HASAB (HIV/AIDS and STD Alliance Bangladesh) has become the Alliance’s latest linking organisation – rejoining the expanding global partnership after a gap of five years. HASAB was previously an Alliance linking organisation from 1994 until 2002.

Humanitarian organisations working in Myanmar should reassess their existing programmes and seek new ways of working together to better serve the people of Myanmar.  This is the message from a key group of humanitarian organisations working in Myanmar, resulting from deep concern over the recent events that have taken place.

In September 2007, Alliance country offices, linking organisations and other partners from Latin America and the Caribbean came together for blue sky week, an opportunity to plan strategically and to analyse achievements, challenges and trends in the region’s HIV response.

In an example of a broader initiative within the Alliance network, in September 2007 Alliance Myanmar visited Alliance India Andhra Pradesh to study experiences in and approaches to community mobilisation for sex workers.

For the last two years, the Alliance has been piloting a project to respond to the sexual health needs of men who have sex with men in North Africa and Lebanon. As the project draws to a close, Abbes – one of the project’s peer educators – shares his experiences, keen to tell us that even in environments where sex is taboo and same-sex intercourse illegal, promoting safer sexual practices for men who have sex with men can be done successfully.

The Alliance and the National AIDS Programme of Lebanon have been working with the organisations SIDC and Helem to address the medical and psychological needs of men who have sex with men in Lebanon. They have initiated a pilot project of a referral system among 15 NGOs and medical and social services in Beirut, which includes legal, health-care and social services, psychological support for men who have sex with men and free HIV counselling and testing.

A World AIDS Day exhibition by award-winning photographer Nell Freeman will feature photographs of the work of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Africa. Nell was inspired to hold the exhibition after visits to the Alliance’s work over the past year.

The Stop AIDS Campaign has launched a new campaign with the tagline ‘If not now, when?’ to pressure Gordon Brown’s UK government to use their new Department for International Development AIDS Strategy to show bold and ambitious leadership. Find out more about how you can get involved.