International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 31 October 2003
Pekka Reinikainen in Munyonyo, Uganda

There was a lot to deal with during the five-day gathering. The need for positive people to take the lead in fighting HIV/AIDS, how to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus, combating stigma and discrimination and getting more people on anti-retroviral treatment û were just some of the issues being discussed.

But the conference was also important for many more simple and fundamental reasons. A forum for just HIV positive people from each corner of the globe to meet and learn from each other.

"This was the first ever such conference with a strong representation from the muslim countries of the world," says Stuart Flavell, of the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+) û co-organisers of the conference.

But of the 800 participants, more than 500 came from Africa alone. A fair representation of the impact the disease is having on the continent.

"The ability to work together has been fostered and supported here all through the conference. Some three dozen people have been working on issues concerning the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, the fruits of which will be seen later," Flavell adds.

With the issue of how to address the growing impact of HIV/AIDS on children and the rising numbers of orphans, there was also a more youthful attendance.

"For the first time ever we have had children of all ages totally involved as delegates to the conference. They have taken part in our sessions and talked about their ordeal, opening up a whole new world for us adults," explains Major Rubaramira Ruranga, the chairperson of the conference.

The major also feels that despite Uganda's progressive reputation as the model African country dealing with HIV/AIDS, "it took this international conference to bring together all Ugandan HIV positive people from all corners of the country under one single roof for the first time."

For the nearly 20 Red Cross and Red Crescent member delegation to the Kampala conference, the meeting had been a great learning experience for a host of reasons.

Daysi Rivera Barrientos from the Honduras Red Cross left with a much better understanding of the challenges, strengths and weaknesses of different countries and regions fighting HIV/AIDS.

For Zuleikha Abdallah from the Mombasa branch of the Kenya Red Cross, it was meeting HIV-positive womens groups from other east African countries such as Tanzania and Uganda, that proved to be the highlight. She is very determined to take back what she has learnt to strengthen her own work amongst muslim women.

That work among muslim communities is vital as taboos on talking about sex and stigma and discrimination make it extremely difficult to bring the issue of HIV/AIDS out into the open. The president of the recently formed association of Sudanese people living with HIV/AIDS, Elkhair Osman Ali, told fellow Red Cross and Red Crescent delegates that the conference has been a colossal learning experience for him.

"Coming from a closed Muslim community, I cannot describe how much I have gained by attending this conference," he says.

The issue of leadership was an important one for Ernests Strazdins from Latvia. A veteran of the international AIDS conference in Barcelona last year where his experiences of stigma and discrimination were openly and bravely shared, Ernests underlined the need to do more to build the leadership capacities of HIV positive people. It is, he adds, important to mentor a new young generation of HIV positive people.

And one example of the how the Red Cross and Red Crescent partnership with GNP+ can and does work to bring HIV positive people into the forefront of the fight against the disease ûis Daoloy Thayiphone.

Daoloy, of Lao Red Cross, will go back to her home village of Huay Keu in the northern part of the country to set up a regional association for people living with HIV and AIDS. She will be supported in this by a sister Red Cross society û the Australian Red Cross.

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