HIV/AIDS and Disability The need for advocacy

Jessica de RuijterAugust 7 2008

VSO

• VSO is an international development organisation working in 34 countries in Africa and Asia.

• Focus on capacity building through: – Volunteering, training & workshops, study tours

etc– Advocacy

• Focus on 6 goals – HIV & AIDS, Disability, Health, Education, Secure

Livelihood, Participation & Governance

Advocacy on HIV and disabilityVSO’s experience

• Started this year• Why HIV & AIDS and disability?

– VSO is supporting good programmes– Advocacy based on these experiences– Only few organisations active in NL

VSO’s HIV & AIDS and disability programmes• Overview of VSO project experiences• In 9 countries HIV & disability

programmesMain activities are:

• Providing accessible information and services

• Awareness raising among the disability community

• Disability training for HIV organisation• Advocacy

VSO’s HIV&AIDS and disability programmes

• Mainly in African countries and India, Vietnam

• Majority are disability organisations that include HIV in their programmes.

Goal of VSO’s advocacy

Advocate for inclusive policies and programmes, through1.Raising awareness2.Provide tools to mainstream: -

disability in HIV programmes and - HIV in disability programmes.

Building national coalitions

In the Netherlands no or very little attention for disability and HIV

Disability and HIV Working Group established.

Working group has same advocacy objectives.

Activities of the working group

• Produce materials like folder, articles

• Organise workshops, training and seminar

• Lobby: – input for UNGASS – Input for the new Dutch policy around

HIV and sexual and reproductive health.

Building international coalitions

• Working group at European level established.

• International agencies like:– Africa Campaign – AIDS Free World

Experiences so far

Very difficult to get disability on the HIV agenda of the Ministry

- unsucessful at getting disability in the UNGASS statement

- low expectations for getting disability in the new policy

Experiences so far

Why not successful, the response we get:• Cannot do everything• NL has not much experience in this,

wants to focus in the new policy on what NL is good in.

• Tired of another ‘new’ target group

Experiences so far continued

• Difficult to get development organisations involved eg:– Workshop proposal for Dutch AIDS

conference not approved• Give similar arguments, cannot do

everything, no experience etc

Conclusion

• A lot of work needs to be done, but we have just started.

• It is a long process, step by step • But by working together we will

achieve results• Vienna here we come!!