International HIV/AIDS Alliance and UNAIDS renew collaborating centre agreement

UNAIDS Director of Partnerships and External Relations, Elhadj As Sy, and Alvaro Bermejo, the Executive Director of the Alliance signing the renewed agreement

17 January 2008 – for immediate release

The Alliance and UNAIDS have renewed their commitment to work together to support the global efforts to reach universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services for all those in need, with the signing of a new agreement for the Alliance to act as a UNAIDS collaborating centre.

The previous agreement, which ran from 2004 to 2007, enabled, among other things, a strong civil society mobilisation for HIV prevention intensification, focusing particularly on empowering vulnerable women to lead the change on HIV and on underlining the key role of civil society in the national response and in the Three Ones principles.

The renewed partnership will focus on strengthening civil society responses to AIDS and aims to achieve the following objectives:

  • Promoting direct involvement and leadership of civil society responses to HIV – including people living with HIV and key populations.
  • Promoting human rights-based responses to HIV.
  • Mobilising country-level public, private and civil society partnerships.
  • Promoting evidence informed policy and good practice and the use of strategic information.
  • Building capacity to track, monitor and evaluate country responses within a single, agreed national framework.
  • Facilitating increased access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.
  • Facilitating access to technical and financial resources at country level.
  • Facilitating and supporting the involvement of civil society and people living with HIV in planning, implementation and evaluation of national HIV strategies.

“We are delighted with this renewed partnership that will scale up our community empowerment objectives and our joint impact on the HIV epidemic. The Alliance is committed to bring all its leverage in this partnership as part of its contribution towards universal access,” said Alvaro Bermejo, the Executive Director of the Alliance.

“A united front is vital these days as AIDS and the responses to AIDS continue to change at a considerable rate. Increased and more strategic collaboration is critical to securing greater impact, paving the way towards universal access,” said UNAIDS Director of Partnerships and External Relations, Elhadj As Sy at the signing of the renewed agreement.

Ends

Editor’s notes

  1. Established in 1993, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (the Alliance) is a global partnership of national organisations working to support community action on HIV in developing countries. These national partners help local community groups and other NGOs to take action on AIDS, and are supported by technical expertise, policy work and fundraising facilitated by the UK-based international secretariat and across the Alliance, in regional programmes and representative offices in the USA and Brussels. The Alliance also works on a range of international activities such as support for South–South cooperation, operations research, knowledge sharing, training and good practice development, as well policy analysis and advocacy.
  2. The Alliance has worked with community organisations from over 40 countries, and provided financial support to over 3,000 projects (implemented by over 2,000 community and faith-based groups). Expenditure in 2006 alone was over US $58 million (£30 million).
  3. More information about the work of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance is available from www.aidsalliance.org. Alternatively, and to arrange interviews, please contact Simon Moore. T: 01273 718744. E: smoore@aidsalliance.org or Rhian Evans. T: 01273 718961. E: revans@aidsalliance.org.