GLOBAL Capacity Development
for Health
WHO WE ARE
OUR APPROACH
AREAS OF WORK
OUR IMPACT

Overview

UNDP's commitment to addressing HIV and other major health and development challenges is based on the principles that health is a driver for and an indicator and outcome of development.

Strategy

As outlined in the UNDP Strategic Plan 2022-2025, UNDP’s support to countries aims to eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions, accelerating structural transformation for sustainable development and supporting governments to build resilience to shocks and crises.

Capacity Development role

UNDP defines capacity development as the process through which individuals, organizations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time.

Partners

Strong partnerships are the cornerstone of UNDP's work to strengthen systems for health. In its support to countries UNDP works closely with other United Nations entities, development organizations, civil society organizations, the private sector, academia and key populations to develop resilient and sustainable systems for health.

UNDP-Global Fund partnership

The effectiveness of UNDP's model of health programme support, with its emphasis on end-to-end capacity development, is evident in the results of its long-standing partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund).

Overview

UNDP works with governments and partners to support the implementation and management of health programmes in challenging operating contexts.

Capacity Development of key partners

Implementing partners of health programmes require support and oversight to execute, manage and monitor their assigned roles effectively.

The Capacity Development plan

Whether in its role as an implementing partner managing large-scale HIV, TB, and malaria programmes funded by the Global Fund or as a technical assistance

Transitioning programmes to government

External donors have historically contributed a significant amount of financing for health programmes in low- and middle-income countries.

Health system components

Investments in resilient and sustainable systems for health lay the foundation for the effective and equitable delivery of HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.

Human rights

Human rights barriers include stigma and discrimination, punitive laws, policies and practices, violence, harassment, gender, and social and economic inequalities.

Key populations

People most affected by HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria are often the same people who are marginalised and have limited or no access to health care.

Gender

Gender equality is essential to achieving health and well-being for all, accelerate progress towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets and ensuring that no one is left behind.

Latest

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Strengthening access to health services for key populations

Key populations

Strengthening access to health services for key populations

 

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Overview

People most affected by HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria are often the same people who are marginalised and have limited or no access to health care. Widespread stigma and discrimination, violence and harassment, punitive laws, policies and practices, and criminalization of behaviours increase marginalisation, put key populations at heightened risks and undermine their access to services.

Who are key populations?

A group is deemed to be a key population if it meets all the following three criteria :

  1. Epidemiologically, the group faces increased risk, vulnerability and/or burden with respect to at least one of the three diseases – due to a combination of biological, socioeconomic, and structural factors.
  2. Access to relevant services is significantly lower for the group than for the rest of the population – meaning that dedicated efforts and strategic investments are required to expand coverage, equity, and accessibility for such a group.
  3. The group faces frequent human rights violations, systematic disenfranchisement, social and economic marginalization and/or criminalization – which increases vulnerability and risk and reduces access to essential services.

Commitments

The Global Fund Strategy 2023 – 2028 commits the Global Fund to:

  • prioritizing investment in evidenced-based programs for key populations
  • removing barriers to health services and providing support to secure their meaningful engagement
  • asking countries to prioritize programs for key and vulnerable populations in their funding requests, as well as through domestic commitments, based on country income context

UNDP’s approach

  • UNDP scales up rights-based solutions to improve access to HIV and health services for key populations at risk of HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria and other excluded groups, and eliminate sexual and gender-based violence.
  • It integrates programming for gender, human rights, key populations and other excluded groups in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) policies and programmes, leveraging UNDP’s governance and gender portfolio.
  • It strengthens the evidence base and capacities for the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) and other excluded groups.
  • It supports countries in social contracting, that is, the public financing of civil society service delivery, with a focus on key populations.

Guiding frameworks and examples

UNDP is guided by the following global frameworks and partner strategies in its approach and priorities for work with key populations:

Additional tools and resources are provided in the key resources section below. For more guidance on UNDP’s support to civil society organization (CSO) social contracting to expand health services for key populations, visit the Social contracting page.

Case study: Beauty pageants as a channel to address stigma towards transgender people in Tonga

In Tonga, social stigma and discrimination towards transgender people impeded their access to health services. In 1993, the Tonga Leitis Association started the Miss Galaxy Pageant as a platform to advocate for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and to raise funds for HIV awareness programmes. Through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) Multi-Country Western Pacific Integrated HIV/TB programme, UNDP co-sponsored the pageant in 2019 as a way to promote the social inclusion of transgender people and disseminate HIV prevention messages. As the pageant has become accepted in the country as a channel for entertainment, it has provided an

The project worked to improve relationships between key populations and service providers and access to non-discriminatory services. It also supported organizations to gain the experience, visibility and confidence to participate in policymaking bodies and advocate for the rights of key populations.

Story with more information here.

Case study: regional initiative to promote inclusive health service access and governance for LGBTI people

UNDP has been partnering in combating violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and promoting equality and inclusive development, through the regional “Being LGBTI in” programmes and the Inclusive Governance Initiative. For instance, UNDP partnered on gender legal recognition work in Thailand and Viet Nam, improving the normative framework for the treatment of transgender people in prison in Pakistan, LBT economic empowerment in the Philippines and LGBT youth entrepreneurship in Asia and the Pacific. The UNDP LGBTI rights country assessment for Cameroon was used to develop the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) application and the country key populations strategy. In Albania, UNDP supported the government to develop a health protocol for intersex children providing clear guidance for diagnosis, treatment, psychosocial support and voluntary surgeries at adult age with informed consent. In 2020, more than 400 human rights defenders benefitted from the capacity building implemented through the UNDP-led “Being LGBTI in the Caribbean” programme.

Case study: empowering young key populations in policies for HIV

UNDP’s Linking Policy to Programming project seeks to improve sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes for young key populations in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries of Angola, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The project is implemented in partnership with the African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR) and the Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research Division (HEARD) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

The project has supported numerous efforts to improve the capacity of young key populations and groups to effectively advocate for their HIV and SRH-related human rights. More than 15 skills-building training sessions have been conducted for nearly 300 people in the five countries. National advocacy working groups have been established and are operational to engage with national institutions and policy processes on rights and access to HIV and SRH services. With the support of the project, two new young key populations groups have been formed in Zambia – Zambia Intersex Society, and Decisive Minds.

To strengthen regional mechanisms on young key population issues, the project has supported the development and implementation of the Regional Strategy for HIV Prevention, Treatment and Care and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights among Key Populations. It has also supported the integration of young key populations issues into SADC parliamentary minimum standards for the protection of key populations in the context of HIV.

Read more here.

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