ICW Current Activities

Here we mention some of our main activities. If you want to find out more about our work then you can sign up for our email updates. Just contact emmaImageicw.org.

Past issues of ICW E-News:

Global Networking and advocacy

ICW's greatest achievement has been to reach isolated women living with HIV/AIDS and, through support, education and training, empower them to be involved in areas of service delivery and policy that affects their lives and the lives of their children and family. ICW has an excellent record of successful, productive and effective trainings and meetings for positive women. ICW's collaborative work with other organisations such as the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+), the International AIDS Society (IAS), International Council of AIDS Service Organisations (ICASO), UNAIDS, and various international NGOs, has continued and expanded. ICW's work in these fora focussed attention on HIV positive women across the world.

ICW is now the co-convening agency (with WHO) for the treatment and care arm of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS. The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS is an initiative made up of activists, government representatives, and community workers. Its efforts will focus on preventing new HIV infections among women and girls, promoting equal access to HIV care and treatment, accelerating research on microbicides, protecting women's property and inheritance rights and reducing violence against women.

Two examples of global advocacy and networking: 

  • LANDMARK GLOBAL CONSULTATION ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS OF HIV POSITIVE WOMEN AND MEN - The first global consultation led by people living with HIV to address their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and rights took place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 5-7 December 2007. The international group of 65 HIV-positive women, men, young people, and transgender people articulated a vision statement to guide advocacy, policy, legal, programmatic and funding priorities that respect SRH and rights, and that underscores the need for health systems to do the same. The landmark consultation, organized by the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW) and Young Positives with support from EngenderHealth, IPPF, UNAIDS, UNFPA and WHO, will be followed by LIVING 2008: The Positive Leadership Summit for people living with HIV, on 31 July and 1 August in Mexico City - http://www.living2008.org. Continued collaboration between the networks and supportive organizations will lead to a comprehensive advocacy, policy and programmatic guidance package for international, regional, and national stakeholders.
  • ICW MEMBERS INFLUENCE HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON PMTCT - On November 26-27, 2007 Governments, UN agencies, technical advisors, and civil society came together for a meeting in Johannesburg to support the scale-up of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS. ICW is a member of the Interagency Task Team that organized the meeting. The outcome of the meeting was a Consensus Statement agreed upon by governments and ICW worked to help positive women participate and organize in order to influence its contents. For example, ICW and UNAIDS organized a positive women’s pre meeting where positive women discussed issues that are faced in their countries regarding the prevention of mother to child transmission and they developed points to advocate around during the meeting. Positive women attended technical pre-meetings, presentations, and made interventions after presentations. ICW member, Florence Ngobeni-Allen, spoke at the Official Opening and Welcome and her statements were mentioned by several presenters throughout the conference. Several of the positive women who attended the pre-meeting were part of official government delegations and were able to influence them to include the concerns of positive women. The Consensus Statement also reflected several of the points that positive women raised. For example it takes specific note of challenges to scaling up quality, comprehensive programmes at all levels including stigma and discrimination, insufficient follow-up care, insufficient integration of PMTCT programs within broader health programs, and the impact of gender inequality and gender-based violence.

Regional Development and Networking

  • Regional networking, capacity building, policy and advocacy through the setting up of regional programmes.

Gcebile Ndlovu started work in April 2004 as Southern African Regional Coordinator based in Swaziland. Lillian Mworeko took up the post of East Africa Regional Coordinator in February 2005, based in Uganda. We hope to recruit an Asia Pacific Regional Coordinator soon.

Examples of recent regional planning:

  • An East Africa regional strategic planning meeting was held in Kampala in February 2008 which brought together staff and members from Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. The meeting was an opportunity to explore regional development in East Africa and establish a Regional Advisory Committee. Terms of reference were drawn up and the Committee is currently comprised of the chairs of the three currently existing country level Member Committees, in anticipation of the participation of representatives from other countries in the region in due course. Members at the planning meeting began to draft strategic goals to address these issues, focusing on capacity building, advocacy, meaningful involvement of women living with HIV and AIDS, creating partnerships and linkages, and regional development of the network, to be able to address identified regional priority issues of ACTS, SRHR, GIPA, economic empowerment, and stigma and discrimination, and the two cross-cutting themes of young women and violence against women.

  • ICW’s Southern Africa regional coordinator Gcebile Ndlovu and International Steering Committee member Lynde Francis hosted a three-day regional meeting in Johannesburg in August 2007 to explore issues affecting women living with HIV in the region, to explore models of organising and operationalising ICW Southern Africa at the national and regional level, and to develop a regional advocacy agenda and strategic plan. The meeting brought together ICW representatives from nine countries in the region marks a significant milestone in the move towards regional autonomy in Southern Africa, which the regional office has been working towards since its establishment and development, in line with ICW’s current International Strategic Plan. The meeting elected a new young woman ISC member from Southern Africa (Gledcia from Mozambique); established an interim regional steering committee; and drafted a strategic plan for the region.

For specific projects see below.

Participation in International Conferences

ICW's participation in international and national conferences, meetings, and global advocacy projects is a vital part of the organisation's work. Whether as co-organisers of conferences, or as individuals representing ICW at other events, ICW continuously advocates for HIV positive women's rights and brings their concerns to national and international arenas.

ICW is proud to have co-organised (with YWCA) the first day of the International Women's Summit (IWS) in Nairobi - a Positive Women's Forum for women living with HIV. Nearly 2000 women attending the IWS, up to a quarter were living with HIV and for once the voices and presence of positive women were felt by all. The PWF provided an opportunity for positive women to explore issues around young women, sexuality, participation, leadership, violence, access to care, treatment and support, economic (in)equality, gender, and the human rights of women and girls living with HIV and AIDS – including their sexual and reproductive rights. ICW also collaborated with allies Athena, Voices of positive Women, and Blueprint, to bring about the Women's Networking Zone in the “Sokoni” (market place) area, and one of a series of ‘Town Hall’ events taking place in different locations in Nairobi, which allowed for the participation of several hundred local women living with HIV who were unable to attend the conference.

Supporting international networking of HIV positive women

E-forum for ICW members: This started in February 2005. All ICW members with access to email are warmly invited to join. The e-forum is a useful way for ICW members around the world to share their work and to feed back on thematic issues. The e-forum discussions provide a consultation and communication mechanism for members, and feed into ICW’s policy submissions and advocacy work.

ICW News: Edited by Sue O’Sullivan. The most recent issue focuses on the International Women's Summit in Nairobi, 2007. This issue has just been distributed to our supporters and members and is also available online.

Website: We have has continued to keep the website up to date with postings from ICW members, staff and trustees, and regular additions of new publications and links. The website continues to get a very high hit-rate and consistently good feedback from readers.

New and existing members: Carmen continues to process new ICW membership applications (entering information into the membership database, preparing and sending new member packs), to update membership records with change of address or other data, and to respond to letters and emails received from existing members.

Face-to-face meetings and events: Wherever possible ICW seeks to bring members together at international, regional and national events. Whether it is trying to secure support for members to attend the International AIDS Conferences or bringing together our members for regional ICW planning meetings or national skills building workshops we know that our members benefit by sharing experiences face-to-face.

Current projects

HIV POSITIVE WOMEN MONITORING COMMITMENT TO THEIR RIGHTS

ICW is shortly to train HIV positive women to use our monitoring tool in Uganda, Lesotho and South Africa. The project, funded by Comic Relief and the Bethany Trust in Uganda and South Africa, offers a further opportunity to bring diverse groups together - HIV positive women, health providers and government officials - and to aid the latter two groups to think critically about the impact of their actions on HIV positive women. It also provides a valuable opportunity to reduce the isolation faced by the women living with HIV and AIDS, as well as being a chance to highlight issues that often get sidelined in work on HIV. Already the tool has been adapted for a number of research and monitoring programmes, for example:

  • Sexual and reproductive rights in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana;
  • Access to care, treatment and support in Namibia, Tanzania and Kenya;
  • Training on monitoring and advocacy with HIV positive Swazi women.

Please get in touch with ICW if you would like copies of reports from these programmes.

DEVELOPING ADVOCACY SKILLS OF YOUNG POSITIVE WOMEN
The latest in ICW's programme for yougn positive women brought together 30 young HIV positive women from the 13 regions of Namibia, in Windhoek, 21-25th of January 2008. Organised by ICW the workshop aimed to develop young HIV positive women’s awareness of their rights and their skills to realise those same rights through advocacy. The women were provided a space to exchange their personal experiences as young, HIV positive women living in Namibia today. On the final day of the workshop, once the women had improved their advocacy skills, they were given a unique opportunity to speak directly to policymakers and ask them what they and the government were doing to address their rights. The young women called for the following:

  • Research by and for HIV positive young women on our experiences of accessing rights and health, what service are available for us and what policies exist that address our concerns;
  • More information on the specific health issues and rights of young HIV positive women and raise awareness of our rights across Namibia;
  • Increase and improve services and policies for HIV positive young women;
  • Increase our involvement in decision-making processes. This will involve building our skills and our solidarity as young HIV positive women;
  • Ensure that enough resources are allocated to realise our goals.

ADVANCING WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY ON HIV
This exciting initiative aims to achieve greater and more meaningful participation of women, particularly women living with HIV/AIDS, in decision-making at all levels to ensure programs, policies and funding respond to the unique impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls. The initiative consists of two complementary components—the training component implemented by CEDPA and its partners, the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, the International Center for Research on Women, and the National Minority AIDS Council and the small grants program implemented through the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, UNAIDS. In March women from Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Latin America and the Caribbean, including 11 ICW members, gathered to develop the regional training curricula. Currently, for four weeks, another 20 women advocates, many of whom are ICW members, from around the world are taking part in the first training in Washington DC. The focus of this first workshop is on global advocacy and ICW ran three sessions on GIPA, sexual rights and reproductive rights (outlines available). The regional leadership trainings will be carried out in the ensuing months. Keep an eye on the ICW website for details about the workshops.


TACKLING HIV AND TB IN EAST AFRICA
ICW entered into a partnership with Treatment Action Group (TAG) to implement African activities of TAG’s TB/HIV project from May 2007 – 31 December 2008. The main objective of the project is to empower, train, and support African TB/HIV community advocates, community-based HIV activist organizations, and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) networks to incorporate TB/HIV priorities into their advocacy work and to accomplish the goals related to scale-up of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment towards universal access by 2010. Achievements include:

  • Participation in the writing and review of a TB/HIV Advocacy Tool kit.
  • TB/HIV Africa advocacy workshop in Uganda from the 25th – 28th Sept.2007.
  • Francophone Advocacy Meeting, Ivory Coast from Jan 5th – 9th 2008.
  • Participation in regional and international meetings to advocate for project aims.
SMALL GRANTS FOR POSITIVE WOMEN IN AFRICA

Women and Children’s Collaborative Fund for Treatment Literacy in Africa and ICW East Africa are coordinating the women and families project to review proposal to fund small grassroots organisations. Twenty-two grassroots organizations received funding in the first round and the second-round is currently taking place.

MICROBICIDES CAMPAIGN

Promise Mthembu began an involvement in this important area of work which will have a great impact on HIV positive women's sexual and reproductive lives. As a member of the Global Campaign for Microbicides, ICW has participated and presented papers on several Microbicides international meetings. ICW has successfully profiled and raised awareness of a need for Microbicides researchers, biomedical and social scientists researchers, and advocates to consider the special needs of HIV positive women in researching, developing, and advocating for Microbicides. ICW also has representation on the European and UK/Ireland branches of the Campaign.

UK projects

HIV POSITIVE WOMEN AND ASYLUM
ICW has recently entered into a partnership with Positively Women and Asylum Aid. Whilst primarily focusing on the UK, this project seeks to provide support for HIV positive women who are seeking or who have sought asylum. ICW’s main role will be on exploring sources of support in the country of origin and establishing links for support and advice for those women whose asylum claims fail or choose to return.

POZ-FEM – THE UK’S FIRST NETWORK OF WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV
Regional workshops have been held in Brighton, Liverpool and Edinburgh to present the network and recruit regional coordinators to volunteer to take the network forward. Further workshops are being held in Southampton and Glasgow. The first of a series of training workshops is planned for December 2006. This will bring together all regional coordinators and focus on the role of the coordinators, examining the terms of reference, carrying out a skills inventory, and looking at basic advocacy, facilitation and counselling skills. This workshop will include a needs assessment which will then inform the programme of training over the next two years.

Resources for ICW members on policy and advocacy

  • We are building up an advocacy resource, which is available on line. This Advocacy Pack includes information on different policy processes (such as the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, the 3 by 5, the Three Ones, and so on); positive women’s involvement in these; strategies positive women have used to ensure their meaningful involvement and impact.
  • Briefings and journal articles. ICW's Communications and Research Officer works closely with ICW’s Global Advocacy Officers, Regional Coordinators, ISO staff, trustees and members to produce articles for journals, or written statements for activists and policy makers, which aim to influence policy and practice, and raise awareness of positive women’s issues globally. These include articles for Novib’s newsletter, Equanet News and the Commonwealth Health Ministers' Reference Book, the South African Health Review and a background paper for WHO.

Media

Our Fundraising Officer is coordinating the development of ICW contacts with the media in the UK, as a vital element in raising awareness of ICW and the issues we work on, with a view to long term opportunities for fundraising in the UK.

Partnership development

ICW is developing ICW’s partnerships, including funding partnerships and advocacy partnerships.

Funding partnerships:

Our Fundraising Officer, with support from ICW staff, continuously liaises and builds relationships with current and prospective donors.

She advises on funding opportunities, and coordinates and supports the preparation and submission of proposals and budgets. She also manages the funding contracts we have with current donors, and ensures timely and accurate narrative and financial reporting.

Advocacy partnerships:

ISO staff have developed relationships with allied organisations including:

Two examples:

ATHENA network

ICW is a founding member of ATHENA, a network on organisations and individuals that came together in 2005 to constitute a new leadership force in the response to HIV and AIDS globally. The network recognises the imperative of addressing gender inequalities and gender-related rights violations in response to the pandemic through the voices of women and girls most affected by HIV and AIDS. The Network builds upon the work of individuals and entities who have been committed to this challenge for years, and intends to use coordinated, collective action to advance their efforts further. ATHENA is collaborating with ICW on the project Bringing Women Closer to Their Rights

YWCA partnership /collaboration (Supported by Norwegian Church Aid)

In 2004, ICW entered into a formal partnership with the World YWCA, when a YWCA member from Zimbabwe was selected for an internship in the London International Support Office (ISO) of ICW. The internship lasted two years, and helped to strengthen collaborations between ICW and the YWCA, and also strengthen and advance ICW’s mobilisation of young women activists living with HIV. During the second year of this programme, an ICW young woman member was selected to carry out a parallel internship in the World YWCA headquarters in Geneva. On the recommendation of the two interns, a further internship has been established in Uganda where a young YWCA member who is living with HIV has been coordinating the activities of positive young woman associated with the YWCA and strengthening the response to HIV from within the organisation, including the mobilisation of young HIV-positive YWCA members. ICW was also involved in helping YWCA co-organise the first International Women's Summit on AIDS.