African Council of AIDS Service Organizations

In Africa, a step backward on human rights

Hate has no place in the house of God. No one should be excluded from our love, our compassion or our concern because of race or gender, faith or ethnicity -- or because of their sexual orientation. Nor should anyone be excluded from health care on any of these grounds. In my country of South Africa, we struggled for years against the evil system of apartheid that divided human beings, children of the same God, by racial classification and then denied many of them fundamental human rights. We knew this was wrong. Thankfully, the world supported us in our struggle for freedom and dignity.

USAID-Project SEARCH: R2P (Research to Prevention) Small Grants Program 2010

The research theme for the 2010 Small Grants Program of R2P is Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) as a most-at-risk population for HIV infection. R2P anticipates awarding two to three proposals under the Small Grants Program in 2010. The maximum amount of each award is U.S. $50,000. The duration is one year, with the option of a one-year no-cost extension. Applications may include technical assistance from a researcher based in another country, but salary support for such individuals may not exceed $5,000 (U.S.).

Thank you so much to all of you for helping us to promote the 2010 Red Ribbon Award. The application period closed a few days ago and thanks to all of your efforts we have received more than 700 applications from all over the world!  This is a clear record and represents a significant increase over 2008.

It's thrilling to see the amount of interest in this initiative grow over time and we hope it is a testament to the important impact the award has had on many grassroots organizations in the last few years.

Take Action Now: Be involved! Be heard!

Country Progress reports to be submitted to UNAIDS by March 31, 2010

In March 2009, UNAIDS launched the Guidelines on Construction of Core Indicators for 2010 Reporting. The Guidelines provide a guide for monitoring progress made towards the goals set on the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (DoC). The Guidelines also provide guidance for preparing the country progress reports to be submitted to UNAIDS by March 31, 2010.

Please find the document here

The Society for AIDS in Africa was established in Kinshasa in October 1990 during the 5th International Conference on AIDS and Associated Cancers in Africa, a precursor to the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA).

The formation of SAA, which was assisted by the World Health Organization (W.H.O), put paid to the practice of holding International Conference on AIDS in Africa outside the African continent. At the same time, it empowered Africans to address and respond to the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS in the continent.

The Society envisions an HIV free Africa with capacity to confront all HIV attending consequences and related diseases (such as Tuberculosis and Malaria), and it promotes positive environment and research on HIV and related diseases. The Society for AIDS in Africa is governed through an Executive Council drawn from South, North, East, West and Central Africa. SAA partners and collaborates with Africaso, Society for Women Against AIDS in Africa (SWAA), NAP+, the Network of Youths in Africa, and it enjoys the support of the UN-System, as well as various International organizations, including the International AIDS Society (IAS).

Click here to download the brochure.

Click here to go to the ICASA-2011 website.

As part of the Free Space Process (see www.icssupport.org for details), to which ICASO is a partner, the International Civil Society Support is commissioning a set of consultancies to undertake a “Mapping of Donor Trends and Partners’ Activities”.

This is essential aimed at helping us look at the future opportunities for collaboration and a means to understand for all of us future opportunities (together or individually) of funding opportunities and or advocacy that is needed (in line with our discussions at the network meeting).

Request for Proposals: Establishment of a research consortium to explore the barriers to and potential for eradication of HIV infection.

Complete RFP plus all relevant details available online at www.amfar.org/rfp

DEADLINES

APPLICATION due March 25, 2010

BACKGROUND AND PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

This RFP solicits proposals for collaborations to explore the obstacles to and strategies for eradicating HIV infection.