The June 2016 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS announced targets to fast-track the end of the AIDS epidemic by 2030. This may consequently lead to the end of national stand-alone HIV programmes. Sustainable approaches to advance sexual and reproductive health which include HIV interventions are acutely needed, particularly for women and girls living with and at risk of HIV. Wilton Park and the World Health Organization, Department of Reproductive Health and Research (RHR), including the Special Programme for Human Reproduction (HRP) proposes a policy discussion on how countries can develop and operationalize multi-sectoral approaches to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and accelerate achievement of goals to reach HIV fast-track goals and Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Goal and objectives
The high-level policy discussion sought to identify strategies and policy outcomes on how investing in and strengthening SRHR interventions through multi-sectoral approaches for women and girls can contribute to ending the AIDS epidemic, achieving the SRHR targets in the SDGs, and accelerate progress to achieve UHC goals.
Specific objectives included:
- review the evidence on SRH-HIV linkages since the 2004 Glion Call to Action on Family Planning and HIV/AIDS in Women and Children to inform advocacy, policies and programmes, and related funding architecture for reaffirming the need to promote linked interventions;
- revisit interventions (related to policy, programming and finance architecture) for women and girls living with and at risk of HIV within the SDGs development framework, the Global Strategy on Women, Children and Adolescent health, FP2020 and the Fast track commitments to end the AIDS epidemic; and
- recommit to advancing SRHR for women and girls including those affected by HIV that also explicitly strengthen health systems and financing to achieve UHC.
Expected outputs and outcomes
- Define shared principles and priority policy actions to inform HIV donors and countries on multi-sectoral approaches to advance SRHR for women and girls that could impact Fast Track HIV and UHC;
- Produce report summarising recommendations and key issues to be shared widely.
