The world around us is constantly changing. Some of these changes happen so incrementally that we do not realise they are happening. I cannot remember how we spent our days before the era of the internet. It slowly took over the world, and now we cannot imagine what we would do while we’re waiting for public transportation, or while sitting in a doctor’s waiting room. We often forget that it is not only the world that is changing, but that we are also, both as a society and as individuals. We no longer perceive the world as it used to be.
Similarly, the global development landscape is rapidly changing. Most of us remember the era of the Millenium Development Goals, and while it’s still fresh in our memory and in the way that we articulate in our proposals to donors how our work contributes to its goals, the world moves on. Now the world is obsessed with “moving beyond silos”, and the interlinkages between the economy, environment and equality as expressed in the Sustainable Development Goals.
And just as we, individually and as a society, change in the face of new developments, GNP+ as an organization must change along with the evolving global development and health landscape. In 2018, GNP+ launched a new Strategic Plan that aims to tackle three priority issues that influence the lives of people living with HIV: access to treatment and services, stigma and discrimination and the engagement of people living with HIV in efforts to increase the quality of our lives. While in some parts of the world, the daily situation for people living with HIV has improved, in most parts of the world, it has not, and in some places, the quality of life for people living with HIV has deteriorated.
Early in 2019, the GNP+ Board appointed me as the Executive Director to deliver on the new Strategic Plan and to serve our global communities. I took on the work knowing that the organization required significant transformation. GNP+ needs to change not in terms of of who we are, or what we do, because GNP+ will always be a global network of, by and for people living with HIV. However, changes are necessary in how we deliver on our mission and serve our constituents as we grow. The organization has been evolving over the last four years to find the most effective governance, operational modalities, and strategy within the global architecture. We are deeply grateful for the time, investment and energy that so many talented people have given to GNP+ so far. We now need to make sure we have the right people in the right places doing the work on priority issues that can make an impact in communities where systematic change is most needed.
Over the next eight months, GNP+ will implement internal changes to help our organization’s ability to deliver on our strategic vision as we expand. We ask for your support during this time of transition; we are confident that with the support of GNP+’s key allies and skilled management, these changes will result in a stronger movement of people living with HIV around the world.
Rico Gustav
GNP+ Executive Director
