Civil Society Groups in Mozambique Pledge To Help Standardize National Strategies Against HIV/AIDS
Civil society organizations working to fight HIV/AIDS in Mozambique on Monday at the close of the first National Civil Society Conference on HIV/AIDS said they are committed to standardizing national strategies against the disease, AIM/AllAfrica.com reports. Although the groups said they have been excluded from planning HIV/AIDS efforts, they said they are prepared to work with other organizations because of the need for a multisector approach to address the disease.
Alice Ripanga, chair of the Mozambican National Network of Organizations Against AIDS, said civil society groups are committed to contributing to a more effective assessment of the national response to HIV/AIDS. Ripanga said, "We are committed to establishing effective mechanisms to share good practices in the fight against HIV/AIDS and to guarantee greater coordination between activists and the media in divulging information among the communities."
Some participants at the conference also said their organizations will not continue to work in isolation. "There will be a growing culture of sharing good practices and experiences," they said. They added that they intend to design strategies at the grassroots level so that people directly affected by HIV/AIDS can receive assistance. Marcelo Kantu of the Mozambican Association for Family Development said, "Thus, civil society will feel more committed to implement those strategies because they will reflect what people think and feel," adding, "It is civil society that knows what is happening in the field" (AIM/AllAfrica.com, 6/18).