Data, Principles and Strategies: How Do Global Control Mechanisms on the HIV Epidemic Work?

Abstract

The article discusses the activities of two United Nations bodies - the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS(UNAIDS) - which are engaged in developing measures to counteract the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. An important component of this activity is gathering information and producing strategic documents. Their almost unclassifiable diversity, however, can be managed by a rigorous algorithm that incorporates data collection, formulation of principles and development of strategies. An analysis of materials such as “reports,” “fact sheets,” and “global strategies” reveals how the main global mechanisms work as they coordinate the efforts of national governments and attempt to control the epidemic globally; analysis also indicates what kind of language is used and what goals are set. In 2020 the ambitious goal of eliminating the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030 that is declared in WHO and UNAIDS documents unexpectedly became problematic once more due to the spread of another global epidemic - COVID-19. The publication of new materials on how to continue the fight against HIV/AIDS in the context of the coronavirus pandemic suggests that WHO and UNAIDS are already losing faith in the effectiveness of the measures so far developed in order to eliminate HIV/AIDS. The ongoing crisis caused by the COVID pandemic has also revealed a new trend by converting these UN bodies mostly into tools for producing global information while making other aspects of their activities less visible.