Region: Global

GNP+ and the World AIDS Campaign supported the development of key advocacy priority messages and a briefing paper by and for young people living with HIV. These messages mean to inform the 2011 UNGASS process. These priorities were formulated based on results from an online survey with 168 young people living with HIV from 55 countries, as well as a literature review and interviews with several key informants.

Young people living with HIV want:

1. Universal access to treatment
2. No laws and policies that criminalise HIV transmission
3. Meaningful involvement into the rights and needs of young people living with HIV
4. Coaching in developing leadership skills
5. Safe disclosure

Available in English, French, Russian and Spanish

At the request of several missions, the Civil Society Coalition has put together a briefing paper on the language in the latest version of the Outcome Document. Based on the civil society declaration, the advocacy messages for member states missions, and briefing documents and letters put out by wider civil society, this briefing paper focuses on the most contentious issues in the negotiations in each of our  four categories: human rights, treatment, prevention, and funding.

This report is a cross analysis of PLHIV Stigma Index data from the research carried out in Estonia, Moldova, Poland, Turkey, and Ukraine, bringing a specific lens to bear on the issues regarding barriers to accessing testing and care. To read a summary presentation of the studies, you can view the presentation below.

The Human Rights Count! is an evidence-gathering methodology initiated and led by the Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+) to document HIV-related human rights violations against people living with HIV and convert the evidence into advocacy, policy and programmes.

The aim of the Human Rights Count! is to decrease the number of human rights violations against people living with HIV by coordinating evidence-informed advocacy against these violations.

This Information Sheet explains what the Human Rights Count tool is and how it can be used.

Available in English and French

From December 2010 to February 2011, GNP+ and ICW Global held a series of consultations with people living with HIV to gather their perspectives and personal experiences on how programmes and services that seek to prevent the transmission of HIV from a mother to a child should be organised and run. The recommendations from people living with HIV were shared with the Interagency Task Team (IATT) for Prevention of HIV Infection in Pregnant Women, Mothers, and their Children to support them in strengthening a strategic framework they are developing for the primary prevention of HIV among women of reproductive age and the prevention of unintended pregnancies among women living with HIV (components 1 and 2 of PMTCT).

The consultations revealed that greater uptake of PMTCT services is facilitated by the following:

• the decentralization of services to communities;
• the provision of accurate information, in a non-judgmental and supportive manner to people living with HIV and their partners;
• the recognition of individual rights when testing for HIV;
• the presence of peer support as part of post-test counseling and PMTCT programming;
• the education of healthcare providers on the rights of individuals accessing services;
• and the responsible use of language on sexual and reproductive health

For further information about the consultations held, the findings and the recommendations, please see the following reports:

• Vital Voices Factsheet
• GNP+ and ICW Recommendations on PMTCT Framework
• Appendix_B1_PMTCT_E-consultation_Report_April_2011
• Appendix_B2_PMTCT_FDGs_Report_April_2011
• Appendix_B3_PMTCT_E-survey_Report_April_2011
• Appendix_B4_PMTCT_Experts_Teleconference_Report_April_2011

Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention highlights the importance of placing the person living with HIV at the centre of managing their health and wellbeing. As a step towards operationalising Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention, GNP+ and UNAIDS have developed Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention: A Policy Framework (January 2011). The Policy Framework provides the broad concepts that represent the first steps towards operationalising Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention.

The Policy Framework informs the development and implementation of operational guidelines that reflect linkages between a wide range of policies and programmes aimed at supporting and improving the health, dignity and prevention needs of people living with HIV. The Policy Framework has been developed through intense consultation with networks of people living with HIV, civil society, governments, UN cosponsors and donors globally.

During the European Regional Red Cross & Red Crescent Conference in 2002 held in Berlin National Societies made a unanimous decision to focus on both HIV/AIDS and TB and to strengthen the network to support these activities. This was further reiterated during the 14th International AIDS Conference in Barcelona in 2002 when the Federation publically reaffirmed their on-going commitment and involvement in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

This is the first formal evaluation of ERNA (European Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies Network on HIV/AIDS &TB) since its formation in the late 1990s. It covers principally the previous 4 years (since 2007) and is based on terms of reference developed during the September 2010 General Meeting in Minsk, which include reviewing relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and impact of the network in relation to the ERNA Terms of Reference.

Available in English and Russian

Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention highlights the importance of placing the person living with HIV at the centre of managing their health and wellbeing. Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention: A Policy Framework (January 2011) was developed by GNP+ and UNAIDS through consultation with networks of people living with HIV, civil society, governments, UN cosponsors and donors globally.

The Policy Framework provides the broad concepts that represent the first steps towards operationalising Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention. The Policy Framework informs the development and implementation of operational guidelines that reflect linkages between a wide range of policies and programmes aimed at supporting and improving the health, dignity and prevention needs of people living with HIV.

Y+ is an autonomous network developed from the young people living with HIV programme (Y+ Programme), a GNP+ programme for and led by young people living with HIV (YPLHIV).

The Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) has established the Y+ Programme to address specific gaps in the HIV response and address the specific needs of young people living with HIV (aged 15-30).

Available in English, French, Russian and Spanish

Many acronyms are used in the HIV response, but none with more potential for creating positive change than GIPA – the greater involvement of people living with HIV. Translating principles into practice, and making them work within your organisation and programmes, can be challenging but needs to be at the centre of responses to HIV.

The guide offers support for translating the GIPA principle into practice at the programme level. It provides background information and practical strategies to help programme officers meaningfully involve people living with HIV in new and existing programmes.

Available in English, French and Spanish.

The GIPA Tree from the Good Practice Guide can also be downloaded separately below.

The Global Network of People living with HIV between July and September 2010 held a consultation with people living with HIV as part of a process to develop better indicators to measure HIV-related stigma. The consultation aimed to determine priorities for addressing stigma, to identify key indicators, and to enable measurement of progress in efforts to reduce stigma.

One of the main conclusions was that the development of these indicators should concentrate on the perception of stigma experienced by people living with HIV as a measurement of stigma toward people living with HIV. This in contrast with indicators generated through consultations with the general population, which were viewed as a weak proxy for consulting with people living with HIV themselves.

During the consultation over 500 replies were received to an online questionnaire in four languages – English, French, Spanish and Russian. In addition, in-depth semi structured interview were conducted with a sample of 19 people living with HIV. GNP+ would like to express its gratitude to all those people living with HIV that took part.

This consultation was funded by the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Advancing the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Human Rights of Injecting Drug Users living with HIV (GNP+ and INPUD, 2010) was developed by GNP+ and the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) in consultations with a reference group composed of people who use drugs living with HIV and activists. The report is based on the Guidance package on SRHR of people living with HIV.

Available in English, French, Russian and Spanish

Advancing the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Human Rights of Prisoners living with HIV (GNP+, 2010) has been developed in consultation with representatives from Australia’s National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS, Justice Action, a prisoners’ action group and a former manager of HIV services in prison. The document was authored by Kate Dolan, Program of International Research and Training, University of New South Wales, Australia.

Available in English, French, Russian, Spanish

Advancing the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Human Rights of Sex workers living with HIV (GNP+ and NSWP, 2010) was elaborated by GNP+ and the Networks of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) and is based on consultations with sex workers living with HIV conducted by the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW) and discussions with individual HIV-positive sex workers in other regions.

Available in English, French, Russian, Spanish

Advancing the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Human Rights of Men who have Sex with Men living with HIV (GNP+ and MSMGF, 2010) was elaborated by GNP+ the Global Forum on MSM and HIV (MSMGF), in close consultation with MSM living with HIV, including staff and steering committee members from MSMGF and staff from AIDS Project Los Angeles and MSM and other sexual health advocates around the world.

Available in English, French, Russian and Spanish

Advancing the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Human Rights of Migrants living with HIV (GNP+, 2010) was elaborated in consultation with people living with HIV through the African HIV Policy Network (AHPN), an umbrella of organisations from migrant communities in the United Kingdom. The document was authored by Ibidun Fakoyan.

Available in English, French, Russian, Spanish

GNP+ has engaged with different partners on HIV related entry, stay and residence restrictions. GNP+ engaged with the Civil Society Travel Restrictions Task Team, the travel and mobility group through the UNAIDS PCB, as well as the Global Fund, PEPFAR and others. Since 2008, GNP+ has been contributing to the Quick Reference Guide set up by Deutsche AIDS Hilfe.

Available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Slovak

To ensure a comprehensive approach to addressing HIV, the international community has been calling for sustained investments and increased efforts towards universal access to prevention, care, treatment and support. This includes significantly improving access to existing proven means of prevent­ing HIV transmission. At the same time, the world needs new prevention tools and technologies that will work with and complement existing prevention methods.

There are a number of global efforts under­way to develop new technologies to prevent HIV. Currently, there is research being con­ducted on vaginal and rectal microbicides, vaccines, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and the use of HIV treatment as prevention. Research into NPTs is a lengthy process that takes 12 years or more to go from laboratory and animal testing, to safety and efficacy studies, and through regulatory approval and post-marketing studies.

This toolkit provides a brief definition of each of the potential prevention tools being researched, gives an overview of the current state of research, and discusses their relevance for people living with HIV.

It then outlines research into prevention technologies that have had unsuccessful results—diaphragms and cervical barriers, and treatment for herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Finally, the toolkit provides an overview of the prevention technologies that we currently have at our disposal—female and male condoms, medical male circumcision, post-exposure prophylaxis and prevention of vertical transmission (sometimes called prevention of mother-to-child transmission or PMTCT)—and summarises recent findings about these technologies.

The state of HIV vaccine research (Andrea von Lieven, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative—IAVI)

How are HIV-positive people involved in vaccines research? (Anuar Luna, RedLa+)

The state of ARV-based microbicides research (Thomas Mertenskoetter, International Partnership for Microbicides)

Treatment-as-prevention models: What are the opportunities and challenges around treatment as prevention? (Edwin Bernard)

The state of PrEP research and preparedness (Cindra Feuer, AVAC)

PrEP hype and hope: What should make HIV-positive people worry or rejoice? What shouldn’t? (Ebony Johnson, ICW)

The role of normative agencies: What are the lessons learned from the engagement of HIV-positive people? (Chris Mallouris, GNP+)

Community engagement and advocacy, particularly in Africa (Samu Dube, Global Campaign for Microbicides—GCM)

The experience of HIV-positive women in Africa engaged in NPT efforts (Lucy Wambura, NEPHAK)

The case for rectal microbicides: challenges and opportunities for advocacy (Marc-André LeBlanc, International Rectal Microbicide Advocates—IRMA)

The landscape of sexual health for HIV-positive gay men (Jack Arayawongchai, APN+)