Topic: Marginalised communities

As the global networks of people living with HIV (GNP+, ICW and Y+ Global) we advocate for the rights of people living with HIV to improve their quality of life. We have seen the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on our communities and been frustrated by the inadequate responses of our governments and institutions. It doesn’t have to be like this. We know there is a better way.

This report looks at each of the three key pillars of universal health coverage (UHC) through the lens of our times. We look at the experiences of people living with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic and consider what lessons can be drawn from their experiences to help bring about the realisation of health for all.

The Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) demands Universal Health Coverage that:

1. Puts the last mile first – placing the needs of the poorest and most marginalised members of society at the start and centre, and transforming ‘leave no one behind’ from rhetoric to reality.
2. Builds comprehensive, people-centred and community-led and based systems for health – moving beyond narrow ‘health systems’ to a holistic approach that maximises and resources the unique role, reach and impact of community responses.
3. Embodies rights and equity – with legal and policy frameworks that address the full range of, and barriers to, social determinants of health, especially for key and affected communities.
4. Puts key and affected communities in the driving seat – listening to their needs, respecting their experience, and providing concrete opportunities to shape plans, packages and fiscal mechanisms.

The Board of the Global Fund is considering a policy that will cause the Global Fund to transition out from some countries in the CARICOM region and other Upper Middle Income Countries. Together with the Caribbean Regional Network we appeal to the Global Fund to preserve their financing. With high HIV prevalence and significant gaps in access to prevention, treatment, care and support, especially for key population living with HIV, cutting financing risks severely undermining the gains made in the HIV response.

The letter below was today delivered to the Global Fund Board.

Three decades after the first case of HIV was found in Nepal, HIV has become one of the most devastating diseases the country has ever faced. To date it is estimated that 40,000 people are living with HIV and nearly 4,000 have died of HIV-related illnesses in Nepal. Throughout this time, people living with HIV and key affected populations, have experienced and witnessed many violations of their human rights. The project, ‘Human Rights Count for Key Populations Living with HIV (KPLHIV)’, aims to document these violations, to aid advocacy against them and to devise long-term solutions.

In Kenya, networks of key populations and people living with HIV decided to focus on human rights violations among female sex workers living with HIV. Interviews with 30 sex workers living with HIV in six counties – Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu, Machakos, Kisumu and Busia – brought to the surface the many human rights violations female sex workers living with HIV face while accessing healthcare services, and violations by law enforcement officers.

Based on real life examples of violations, the Kenyan networks defined recommendations to promote the right to healthcare and access to justice, and to reform laws and policies.

This report examines the role of global-level advocacy in addressing HIV among key populations, including people living with HIV (PLHIV), people who inject drugs, sex workers, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Entitled “Global Action with Local Impact: Why Advocacy Matters,” the report details strategies used and outcomes achieved by five constituency-led global network organizations focused on key populations, providing numerous case study examples illustrating the concrete impact of advocacy at the global level.

The report focuses on global-level work conducted as part of the Bridging the Gaps program, an international multi-agency effort devoted to achieving universal access to HIV services and ensuring full human rights for key populations. Supported by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the program is a collaboration between five Dutch-based organizations, five global key population networks, and 80 grassroots organizations across 16 countries.

The report includes principles of practice for global advocacy and a detailed theory of change depicting causal chains that lead to improvements in health and human rights for key populations. Numerous examples of global advocacy are included with a focus on concrete results of global advocacy initiatives. All work featured in the report was conducted by Bridging the Gaps global partners: the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), the International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD), the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), the MSMGF, and the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC).

More information on each of the other global key population networks featured in the report can be found on their respective websites: INPUD (www.inpud.net);  NSWP (www.nswp.org); the MSMGF (www.msmgf.org); and ITPC (www.itpcglobal.org). 

When it comes to HIV care and support, making better decisions matters to all of us.

Ethical decision-making:

• It matters to all people with HIV, including key populations and their children; and
• It matters to care workers who want to make the best possible decision.

If you want to make the best possible decision—or wish that the organization that supports you would improve its decision-making—now there’s a simple tool that can help, available in English, French, Spanish and Russian.

This study is a concerted effort by APN+ to tell and make sense of the stories of positive MSM and their relationships with HIV, society and culture in the region. By focusing on community participation from the onset of study design to implementation, this study encourages mutual understanding by engaging positive MSM communities in the region and providing them safe spaces to tell their stories. By doing so, we have attempted to meet individuals and communities at their own levels, and facilitate a deeper understanding of their relationship with HIV.

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