8 May 2001

Summary

1. FICSA has long advocated for improved access to treatment, drugs, care and support for ALL UN system staff living with HIV/AIDS. However, from May 2000, almost all activity at headquarters on the issue of HIV/AIDS in the UN workplace appeared to stall, in part due to restructuring which included the abandonment of the CCAQ and the creation of the new High Level Committee on Management (HLCM). In spite of the requests of FICSA, the HIV/AIDS Task Force was not reconvened until April, 2001. At the IAAG meeting in March 2001, it was revealed that the Guidance Note for the United Nations Resident Coordinators had not been circulated to them, and consultants had not even been recruited to conduct the study on the harmonization of medical insurance schemes, as requested by ACC a year earlier. Few of the recommendations of the 16th IAAG meeting (May 2000) had been acted upon, and the UNAIDS briefing note for the 17th meeting omitted key references to FICSA proposals adopted at the previous meeting. FICSA expressed strong concerns at IAAG about the continuing lack of prioritization of the issue; the lack of allocated staff and the over-reliance on individual initiative; the lack of continuity and follow-up to previous IAAG recommendations; and the failure to reconvene the Task Force over the past year.

   Task Force convened

2. On 23 April 2001, the Task Force was convened as a videoconference in New York and Geneva. Roger Eggleston, Secretary, HLCM, chaired the meeting.

3. FICSA was represented by Leslie Ewart and David Patterson in Geneva, and Judey Austin and Anne Marie Pinou in New York.

4. The Task Force identified a number of important actions to be carried out this year.

   I. Regular reporting on the implementation of the ACC policy

5. The HLCM Secretary reported that a revised questionnaire had been distributed to all organizations on 21 March 2001, with a request for reply by 20 April 2001. To date, only four organizations had sent their replies to the ACC Secretariat.

6. Action required: The replies to the questionnaire will be analyzed by the ACC Secretariat. A deadline of June 2001 was set, which is too late for presenting the analysis to the next Task Force meeting.

   II. Feasibility study on the development of a universally accessible health-related website for UN staff and their dependants

7. A paper compiled by the HLCM Secretariat - Content for Healthnet - was provided for discussions. The paper included a Health Insurance Information Note prepared by WHO, a compilation of AIDS-related websites, and information prepared by WHO on Post Exposure Prevention (PEP) kits.

8. Action required:
   1. A cost estimate will be made for setting up and maintaining the site;

   2. The information on the site will be made available at first in English, French and Spanish;

   3. Participants will provide comments on the 'Content for Healthnet' document; contents will be edited by June 2001 for universality and propriety;

   4. The site will include a generic description of insurance coverage, in particular for HIV/AIDS;

   5. AIDS hotline numbers in various countries will be included;

   6. The South African Theme Group paper will be posted;

   7. The project will be reviewed with a graduate school (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

   III. Medical insurance coverage for national staff in the UN system

9. Insurance coverage varied throughout the organizations. The Task Force reiterated the concerns expressed at its earlier meetings and ACC sessions regarding the need for staff and their dependants to know exactly what their insurance coverage is; and the need to ensure that, whatever the organization's health insurance arrangements may be, staff members of all organizations in all locations will be treated equitably in terms of reimbursement levels for the cost of treatment of major illnesses, including HIV/AIDS. Concerns were also expressed in this connection regarding the entitlements of the staff under short-term contracts.

10. Action required:
    1. Responses to a query on current health insurance schemes will be analysed by May 2001;

    2. A consultant will be hired to work on the harmonization of health insurance schemes.

    IV. Continuing prevention measures

11. FICSA repeated a request made during an earlier Task Force meeting that an actuarial study be carried out to determine the costs to the organizations of NOT providing care and treatment. Several participants informed the meeting that national staff were in some cases not accessing the treatment to which they were entitled, perhaps because of confusion around the payment ceilings, and also because of the stigma associated with the disease.

12. Action required:
    A letter will be sent to the heads of HR departments on the subject of distribution of HIV/AIDS information.

    V. Access to care and drugs

13. Three decisions were taken:
    1. The Guidance Note for the United Nations Resident Coordinators will be distributed;

    2. The Key Step document will also be sent to all Resident Coordinators;

    3. The job descriptions of the Resident Coordinators will be revised to include the duties outlined in the Guidance Note.

14. FICSA also requested that administrations ensure that the Facilitation Guide on AIDS and HIV-infection is distributed to all Resident Coordinators.

    VI. Post Exposure Prevention (PEP) treatment starter kits

15. Several participants reported that the PEP kits had been widely distributed, and were replaced when they expired. A request had been received from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for the kits.

16. Action required:
    Kit distribution and replacement will be continued; administrators will monitor their use.

    VII. Training of administrative staff in existing social security provisions

    The Task Force agreed that a generic curriculum needed to be developed.

    Action required:

    1. Basic training modules will be developed;

    2. UNAIDS will check whether the information booklet for staff has been translated into Arabic, Portuguese and Russian.

    VIII. Continuing prevention measures

    Discussions focused on the publication "AIDS and HIV Infection: Information for United Nations Employees and Their Families", its distribution and availability in languages, and the Facilitation package. The Task Force was informed that OHRM (UN) was developing an orientation programme for all staff that was available on CD-rom. The programme was four hours long. The HLCM Secretariat would look into the possibility of including a component on HIV/AIDS on the CD-rom.

    Action required:

    Follow up at next Task Force meeting.

    IX. Next Task Force meeting

    The Task Force agreed to hold its next meeting in May, prior to the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS.

    X. Round Table

    At the recent IAAG meeting, the possibility of a Round Table on HIV/AIDS in the UN Workplace was discussed. No follow-up action on this item was reported at the Task Force meeting, and the IAAG minutes recording the decision were not yet available.