was the venue chosen by UN Plus (UN+) to advocate some of its key messages.
UN+ co-organised, with IPPF+ (Network of International Planned Parenthood Federation living with HIV) and RCRC+ (network of Red Cross Red Crescent staff and volunteers living with HIV) a panel discussion on the 24th of July from 1 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. around Stigma and Discrimination at the Workplace.
By Josiah Tepani (UN Plus/WFP Malawi)
As part of our effort to reach out to more UN staff members living with HIV to join UN Plus and help eliminate fear and anxiety and bring back hope and confidence, members of UN Plus Malawi had a refresher training for its Peer Educators at the Hippo Lodge in Liwonde. The session was focused on HIV Disclosure, with the goal to share necessary information and bring back optimism and assurance to our colleagues who are still struggling with HIV-related stigma.
