4. Work with pharmaceutical companies to develop an effective and affordable vaccine against HIV: Developing a vaccine to combat HIV/AIDS has been slow, mainly due to the enormous scientiďŹ c, logistical and ďŹ nancial challenges involved. Since the discovery of the human immunodeďŹ ciency virus (HIV) as the cause of AIDS, multiple vaccines have been tested in scores of human clinical trials, with moderate success. The World Health Organization and its partners successfully implemented a global initiative called “3 by 5â€?, to provide antiretroviral therapy to 3 million people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries by the end of 2005.
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www.undp.org/poverty/ www.un.org/cyberschoolbus
Towards eradicating poverty The United Nations system assists Governments and civic groups in the developing world to address various factors that contribute to poverty. Here are a few examples: $IJOB *NQSPWF 5FBDIFS 2VBMJUZ JO 1PPS "SFBT PG 8FTUFSO $IJOB
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Raising the standards of teacher qualiďŹ cations, and continuing professional development of teachers are priorities in China’s educational development strategy. It is especially true in western China where poor rural teachers, particularly women teachers and minority teachers, ďŹ nd few means to improve their professional skills. A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project aims at increasing educational equity and improving teachers’ abilities at the primary level in three western provinces of China through delivering high-quality, distance teacher training. So far, 45,000 teachers have been trained under this project.
One of the main components of UNDP’s poverty reduction initiative is combating HIV/AIDS. The objective of the Leadership Development Programme is to promote leadership at all levels, and develop the capacity of government, civil society, development partners, communities and individuals to effectively respond to the epidemic. The programme has been successful in building partnerships through forming coalitions such as the Ethiopian Volunteer Media Professionals against AIDS and the National Coalition for Women against HIV/ AIDS, uniquely positioned to mobilize women at all levels in advocating for gender equality and HIV/ AIDS issues from policy level to the grassroots.
5JNPS -FTUF -PDBM %FWFMPQNFOU 1SPHSBNNF UNDP and the UN Capital Development Fund are supporting the Government of Timor-Leste in “pilotingâ€? decentralized assemblies at the district and sub-district level in Bobonaro and Lautem, to test-run participatory planning processes, ďŹ nancial management and procurement procedures as well as representational arrangements at the local level. The pilot programme is resolving practical obstacles for the future transfer of funds from central government to local governments. Simultaneously, the programme is building the capacity of local assembly members, local technical staff and the population on how to interact and respect each others’ responsibilities. It creates a downward accountability mechanism through the local assembly members who are empowered as the decision makers to determine local development priorities.
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