Activism

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.

Since people living with HIV/AIDS and their allies took to the streets in Durban, South Africa during the international AIDS conference in 2000, we have refused to be told that our lives are expendable and AIDS treatment is only for those who can afford to purchase antiretroviral therapy (ART).

We have made great strides together in these past seven years--thousands of African men, women and children are now receiving ART and are living healthy and productive lives.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, September 1, 2006: Despite the threat of violence amidst continuing arson attacks and gun battles in Port-au-Prince's poorest neighborhoods, hundreds of women victims of rape will march through the capital today with faces veiled to raise their voices against ongoing violence and discrimination against women. The march will begin with a rally at 10 am in Place Jérémie.

The march is organized by the Commission of Women Victims for Victims (KOFAVIV), the largest community-based rape crisis group in Haiti. Marchers will take their cry for justice to the Haitian Government by visiting the Ministry of Justice, Ministry for Women, National Palace and Parliament.

The Reasons Makhwapheni Campaign is not good in our opinion as PLWHAs in Swaziland

We have learnt with dismay that the National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS (NERCHA) has commissioned a campaign aimed at behaviour change called Makhwapheni. We, on behalf of women and people living with HIV/AIDS, want to categorically state that, the people in particular the women living with HIV/AIDS are responsible citizens of the Kingdom of eSwatini.

International NGO Solidarity Statement:
Activists Demand Suspension of Negotiations and End to TRIPS-plus IP Provisions
January 9, 2006
International NGO Solidarity Statement: US-Thai Free Trade Negotiations Threaten Access to Medicines; Activists Demand Suspension of Negotiations and End to TRIPS-plus IP Provisions

Read more for an online petition calling for the British government to do more to help women survivors of the Rwandan genocide who have contracted HIV/AIDS as a result of the concerted campaign of rape and sexual violence in 1994. The petition calls for the British government to pressure international pharmaceutical companies to make antiretroviral treatment more affordable, or better free, for the 16,000 women survivors of the genocide living with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda today. The petition organisers are hoping to secure enough signatories to be able to submit the petition to Downing Street on the eve of the 100th day of the commemoration on Friday 16th July.

Please read the article below for initial comments made by ICW East Africa trustee, Dorothy Onyango and ICW chair Alice Welbourn to WHO at a meeting in Geneva, where WHO launched its draft business plan. We welcome all ICW members' additional comments on this WHO business plan, so that we can forward them to WHO HQ.

Request to all policy-makers, donors, international networking organisations and supporters to support ICW's principle of official representation

It's time to shift our thinking to begin to see young women as resources, as carrying a piece of the puzzle that carries important information. Young women are victimised, but they are not just victims. The skills they have learned to develop in order to survive in a world that places such societal meaning on their bodies and behaviours are the very skills that can help fight AIDS.

HIV-positive women are some of the most vocal advocates for microbicides. Microbicides would represent an important and necessary tool in positive women's lives, by protecting reproductive health and promoting healthy sexuality. Women living with HIV face the challenges of the epidemic daily, and offer a unique perspective on the broad impact microbicides could have in their lives.