15th International AIDS Conference Bangkok, Thailand - July 11-16, 2004

Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. E10179)

Zulu KP
Youth Forum Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia

BACKGROUND: Given the uniquely devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on house holds, communities and entire societies, national policies and poverty-reduction strategies need to be adjusted and expanded accordingly, without which HIV/AIDS will continue to erode human development achievements, without which deepen poverty and further hinder policy development that guarantee access to education, health and viable livelihood.

METHODS: Carefully compiled and tallied data can only hint at the epidemic's human impact, whether at the global, societal, familial or individual level. Mobilizing and building the human capacity to cope with and overcome the effects of HIV/AIDS is therefore, essential to policy and programme implementation.

CONCLUSION: Often, circumstances have led policy-makers and social leaders to enlist community members as leaders of initiatives, rather than positioning them at the receiving end as mere "beneficiaries" or "clients". In Zambia a National Facilitating Team was formed to ensure that local responses are nurtured and expanded. Participating members of the team are drawn from national and local networks and organizations that are keen to develop human capacity as part of their response to HIV/AIDS. The Team is developing innovative ways of transferring knowledge, enabling networks and organizations to learn from local experiences and integrate these into national policies, that later inform programmes. This background has seen the enactment of the National HIV/AIDS,TB and STI Council as an "Act of Parliament". Legitimizing its existence as a legal entity empowered to sue and defend its affiliates.

040711
E10179

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