The Global Consultation took place in Vienna on 16-17 October 2014. Opened by UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, the Consultation provided a dynamic space for dialogue and sharing of experiences concerning HIV prevention, treatment, care and support in prison settings.
The two day Consultation brought together heads of national prison systems and heads of national AIDS programmes from 27 key countries around the globe, representatives of the Permanent Missions in Vienna, UN organizations (UNAIDS, WHO, UNDP and UNESCO), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and relevant civil society organizations including Harm Reduction International, International Network of People who Use Drugs, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Global Network for Sex Work Projects.
UNODC Deputy Executive Director, Director of Division for Operations and Global Coordinator for HIV/AIDS, Aldo Lale-Demoz, set off the first day of the consultation with an analysis of the global situation of HIV in prison settings, and demonstrated the high HIV burden among people living in prisons compared to the general population. During the two-day consultation, the UNODC, ILO, UNDP, WHO and UNAIDS Comprehensive Package for HIV Prevention, Treatment and Care in Prison Settings, recommending 15 key evidence-based interventions, served as a backdrop for the discussions.