Intro / GIPA

IFMSA is practicing GIPA* as a tool to address stigma and discrimination

Context

Nearly 40 million people in the world are living with HIV.1 In countries such as Botswana and Swaziland, people living with HIV make up a quarter or more of the population. People living with HIV are entitled to the same human rights as everyone else, including the right to access appropriate services, gender equality,2 self-determination and participation in decisions affecting their quality of life, and freedom from discrimination3. All national governments and leading development institutions have committed to meeting the eight Millennium Development Goals, which include halving extreme poverty, halting and beginning to reverse HIV4 and providing universal primary education by 2015. GIPA or the Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV is critical to halting and reversing the epidemic; in many countries reversing the epidemic is also critical to reducing poverty.

What is GIPA?

GIPA is not a project or programme. It is a principle that aims to realize the rights and responsibilities of people living with HIV, including their right to self-determination and participation in decision-making processes that affect their lives. In these efforts, GIPA also aims to enhance the quality and effectiveness of the AIDS response. The idea that personal experiences should shape the AIDS response was first voiced by people living with HIV in Denver in 1983.5 The GIPA Principle was formalized at the 1994 Paris AIDS Summit when 42 countries agreed to “support a greater involvement of people living with HIV at all…levels…and to…stimulate the creation of supportive political, legal and social environments”6. In 2001, 189 United Nations member countries endorsed the GIPA Principle as part of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. The 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS unanimously adopted by 192 Member States at the 2006 High Level Meeting on AIDS also advocated the greater involvement of people living with HIV.

GIPA-UNAIDS.pdf 239.30 kB

1st Step:

Reaching PLWH

  • working with Infectious Disease specialists – to reach people who really would like to (because Infectious Disease doctors know them closely) work on education, advocacy, fighting with stigma and discrimination
  • working with Testing centers
  • working with NGOs who are working on Vulnerable group
  • working with NGOs of people living with HIV
  • talking with people living with HIV (in the trust, secrecy environment and human rights respect)
  • tell about GIPA and necessity and importance of it for the response of HIV/AIDS
  • invite PLWH to your meetings, empower and facilitate their contribution
  • encourage and motivate them for involvement, success of projects
  • and to announce our voice together

2nd Step:

Preparation phase

  • organize and establish common ground with other organizations and networks of people living with HIV
  • designate the needs of your organization together with PLWH (your members needs information? Your members still have myths and misconceptions? )
  • designate the needs about self-care, HIV prevention, treatment to make all your members and PLWH a knowledgeable participant
  • strengthen the capacity of PLWH/your members on leadership, team working, public speaking, interactive educational techniques, communication skills, advocacy, negotiation, monitoring and evaluation.
  • spend time together except projects/activities

3rd Step:

to Form the working field

  • with PLWH, together, expose the fields that you want to work (increasing knowledge? Increasing positive attitudes? Reduce stigma and discrimination? ...)
  • would you like to make peer educations, seminars or campaigns?
  • designate everybody’s role within the team and involve them in every level of that project/activity/campaign because their knowledge on HIV/AIDS should form your success

4th Step:

Implementation Phase

  • even if you are going to work on different topic, you should work on stigma and discrimination at the same time…
  • reduce the stigma and discrimination through medical students (first) by education sessions which could be done by PLWH during peer education
  • reduce the stigma and discrimination through young people/public with education, media campaigns, advocacy activities
  • work with media
  • attach importance on policy-making level and importance of PLWH in policy-making process

 

*(Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV)

prepared by Muge Cevik