At this second meeting of the Task Force, the participants shared information on the situation concerning sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and on partners' activities in the Region, particularly in the Russian Federation. A discussion on the potential for national coordination of international assistance concluded that the government had ultimate responsibility for such coordination. The discussion brought to the participants' attention the need for a national strategic plan that would rationalize international and national inputs and serve as a channel for the work of the Task Force at country level. The Task Force could assist by serving as a channel for the international exchange of information that would help identify gaps, overlapping and inconsistencies. The participants discussed the potential for better coordinating or integrating STD services with other health services, particularly those concerned with women's reproductive health. It was agreed that introducing STD services into the primary health care package would help to place STD services on the health care reform agenda and offer better prospects of acceptability and sustainability in the long run

The European Region of WHO, and particularly the eastern part, is facing one of the fastest growing HIV/AIDS epidemics in the world. The number of HIV-infected women is steadily increasing, as is the transmission of the infection to newborns. Nevertheless, the high level of coverage with antenatal care, the availability of an extensive health care infrastructure, high literacy levels, the relatively low number of infections, and effective interventions to reduce mother-to-child transmission offer an opportunity to eliminate HIV infection in infants from the Region, and thus provide a model for the rest of the world. The challenge is to prepare health systems affected by economies in transition - and particularly maternal and child health services - to deal, in an integrated manner, with transmission of HIV infection to infants. This goes beyond clinical care and needs to include a range of care and protection issues, both in health institutions and in the community. The Strategic Framework for the Prevention of HIV Infection in Infants in Europe was developed by the UNAIDS cosponsors under the leadership of WHO, based on the experience of countries in the Region. The Strategic Framework outlines strategies for implementation at country level to achieve the global goals and those for Europe and Central Asia set out in the Dublin Declaration