The UN system is recognised for its collective technical expertise in sectors ranging from health to economic development, as well as for its policy guidelines, standards and tools in a number of development areas. The strength of the UN organizations also lies in their long-standing relationship of trust and cooperation with the governments, national and local leaders, donors, civil society and the network of diverse partnerships they bring to the table.  It is recognized as an “honest broker” that carries various interests and sectors together.

The UN system in the Philippines represents a large country presence of several UN organizations working on diverse development issues, including HIV.  The UN organizations have supported the Philippine Government and other stakeholders in the national and local response to HIV for over 20 years.  Together with other international and national partners, the UN has advocated for and provided support to a multi-sectoral response as well as to stronger programme management and coordination underpinned by strong human rights-based framework.

While the financial contribution of the UN system is relatively small compared to Official Development Assistance (ODA), its support has been catalytic in relevant development areas.  Specific to the HIV response, this catalytic support focused on areas such as strategic planning processes, development of national monitoring and evaluation system as well as policy and standards development.  This support is delivered through policy advocacy, building models, knowledge management and strategic information, capacity building and partnerships/linkages.

As part of the UN system reform towards “delivering as one”, UN country programmes on HIV and AIDS are guided by a unified “Joint UN Programme of Support on AIDS”.  This strategic framework is a collective articulation of all UN actions to support the country’s response on HIV and AIDS, including activities which may be implemented jointly or by individual agencies but developed and agreed upon through a collective process. 

The Joint UN Programme of Support on AIDS is operationalized according to the UNAIDS Technical Support Division of Labour.  The Division of Labour was established, not only to avoid duplication, but to ensure countries receive quality technical support in specialized areas based on the comparative advantages of each of the UNAIDS organizations.