UNAIDS - June 11, 2007

Building on this, experience has shown that action on AIDS requires greater coordination among partners to ensure that actions are not duplicated and resources are used most effectively and efficiently.

As a result, UNAIDS in collaboration with the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO), the African Council of AIDS Service Organizations (AfriCASO) and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance are launching Coordinating with Communities - Guidelines on the Involvement of the Community Sector in the Coordination of National AIDS Responses. The aim of the new guidelines is to strengthen the active and meaningful involvement of the community sector in the development, implementation and monitoring of coordinated national AIDS responses.

"While there is widespread acknowledgement that involving the community sector in the coordination of national AIDS responses will increase effectiveness, it often does not translate into actual meaningful involvement," said Kieran Daly, ICASO Director for Policy and Communications.

"The community sector brings to the coordinating table vital technical knowledge and experiences that can help ensure national AIDS responses meet the real needs of those most affected. For this to work, all stakeholders need to be open to genuine collaboration, using these guidelines to build greater understanding of how to support active and meaningful involvement of the community sector," he added.

The guidelines aim to provide practical options from which communities and stakeholders can identify the actions that are most appropriate and useful to their own contexts.

The guidelines also aim to promote a set of universal principles, such as human rights and gender equality that are relevant to all countries and contexts. In particular, these guidelines are underpinned by the recognition that the greater involvement of people living with HIV will provide for more effective national responses to AIDS.

The use of the guidelines will be affected by factors such as the current capacity of the community sector's organizations and networks, and the relationship between community groups and other stakeholders. However, in any country, these guidelines can be used as:

* A tool to assess the current strengths and weaknesses of community sector involvement in all national AIDS coordinating bodies and processes.

* A tool to develop a multi-sectoral action plan to increase and improve community sector involvement in all national AIDS coordinating bodies and processes.

* A tool for advocating to improve and fund both community sector involvement in national AIDS coordinating bodies and processes and also community sector networking and coordination.

* A basis for developing local or district-level guidelines on community sector involvement in AIDS coordinating bodies and processes.

The guidelines were developed in response to requests from groups of people living with HIV, community organizations, and groups and individuals from other sectors who recognized that efforts to increase a harmonized response to AIDS - in line with the 'Three Ones' principles - can only be successfully achieved with the active and meaningful involvement of the community sector.

"The involvement of the community sector is critical in our efforts to move towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support", said Michel Sidibe, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director. "The community sector is at the forefront of identifying the needs of and providing services to affected communities. Therefore they deserve a stronger voice in planning and coordination of national AIDS responses. With these guidelines we are investing in the capacity of the community sector to claim their rightful role among the partners in the AIDS response."

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