Alliance holds UNAIDS international NGO consultation meeting on HIV prevention

10 March 2005

The Alliance held a two-day working meeting with civil society organisations on 7 and 8 March to share ideas, concerns and experiences in HIV prevention programming and provide collective input into the new UNAIDS HIV Prevention Strategy. The meeting was co-hosted with the Global Campaign for Microbicides, the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the International Harm Reduction Association.

The meeting was the final stage of a consultation process that started late last year. The Alliance, as a UNAIDS Collaborating Centre, was asked to facilitate a rapid electronic consultation on HIV prevention, to which a number of civil society organisations contributed. A great deal of enthusiasm was generated, with a report of the consultation, “Bringing prevention back to the forefront”, produced as a result.

Recognising that there was a need for more in-depth consultation with international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), UNAIDS has asked the Alliance to hold a follow up working meeting. This took place at the Alliance’s secretariat in Brighton, UK, on 7 and 8 March. The objectives of the meeting were to identify challenges in scaling up global HIV prevention efforts and to agree on a set of unified recommendations to inform the development of UNAIDS’ Global HIV Prevention Strategy. Invitees included representatives from 25 INGO’s working in the field of HIV/AIDS with a specific role in HIV prevention programming. They contributed their experience to identify key issues, problems and solutions.

A report of the meeting, which includes recommendations and calls for action from all organisations present, is currently being prepared for submission to UNAIDS by 15 March.