Community Led Monitoring Project Associate

Mission and objectivesThe Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 cosponsor’s organizations and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. UNAIDS established its office in Nepal in 1996. Since its establishment, UNAIDS has worked at building linkages that address effective design and implementation of HIV/AIDS programmes in Nepal. It has been providing a technical assistance to the country in programming scale up in prevention and treatment, care and support areas, by engaging broad partnerships and supporting expanded targeted interventions for most-at-risk populations. It has recognized the importance of developing systematic linkages between policy support at the central agencies; capacity building at the provincial level, and direct intervention at the micro level (villages and communities) in achieving maximum impact. KEY FOCUS AREAS • Ensure that the people receiving Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) continue to do so; • Provide a platform for expressing any potential challenges that may be faced in accessing essential HIV services; • Work with the Government of Nepal and other key partners to ensure continuity of HIV services at all levels (while taking care to adhere to relevant safety precautions); • Promote innovative HIV testing approaches to enhance the progress towards ending AIDS by 2030 (particularly focusing on key affected populations); • Promote enhancement of community led approaches to increase the uptake of critical HIV and related services, with the view to eliminate vertical transmission of HIV and expand improved ART outcomes; • Proactively coordinate external financial and technical resources for an effective national HIV response; • Work with civil society organizations, including people living with HIV/AIDS, to increase their capacity and meaningful involvement in the national HIV response

ContextNepal has a concentrated HIV epidemic, with an estimated 30,000 people living with HIV (PLHIV) and an adult prevalence rate of 0.11%. Key populations, including female sex workers (FSW), transgender individuals, men who have sex with men (MSM), people who inject drugs (PWID), prisoners, and migrants, are at the center of the national HIV response. In addition to HIV, tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant public health challenge. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Nepal has an estimated 70,000 TB cases (95% UI: 43,000–117,000), with 18,000 deaths (95% UI: 9,000–29,000) occurring among HIV-negative individuals (Global TB Report, 2023). Recognizing the need for a strategic and targeted response, Nepal’s National HIV and TB Strategic Plans were developed through extensive stakeholder consultations. These plans outline priority interventions aimed at ending TB and AIDS as public health threats by 2030. A critical component of Nepal’s HIV and TB response is community-led approaches, including Community-Led Monitoring (CLM), which enhances service quality, accountability, and access. CLM is led by communities, who systematically collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data on HIV, TB and related service delivery. By identifying gaps in access, stigma, and discrimination, CLM ensures that services align with national policies and international best practices. Since 2022, UNAIDS, has been implementing CLM initiatives in 14 districts of Nepal. These efforts have reinforced community ownership, engagement, and data-driven advocacy, strengthened coordination between government, civil society, and development partners to advance HIV-related goals. Building on this progress, UNAIDS and UNDP have committed to jointly supporting CLM implementation under the Global Fund Grant Cycle 7 (February 2025–July 2027). This collaboration will expand community-led oversight into HIV and TB services, ensuring sustained improvements in service delivery, policy advocacy, and resource mobilization. The following are the focus areas of the CLM project: ● This project will specifically target the HIV service beneficiaries to increase the quality of treatment and related outcomes in selected districts; ● To ascertain that all known HIV positives people are linked to HIV treatment and related services; ● Ascertain whether follow-up is being undertaken at the community level (treatment adherence, lost to follow-up reengaged); ● Assessment of barriers, design of interventions to bridge gaps; ● Skills training in communications for effective advocacy, resource mobilization, bookkeeping and related financial skills, M&E, reporting/documentation for focal points in selected districts (This will be linked with PEPFAR ongoing project on financial sustainability); ● Evidence-informed CLM advocacy is used for shared decision-making to improve services and increase service uptake.

Task DescriptionUnder the direct supervision of UNAIDS Country Director, and in close coordination with CLM Team, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: • Support the CLM Team for on-going project needs and take action requiring immediate attention; • Support to review and revise the CLM tools for field level data collection; • Provide support in organizing workshops and training as required, and prepare brief report and share with CLM Team; • Support in reviewing monthly narrative reports received from implementing partners; • Support the compilation and analysis of CLM data and review and prioritization of key findings from the collected information to be utilized for advocacy purposes; • Conduct field visits with the CLM team (as needed) to monitor the implementation of CLM activities in line with the approved workplan, and prepare detailed field observation notes accordingly; • Assist in preparing and timely submissiting the periodic technical reports on CLM Initiative to internal and external partners. • Any other work assigned by the Country Director and the CLM Program Officer.

Competencies and values ☒ Building Trust ☒ Commitment and Motivation ☒ Commitment to Continuous Learning ☒ Communication ☒ Creativity ☒ Empowering Others ☒ Ethics and Values ☒ Integrity ☒ Knowledge Sharing ☒ Managing Performance ☒ Planning ☒ Respect for Diversity ☒ Vision ☒ Working in Teams

Living conditions and remarksNepal is a small, beautiful landlocked country nestled on the Himalayan range among China, India and Bhutan. It is home to eight out of the 10 highest mountains in the world. Kathmandu, its capital is a small bustling city, rich in culture, filled with historical sites and inhabited by some of the most welcoming people in the world. Currently Kathmandu is undergoing rapid growth, being one of the fastest growing cities in south Asia. As with all rapid growth and development, comes a spike in pollution levels. According to the WHO’s most recent health and environment scorecard (2022), Nepal is 7 times the WHO air quality guideline value for PM2.5. While human factors have led to the elevated pollution levels in Kathmandu, geographical factors have also played a role given that the city is situated in a location that places it deep within a valley with many mountain ranges around. However, air quality monitoring stations have been put in place to mitigate existing air pollution in the country, and there is a reduction in the amount of diesel fuel vehicles and open burn sources. According to IQAir survey in 2019, the months with the worst readings are January through to May, with August being was the cleanest month. Given these pollution levels, sensitive groups are advised to reduce outdoor exercise, wear a mask outdoors, close windows to avoid polluted outdoor air and run air purifiers. Kathmandu is classified as a B duty station and is considered relatively safe. Peaceful protests are common across Kathmandu Living conditions in Kathmandu are good. Different types of long-term accommodation are available in Kathmandu: standalone houses, houses in gated compounds, apartments. These could be furnished and/or fully serviced, or unfurnished. ROSA can assist with securing an agent for the search for suitable accommodations. The UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. Both imported and local foods are available. Water supply shortages are common and while it is also not safe to drink water without treatment, bottled water is easily available. Traffic congestion can be high in certain areas, but public transport, especially taxis, is available and generally reliable. Kathmandu has a moderate climate with the coldest temperature reaching around 0 degrees Celcius at night during the winter and mild but humid weather between mid-June and end-September.