WHO HIVResNet is governed by a Steering Group and organized into 5 thematic working groups. 

The WHO HIVResNet Steering Group is a core group of approximately 20 members of WHO HIVResNet. It is the principal advisory body to WHO on HIV drug resistance. The Steering Group:

• advises WHO on strategies to tackle HIV drug resistance that are consistent with WHO’s mandate;
• steers implementation of the strategic objectives of the "Global Action Plan on HIV drug resistance";
• supports WHO in reporting progress on implementation of the Global Action Plan; and
• supports WHO in content development for its annual HIVResNet meeting, which leverages the expertise and experience of people contributing to the prevention, control and surveillance of HIV drug resistance.

The WHO HIVResNet Steering Group members and co-chairs are selected and appointed for 3 years by WHO, on the basis of their technical expertise and public health experience, balanced by geographical representation. The Steering Group includes the chairs of the 5 working groups and represents a range of disciplines, including those relevant to public policy development, surveillance epidemiology, implementation science, HIV virology/basic laboratory science, research and development, and public health and programme implementation. The Steering Group has no executive or regulatory functions. WHO convenes HIVResNet annually to review and discuss priority areas across all working groups. 

WHO HIVResNet Working Groups: 

1. Prevention and response – to support strategic objective 1 of the "Global Action Plan on HIV drug resistance", which aims to implement high-impact interventions to prevent and respond to HIV drug resistance. 
2. Monitoring and surveillance –  to support strategic objective 2 of the Global Action Plan on HIV drug resistance, which aims to:
   • obtain quality data on HIV drug resistance from periodic surveys, expanding the coverage and quality of routine viral load and HIV drug resistance testing to inform continuous HIV drug resistance surveillance; and
   • monitor quality of service delivery, and collect and analyse data recorded as part of routine patient. care for the purpose of evaluating programme performance to prevent HIV drug resistance. 
3. Research and innovation – to support strategic objective 3 of the "Global Action Plan on HIV drug resistance", which aims to
   • encourage relevant and innovative research, leading to interventions that will have the greatest public health impact on minimizing HIV drug resistance; and
   • fill existing knowledge gaps on the risk of HIV drug resistance for newer antiretroviral drugs and the impact of service delivery interventions, to increase viral load suppression and contain HIV drug resistance.
4. Laboratory capacity – to support strategic objective 4 of the "Global Action Plan on HIV", which aims to strengthen laboratory capacity, in order to support and expand use of viral load monitoring and build capacity to monitor HIV drug resistance in low- and middle-income countries. 
5. Governance and enabling mechanisms – to support strategic objective 5 of the Global Action Plan on HIV, which aims to ensure that governance and enabling mechanisms (e.g. advocacy, country ownership, coordinated action and sustainable funding) are in place to support action on HIV drug resistance.