Developing organisations and challenging stigma in China
10 May 2006
Building on Alliance support for three projects in Guangxi and Yunnan that enable groups of people living with HIV/AIDS to deliver treatment education to their peers, this year the Alliance in China began a process of capacity building to help groups develop their organisations and address stigma.
With support from the Levi Strauss Foundation and the Ford Foundation, the Alliance held a workshop in January for leaders from seven groups of people living with HIV/AIDS from across China. The workshop covered:
- the adaptation of a community-based organisation capacity analysis tool for local use
- the development of a training curriculum on understanding and responding to HIV/AIDS stigma
- an exploration of participatory management styles and structures for local community-based organisations.
A follow-up workshop was held in April to provide facilitation skills training and develop individual work plans for each group to design an activity to address stigma.
The sustainability of the contribution of the community of people living with HIV/AIDS to China’s response to AIDS depends on developing organisations with clear missions and structures that facilitate accountability and broader participation. By running an organisational development process alongside a process to build capacity to address stigma, the Alliance aims to build sustainability into programming.
