It is time to think about reporting on the UNGASS indicators again. ICASO has prepared a guide to help civil society do this. Some think that the decrease in the number of 'shadow reports' is an indication that civil society is now more involved in analysing the situation and preparing the report. That is a partial truth at best. But here is a chance for civil society to show how accountability and transparency really work.
You can see there is almost no UNGASS data on Myanmar at http://cfs.unaids.org/country_factsheet.aspx?ISO=MMR. That should change.
HIV Information for Myanmar [him] would be interested in developing a shadow report if any readers would like to join [him].
[him] moderator
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from AIDS Advocacy Alert December 2009:
5 Key Actions You Can Take NOW to ensure meaningful involvement in the 2010 UNGASS review and reporting process between now and March 2010.
1. Mobilize your community sector colleagues and partner organizations to advocate for the meaningful involvement of the community sector in the review and reporting processes. Review 'Coordinating with Communities' as an aid to planning and supporting meaningful involvement.
2. Ask the UNAIDS Country Coordinator (UCC) or Partnerships Officer in your country what they are doing to facilitate input from the community sector throughout the review process. Request that UNAIDS facilitate an inclusive and participatory process among all stakeholders. A list of the UCCs is available by emailing universalaccess2010@icaso.org
3. Review all relevant documents : The indicators in the current Guidelines on Construction of Core Indicators that were not changed from the previous reporting period. Although they may not capture the diversity of the epidemic and the response, they provide an indication of progress (or lack there-
of). You can complement the information captured by the indicators (for example, on issues of quality or coverage.)
The 2001 DoC and the 2006 Political Declaration that contain the commitments and promises countries have made. The 2010 UNGASS review and report will be based on these two documents The country progress reports that your government prepared in the past, particularly the 2008 country progress report. Determine if the process to review and prepare the 2008 report was inclusive and transparent and if the report submitted reflects the realities of HIV and AIDS in your country. Develop lessons learned and recommendations that can be applied to the current reporting process. Ensure that the current 2010 review and analysis is done with the involvement of community sector groups, especially with people living with HIV and other
key populations. Contact ICASO at universalaccess2010@icaso.org for tools and referrals to resources to help undertake this community sector review.
4. Contact the National AIDS Program (or equivalent) in your country and ask how they plan to involve the community sector in the UNGASS review and reporting process. Find out who in your country will be leading the preparation of the report and try to arrange a meeting with that person. Provide support to develop and publish a calendar of action and budget, mapping out key milestones for consultation with the community sector. The review process and report preparation should involve meetings with all national stakeholders, including for validating the report. Request that you (or your organization) receive "viewing rights" to the online report
5. Share all the information you find about these processes and the outcomes with community partners. This will increase accountability and transparency and will provide support for advocacy actions. Contact ICASO if you are interested in receiving more information or if you want to share your experiences
with other community advocates. If you have suggestions for topics, issues and challenges that need to be reported on by this review process, please
direct them to universalaccess2010@icaso.org. During 2010, UNAIDS will initiate a review of the current UNGASS indicators, and we want to present concrete suggestions for additions or changes for future reporting processes.
