UNAIDS: The First 10 Years

UNAIDS The First 10 Years156UNAIDS has funded the Andean International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS(ICW) Project, aimed at strengthening the capacity of HIV-positive women in five countries.Women have met officials and ministers, as well as other women in similar circumstances,and have received training on leadership, advocacy and sexual and reproductive health andtreatment. ‘The project has put HIV-positive women at the centre of the AIDS response,linking them with relevant actors’ 13 .In 2003, Jane Wilson, the UNAIDS Country Coordinator in Jakarta, was wondering how shemight better apply the Greater Involvement of People living with HIV/AIDS (GIPA) principleand increase the involvement of HIV-positive people within UNAIDS. At the time, the UNAIDSoffice in Jakarta offered office space to a new nongovernmental organization called PITA thatsupported parents of drug users living with HIV. ‘Pita’ is an evocative name: it means ‘ribbon’in Indonesian, but it also refers to Michelangelo’s Pietà. Linked to the image of a mothercompassionately holding the body of her crucified son, the name is meant to highlight thecare and understanding that people living with HIV deserve.UNAIDS ExecutiveDirector Peter Piot withUNAIDS CountryCoordinator for IndonesiaJane Wilson and staffmember Victor MariOrtega, meet membersof Yayasan Pelita Ilmu,a nongovernmentalorganization, 2003.UNAIDSBoth organizations decided to dedicate a large community room within their shared office forthe use of people infected or affected by HIV. Members of the community immediately beganto see this space as a safe haven: soon, there were back-to-back bookings for counselling13UNAIDS (2004). Executive Director’s Report to the 16th Meeting of the UNAIDS PCB, December. Geneva,UNAIDS.