Antecedentes

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 177 countries and territories, working with governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners that can bring about results.
 
The Bureau for Development Policy (BDP) is UNDP’s policy Bureau and backbone of the global practices. BDP has a key role to play in helping country offices to accelerate human development through strengthening the practice areas within UNDP’s programmes. BDP supports the development and design of projects that are responsive, effective and contribute to the national-level policies and results. Driven by demand, BDP provides tools, analysis and capacities for country offices to make a real difference in UNDP’s practice areas.
 
BDP supports UNDP’s 2008-2013 Strategic Plan, focusing on 6 thematic areas: Poverty Reduction, Governance, Environment and Energy, HIV/AIDS, Capacity Development, and Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.
 
HIV, Health and Development Approach
 
UNDP is a founding cosponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and a co-sponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP’s work on HIV, health and development leverages the organization’s core strengths and mandates in human development, governance and capacity development to complement the efforts of specialist health-focused UN agencies. UNDP delivers three types of support to countries in HIV, health and development.
 
First, UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Millennium Development Goals. For example, UNDP works with countries to understand the social and economic factors that play a crucial role in driving health and disease, and to respond to such dynamics with appropriate policies and programmes outside the health sector. UNDP also promotes specific action on the needs and rights of women and girls as they relate to HIV.
 
Second, UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights and health responses. Sometimes this is done through focused or specialized programmes, such as promoting attention to the role of legal environments (law and access to justice) in facilitating stronger HIV responses, including the use of flexibilities in intellectual property and human rights law to lower the cost of drugs and diagnostics and to increase access to HIV-related treatment. UNDP also works to empower and include people living with HIV and marginalized populations who are disproportionately affected by HIV - also known as key populations - such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people. Beyond these focused efforts, UNDP plays a key role in ensuring attention to HIV and health within broader governance and rights initiatives, including support to district and municipal action on MDGs, strengthening of national human rights institutions and increasing access to justice for marginalized populations.
 
Third, as a trusted, long-term partner with extensive operational experience, UNDP supports countries in effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multisectoral health projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time. The UNDP/Global Fund partnership is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on MDG 6 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding. UNDP partners with countries in crisis/post-crisis situations, those with weak institutional capacity or governance challenges, and countries under sanctions. When requested, UNDP acts as interim Principal Recipient in these settings, working with national partners and the Global Fund to improve management, implementation and oversight of Global Fund grants, while simultaneously developing national capacity for governments or local entities to be able to assume the Principal Recipient role over time.
 
Protecting and promoting the rights of people affected by HIV and marginalized populations is the cornerstone of effective AIDS, public health and development responses. UNDP supports countries to create an enabling human rights environment, promote gender equality, and address the HIV-related vulnerabilities and needs of women and girls. UNDP also works to respond to HIV among men who have sex with men and transgender populations, and supports legal frameworks including enabling trade and intellectual property legislation for improved access to affordable essential medicines and commodities.
 
As the lead agency on human rights and law within the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), UNDP led a high-level Global Commission on HIV and the Law in June 2010 to interrogate the relationship between legal responses, human rights and HIV. The Commission, launched by UNDP Administrator, focused its work on some of the most challenging legal and human rights issues in the context of HIV, the goal being to develop implementable, evidence-informed and human rights-based recommendations for effective HIV responses that protect and promote the human rights of people living with and most vulnerable to HIV. The Commission completed its work in July 2012, with the release of its final report ‘HIV and the Law: Risks, Rights & Health’ on 9 July 2012. This report includes analysis and recommendations on issues of intellectual property law and treatment access.  Commission follow-up activities, led by UNDP in collaboration with UN and civil society partners, at global, regional and country level are already underway and will continue through 2012/2013. These include normative policy/tools development work and technical and policy/advisory support for legislative reviews, national dialogues and action planning for law reform, judicial and Parliamentary sensitization and access to justice programming.
 
Objective:
 
Increasing access to affordable treatment for HIV and related co-infections in low and middle income countries remains a key aspect of UNDP’s work under the UNAIDS Unified Budget and Accountability Framework (UBRAF). The cost of treatment is often affected by intellectual property laws and policies. They are part of the complex set of factors that influence access at national, regional and international levels. As a founding co-sponsor of UNAIDS , guided by the health-related MDGs, particularly MDG 6; “to halt and reverse the spread and HIV, Malaria and other epidemics by 2015”, UNDP is mandated to provide support to governments in their implementation of policies and programs that protect the human rights of people affected by HIV. This includes providing, upon request: 
  • Policy and technical co-operation to assist countries to incorporate un use public health related TRIPS flexibilities to do so while in compliance with their international obligations; and
  • Capacity development assistance to national legislators, government offices and civil society actors on intellectual property, trade, innovation and public health.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Under the overall supervision of the Advisor on Human Rights, Law & Access to Treatment, the Consultant will: 
  • Support the work of the Policy Advisor on Human Rights, Law & Access to Treatment in designing and implementing national capacity development trainings on access to treatment low and middle income countries.
  • Respond to government and civil society requests to provide technical inputs into draft intellectual property laws, to ensure that public health concerns are adequately incorporated.
  • Support the UNDP BDP HIV/AIDS Practice by preparing background and concept papers, presentations, analyses and reports on the relationship between intellectual property and access to treatment in low and middle income countries, including as it relates to Commission follow up on issues of intellectual property law and treatment access.
  • Assist the policy advisor in fundraising and donor reporting activities.
  • Support requests for policy and technical support from UNDP country and Regional offices.
  • Undertake related activities on intellectual property, innovation and south-south co-operation as required by the HIV/AIDS practice of UNDP.
Specific Deliverables: The following specific activities still have to be undertaken: 
  • Based on preliminary analysis of the role of competition laws and policy on access to medicines, support the compilation of a publication on the use of competition law as a tool to reduce medicine prices.
  • In conjunction with UNDP staff and consultants, finalize a study examining the patent situation for key essential medicines in select low and middle income countries.
  • Complete a research Paper on HIV and access to treatment with a special focus on HIV co-infections.
  • Provide technical support in the organizing of national capacity development seminars on intellectual property, public health in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Expected Outputs:
  • The completion of  5 preliminary papers on competition law and access to treatment for HIV;
  • The finalization of a study examining the patent situation for key essential medicines in select low and middle income countries
  • The completion of a capacity development seminar on intellectual property and public health in Latin America and the Caribbean;
  • The production of relevant publications on access to treatment, for HIV and co-infections, innovation and intellectual property
Reporting: The consultant will regularly evaluate progress in meeting the set targets with the Advisor, Human Rights, Law & Access to Treatment.
 
Timeframe: The consultant’s assignment is office based and is expected to last 160 days starting from 22 October 2012 to 15 July 2013.
 
Evaluation: Applicants will be screened against qualifications and competencies specified below through a desk review or an interview process. Those selected for the next stage of the selection process will be reviewed based on: a cumulative analysis based on a combination of the Technical and Financial Scores.
 
Payment: The consultant will be remunerated following a time based payment (based on the number of working days to be paid at a consultancy daily fee rate).

Competencias

Corporate Competencies:
  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Functional:
  • An ability to manage concurrent tasks and competing interests
  • A clearly demonstrated knowledge of access to treatment and intellectual property as evidenced by a strong publications record
  • Excellent writing and editorial skills are essential
  • Relevant experience developing the capacity of civil society or government officials on intellectual property and access to treatment would be highly advantageous
Partnership building and team work:
  • Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills
  • Demonstrated flexibility to excel in a multi-cultural environment.
Communications and Advocacy:
  • A proven track record on legal research

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:
  • An advanced degree in international trade law, intellectual property law, international affairs, public health law and a knowledge of at least one of the other substantive areas
Experience:
  • A minimum of 5 years relevant work experience in the area of HIV, intellectual property, international trade and international law or a related field
  • Experience working at country level
  • Experience in programme management and resource development would be advantageous
Language:
  • Fluency in English is essential. Fluency in Spanish and French would be an added advantage
  • Excellent writing, research, analysis and presentation skills