The German BACKUP Initiative’s aim is to enable government and civil society partners to use global financing more efficiently in order to implement measures for controlling HIV, tuberculosis and malaria more effectively and sustainably. The German BACKUP Initiative’s work centres on gender equality, integration into existing health systems, increased participation of civil society and on capacity development. In addition, five selected countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania) are comprehensively supported by BACKUP with the advocacy, planning, implementation and monitoring of gender-oriented HIV programmes. The German BACKUP Initiative takes an active role in the provision of technical support in strengthening health systems, based on WHO concepts. This part of BACKUP’s work is demand-driven, meaning that requests for technical assistance can be supported worldwide.

The BACKUP approach is characterised by flexibility, transparency and a partner-based focus. BACKUP advises and trains government and civil society partners – such as networks of people living with HIV or other key populations – in planning, implementing and monitoring activities, and in managing Global Fund money more efficiently and with full transparency.

The German BACKUP Initiative’s services include:

• Short and long-term seconded experts to provide process and technical consultancy to national, regional, international organisations and networks.
• Capacity development of government and civil society organizations.
• Subsidies for national government and non-government organizations to plan, implement and monitor technical support activities.
  GTZ country offices make an important contribution towards ensuring the quality of such bilateral projects, acting as a local contact point for partners and undertaking quality assurance tasks.

Advising and networking government and civil society actors is one of the German BACKUP Initiative’s key tasks. One way of doing this is through close cooperation with

• the World Health Organisation (WHO),
• the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS),
• the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and
• the International Council of AIDS Service Organisations (ICASO).

BACKUP also co-finances UNAIDS and WHO experts who are involved in developing international guidelines and training curricula, and adapting and implementing them in partner countries, particularly in the fields of HIV prevention, gender equality and HIV knowledge management. BACKUP additionally plays an active role in the UN Global Implementation Support Team (GIST).

www.unaids.org/...gist.asp

Together with the WHO, BACKUP supports the work of five regional HIV Knowledge Hubs and hub networks in sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The supported HIV Knowledge Hubs have so far enabled over 11,000 trainers, decision-makers and health personnel to have their knowledge upgraded in virtually all aspects of HIV management. This includes

• HIV prevention and safer-sex counselling,
• linking HIV with sexual and reproductive health,
• antiretroviral treatment of AIDS,
• provider- and client-initiated HIV testing,
• PMTCT (prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV),
• clinical management of HIV/TB co-infections,
• care in the community,
• harm reduction (including needle exchange and methadone programmes),
• gender-equality as well as
• HIV epidemiology and surveillance.