Foreword

The 2003 initiative of the UNAIDS Inter-agency Task Team on HIV/AIDS and Gender reflects the enhanced concern of the international community that the escalating impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on women and girls globally is occurring in the context of profound gender, class, age and other inequalities.
The Resource Pack sets out the status of the AIDS epidemic globally and how it links with gender based inequality and inequity. It analyses the impact of gender relations on the different aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and makes recommendations for effective programme and policy options. It includes a review paper for expert consultation ‘Integrating gender into HIV/AIDS Programmes’ prepared by Geeta Rao Gupta, Daniel Whelan, and Keera Allendorf, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) on behalf of the WHO, and 17 Fact Sheets with concise information on gender related aspects of HIV/AIDS, prepared by the different UN agencies involved.
The Operational Guide, developed by the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), the Netherlands, seeks to give guidance to development practitioners by providing a coherent conceptual framework from a gender and rights perspective and a set of guidelines, checklists and tools for programme implementation. The guide represents the work of the KIT Social Development and Gender Equity team and associates. These include Maitrayee Mukhopadhyay, Marguerite Appel, Nandinee Bandopadhyay, Rangan Chakravarti, Emma Bell and Sue Enfield. Mirjam van Donck deserves specific acknowledgement for writing the final version of the guide.

Particular acknowledgement and thanks to the members of the UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team on HIV/AIDS and Gender and their colleagues who contributed many hours of dedicated work. These include Marcela Villarreal (FAO), Brigitte Zug (ILO), Gillian Holmes (UNAIDS), Abigail Loregnard-Kasmally (UN Division for the Advancement of Women), Lisa Oldring(UNHCHR), Chika Saito (UNDP), Lydia Ruprecht (UNESCO), Lynn Collins (UNFPA), Kristina Goncalves (UNICEF), Stephanie Urdang (UNIFEM), A. Waafas Ofosu-Amaah (World Bank), Adama Diop-Faye (WFP), Claudia Garcia-Moreno (WHO).

Appreciation is due to Kirsty Millward for copy-editing, to the Graffity team for design and printing and to KIT Publishers for advice.

This guide would not have been possible without funding from UNAIDS and additional funding from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS), for which we are grateful.