The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Office in Thailand was first established in year 2000. In Thailand, UNAIDS operates through the UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS and the UN Technical Working Group o HIV/AIDS. The roles and responsibilities of these bodies share common elements and reflect the global mandate of UNAIDS. These include: • Advocacy for political commitment, multisectoral involvement and appropriate policies, • Technical and financial resource mobilization, • Information dissemination, exchange and sharing, • Collaboration and coordination amongst co-sponsors, national stakeholders and international partners.

UNAIDS plays crucial roles in helping Thailand maintain its success and face new challenges in its response to HIV/AIDS. UNAIDS co-sponsors (UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO, World Bank and WFP) are united behind a “UNAIDS Joint Plan of Action 2002-2006”, which is designed to facilitate the implementation of Thailand’s National Plan for the Prevention and Alleviation of AIDS (2002-2006) through more effective coordination within the UN System, and with government, development partners, civil society and the private sector, as well as increased advocacy to enhance national action on persistent challenges and to sustain the positive trends that Thailand has achieved in controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It also collaborates on a number of joint advocacy initiatives.

The UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS in Thailand is made up of representatives from UNAIDS cosponsoring agencies that are empowered to make decisions at meetings chaired by the annually rotated chair from each cosponsor. It was initially established as a core group of the UNAIDS co-sponsors’ Heads of Agencies, but it has recently and progressively expanded at its quarterly meetings to include representatives of other UN agencies, international and national non-governmental organizations, and the Royal Thai Government.

The UN Theme Group in Thailand is currently chaired by Mr. J.K. Robert England, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative.

The Technical Working Group composes of HIV/AIDS Focal Points from each cosponsor.PHP has encountered an Access Violation at 01800AFD It serves as a technical forum to prepare technical inputs and meeting agendas for the UN Theme Group and was established to address important issues that add value to the national response.