Shaun Mellors (Alliance senior technical adviser for civil society development) and Anandi Yuvaraj (senior programme officer at Alliance India, pictured right) spoke alongside Philippa Lawson (Constella Futures), Bernard Gardiner (International Red Cross), and Jacqueline Rocha Cortes (advisor for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Health Brazil) at a symposium examining accountability in the HIV/AIDS response.
Shaun Mellors gave an insightful summary of developments in the global HIV movement starting from the years before treatment, which were characterised by fear but spawned the activism and networks that took the movement forward. Looking at the state of the movement today, he acknowledged the challenges facing it in developing better leadership and making the voices of the movement more representative of those affected and less dominated by men and developed nations. Philippa Lawson looked at 'past memories' of the epidemic, while Anandi Yuvaraj examined the civil society response in India.
Bernard Gardiner warned of the dangers of NGOs being reduced to silent contractors, but pointed out that in reality NGOs are already able to influence donors and policies even without a seat at the table. He also pointed out that NGOs and civil society have now gained representation at the Global Fund board level. Introducing the Code of Good Practice for NGOS responding to HIV/AIDS, signed by over 160 NGOs before its launch last year, he said it was a way to address both what should be done by NGOs in the AIDS response and also how it should be done. The code is now being taken to a new phase, with donors being invited to support its implementation.
Finally, Jacqueline Rocha Cortes looked at the Brazilian example where the federal constitution of 1988 guarantees that "health is a citizen's right and a state's duty", a stipulation that she said had made a big difference to the success of the Brazilian response, and which had been followed up in 1996 by Sarney's law which provided universal access to treatment.
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