International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 26 September 2003
Andrei Neacsu in Nairobi

Here, where the 13th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (ICASA) is being held, pharmaceutical companies display information about their latest progress in perfecting the anti-retroviral drugs known to considerably prolong the life of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).

Traditional healers, dressed in multicoloured traditional outfits - some coming from as far as the "American Far West" û socialize with gentlemen in smart tailored suites or casual dressed young Europeans. All have the same concern: finding the best way to defeat the pandemic.

Francoise Le Goff, the International Federation's head of regional delegation in Nairobi, believes that "building more partnerships with People Living with HIV and AIDS is the surest and fastest way to stem the epidemic and bring much needed support to vulnerable members of the community".

Le Goff speaks from experience. The Federation is among the few to have established global and regional partnerships with the Global Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (GNP+) and the Network of African People Living with HIV and AIDS (NAP+). It now endeavours to extend these relations between Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and national associations of PLWHA.

"At the heart of our approach stands the principle of Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV and AIDS (GIPA) in every action aimed at both reducing stigma and discrimination and providing health and care to those living with the virus," says Dorothy Odhiambo, a senior partnership HIV/AIDS officer with the International Federation.

Odhiambo embodies the policies and commitments of her organization. The 40-year-old Kenyan teacher became of member of the Nairobi regional delegation not only because of her professional skills, but also because of her pioneering work in building the NAP+ in the early nineties.

Odhiambo shaped the organization's workplace programme and, as an Ambassador of Hope, is an active developer of partnerships between associations of PLWHA and Red Cross Red Crescent societies.

During the ICASA meeting she has been sharing her experiences during her latest Ambassador of Hope mission to Sudan, where she helped create a partnership between the Sudan Red Crescent and the local association of PLWHA.

"Despite the authorities' efforts, the levels of discrimination against people living with the virus in Sudan are unimaginable even for a country like Kenya. It is only through such partnerships that we will, with time, reverse stigma and strengthen the place of PLWHA in the civil society." says Odhiambo.

Anecdotal information suggests that in Sudan people may even be jailed for being HIV-positive. A sad reality is that in hospitals, people suffering from AIDS are put in isolation wards away from other patients. Many are said to have lost their jobs on the mere suspicion of being HIV-positive.

Of the 30 members of the Association of PLWHA in Khartoum, only two have found the courage to step out of the crowd and speak out about their status.

According to Odhiambo, "discrimination is so blind that even someone who became HIV-positive following a blood transfusion is rejected as if cursed by God himself. Those who reject them ignore that, in many cases, PLWHA are also truly devout".

But there is hope in Sudan as well. The association has established a partnership with the national Red Crescent society and collaborates with the government's National HIV/AIDS programme as well as with the country's Network of HIV/AIDS Service Organizations.

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS among the 33 million inhabitants is as high as 2.6 per cent in some areas. The next actions of the new partners aims to strengthen the links between PLWHA in the north and south of the country, as well as increasing the number of Volunteer Counselling and Testing centres.

With support from the International Federation, NAP+ has established excellent partnerships with Red Cross Societies in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. "They serve as models for other partnerships about to be formalized with the Red Cross of Eritrea and Madagascar as well as with the Red Crescent of Djibouti and the Sudan, says NAP+ coordinator Michael Anganga.

"These partnerships must not be unique", says Patrick Couteau, the Federation's regional health and care advisor. "All the organizations with a declared interest in reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS must find ways to establish partnerships with PLWHA."

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