UNASO holds Regional Meetings ahead of the 2020 JAAR

On the 29th and 30th of July 2020, UNASO held regional meetings for West Nile, Eastern and Western Uganda to prepare CSOs in the three regions for the annual reporting cycle ahead of the upcoming 2020 Joint Annual AIDS Review.

Mr. Johnson Masiko, the UNASO Executive Director provided CSOs with an overview of UNASO as a network and coordinating entity for AIDS Service Organisations in Uganda and the achievements the organisation had realized to date. He also encouraged participating CSOs to subscribe to the UNASO membership after highlighting the benefits that accrue to paid-up members.

Mr. Tom Etii, the Public Sector Coordinator at Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) shared with participants details pertaining the upcoming JAR and the Partnership Forum. He emphasized the role of the regional CSO’s in realizing a successful JAR through submission of timely annual reports for UAC to capture their contribution to the national HIV response.

Mr. Etii explained in detail, the key sections of the annual reporting template, and as a result, the CSO representatives that had not submitted their reports committed to share them in due course.

Mr. Etii further shared the 2019 JAR undertakings that national and regional SCOs were mandated to make contribution to through their interventions.
Participants expressed gratitude towards UNASO and UAC for the commendable work in bringing regional CSOs on board to contribute towards the momentum and direction the national HIV response was taking.

On the last day of the meetings, UNASO held radio talk shows in all the three regions to highlight the progress the nation was making in the response and to emphasize the need for timely reporting especially for the purposes of the upcoming JAR. In total, over 60 regional CSOs were represented in the three meetings.