afew tsf

AFEW and IPPF to Launch TSF in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

from AIDS Foundation East-West Newsroom

Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Today, AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW) signed an agreement with the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN) to co-manage a new UNAIDS Technical Support Facility (TSF) for 25 countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA). The launch of this initiative in January 2010 will provide urgently needed technical support to HIV/AIDS programmes in this region, which has seen a dramatic surge in HIV infection rates in the past decade. Through an extensive network of consultants, the Technical Support Facility will build the regional capacity to respond to AIDS, while ensuring that resources are used effectively and efficiently.

Operating from headquarters in Moscow and three regional offices in Georgia, Kazakhstan and Romania, AFEW and IPPF EN will maintain an extensive database of national and international consultants. These experts will be drawn from a wide range of disciplines that are pertinent to the needs of HIV/AIDS programmes in the region, including:

• Strategic planning
• Managing contracts and logistics
• Resource mobilisation and tracking
• Communications
• Quality management
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)
• Thematic areas, such as HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, linking sexual and reproductive health with HIV, injecting drug use, migration and work with key populations.

A thorough quality control system will be in place to screen and manage experts in the database. AFEW and IPPF EN will aim to outsource consultants at competitive rates and continuously monitor their performance on assignments. Moreover, the TSF has a strong commitment to fostering professional development for local specialists whose skills will ensure the long-term sustainability of the HIV/AIDS response in the region.

TSF services will be available to national AIDS councils, government ministries, civil society, bilateral agencies, the UN system and the private sector. Together, AFEW and IPPF EN will maintain close working relationships with these stakeholders in order to institutionalise transparency, effective resource management and cost-efficiency in the regional response to HIV/AIDS.

“AFEW’s appointment to co-manage the TSF in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is a moment of great pride for everyone who has worked in our organisation over the years. Since 2001, we have created models of best practice in HIV/AIDS prevention during a period of turbulent transition for the region. AFEW is committed to sharing its knowledge of life on the ground here to make the TSF a source of real progress and inspiration in the fight against the HIV epidemic. In particular, collaboration with IPPF EN on the TSF is an exciting opportunity for us to integrate these efforts better with sexual and reproductive health work in the region.” - Joost van der Meer, Executive Director, AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW).

We are now recruiting for high-quality consultants to join the database of the Technical Support Facility! To be considered for registration with us or to obtain more information about the TSF, please contact:

anke_van_dam(at)afew.org at AFEW

lluyckfasseel(at)ippfen.org at IPPF EN.

Technical Support Facility for Eastern Europe & Central Asia 5 KEY FACTS
Launch date: 1st January 2010
Supported by: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
Managed by: AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW), International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN)
4 regional offices: Moscow, Russian Federation (HQ); Almaty, Kazakhstan; Bucharest, Romania; Tbilisi, Georgia.
Countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, UN administered territory of Kosovo, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.