Tony Blair and Clare Short visit community HIV/AIDS project in Dakar, Senegal
Press Release 10th February 2002
Local representatives call for more investment in community-government partnerships to fight AIDS in Africa
On 10 February 2002, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, along with UK Secretary of State for International Development, Clare Short, visited RNP+, the Senegalese national network of people living with HIV. RNP+ is an excellent example of how partnerships between community and government can lead to effective programmes to tackle HIV/AIDS in Africa.
RNP+, a network of eight Senegalese associations of people infected and affected by HIV, aims to co-ordinate the activities of member associations, and to help create associations of people infected and affected by HIV in places where they do not yet exist. The full involvement of people living with HIV is a key part of the response to HIV/AIDS, helping to fight stigma and discrimination which are barriers to effective prevention and care work.
According to Baba Goumbala, Executive Secretary of ANCS (the Alliance nationale contre le Sida au Sénégal), RNP+ "reflects the kind of success that can be achieved with a combination of community action and government leadership, with financial and technical support from outside". And he calls for an increase in financial and technical support for community based programmes, which should be at the forefront of the response to HIV/AIDS in Africa.
The national AIDS programme provides financial support for the network's premises and running costs, and provides guidance for the key strategic objectives. ANCS, with its experience in supporting community associations, provides financial support for programme activities, and technical support for programmatic, organisational and institutional development. ANCS is supported by DfID, USAID and other donors through a UK charity, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
The success in Senegal is not grounds for complacency, however, points out Jeffrey O'Malley, Executive Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance. "It is essential to remember that the fight against AIDS in Senegal is not yet over. The combination of factors that have made it a success story - including external financial support to community action - must be sustained."
For more information, contact: Baba Goumbala, Executive Secretary, ANCS: +221 (0) 645 3799
Jeffrey O'Malley, Executive Director, International HIV/AIDS Alliance: +44 (0) 1273 718909
