A/HRC/29/35 challenges have generated a similar set of reactions. 12 Multiple stakeholders and partners, including the United Nations, governments and civil society organizations, have laboured, and continue to do so, in a spirit of shared and global responsibility, to combat the epidemic. The disease spurred local initiatives for the protection of the human rights of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged peoples and prompted remarkable international solidarity between the global north and the global south. 13 25. The challenges that arise from epidemics such as HIV/AIDS demand that peoples, nations and the international community tackle governance differently, to yield positive outcomes, while at the same time taking fully into account respect for, and protection of, human rights. The nature of the disease and the scale of the epidemic have spurred governments and local people to be more responsible and resourceful in governing themselves in order to ensure that national priorities are aligned with shared international commitments, not only to combat HIV/AIDS but also to promote health, development and human rights. In 1987, the World Health Organization (WHO) took on the lead responsibility for AIDS in the United Nations and set up the Special Programme on AIDS, which subsequently became the Global Programme on AIDS. In response, an unprecedented 160 countries rapidly set up national programmes to combat HIV/AIDS. 14 As a national priority in the worst affected countries, the programmes for the treatment of the disease were expanded to include prevention, along with social support for affected groups down to the community level. It was at that point that the direct repercussions of AIDS on social, cultural and economic development became apparent. HIV/AIDS was not simply a disease but a social and economic handicap that hindered development. The need for a broader response at the international level led to the creation in 1995 of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), whose establishment was coordinated by WHO. UNAIDS has been in operation since 1996 and coordinates the efforts of the United Nations family of agencies and organizations. It spearheads global action to help the world prevent new HIV infections, care for people living with HIV and mitigate the impact of the epidemic. 15 26. UNAIDS is tasked with putting together the global response to an epidemic of a dreaded and highly stigmatizing disease, whose ramifications affect all human rights and extend across virtually all aspects of society. 16 The International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, first developed in 1998 by UNAIDS and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, are a tool for States to use in designing, coordinating and implementing effective national HIV/AIDS policies and strategies. As a human rights-based response to HIV/AIDS, the Guidelines rely on broad approaches such as support and increased private sector and community participation to respond ethically and effectively to HIV/AIDS.17 However, there are still no data regarding the implementation of the guidelines and their effectiveness in achieving expected outcomes. Global AIDS Response Progress Reporting provides in-depth information on collating data and undertaking subsequent global AIDS response progress reporting. The collection and 12 13 14 15 16 17 10 See UNAIDS, AIDS at 30: Nations at the crossroads, available from www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/aids-at-30_1.pdf. IbidError! Hyperlink reference not valid.. M.Caraël, Twenty Years of Intervention and Controversy, 2006.Available from http://rds.refer.sn/IMG/pdf/06CARAEL.pdf See www.un.org/ga/aids/ungassfactsheets/html/FSUNworks_en.html. See data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/JC1579_First_10_years_en.pdf. See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/HIV/Pages/InternationalGuidelines.aspx.