Generic Training Guide on HIV and AIDS Mainstreaming

HIV and AIDS have continued to be a threat to organisations and communities despite successes in prevention. A number of organisations have devoted resources to fight HIV and AIDS by addressing its causes and effects, both through their community work and within their workplace. Although such efforts have generated some positive results, experience has proved that HIV and AIDS require multi-dimensional approaches applied in a sustained manner by all organisations, whether engaged in direct HIV and AIDS work or not. Thus, organisations need to adapt their policies and practice to reduce the organisation’s and communities’ susceptibility to HIV infection and vulnerability to the impacts of AIDS, also known as HIV and AIDS mainstreaming.

In response to this need, HIV and AIDS Support and Advocacy Programme (HASAP), which provides the overall strategic leadership and coordination of HIV and AIDS activities in ACORD, has developed this Generic Training Guide on HIV and AIDS mainstreaming. This Guide provides a first step in helping organisations to put in place policies/strategies for internal and external HIV and AIDS mainstreaming. It incorporates four concepts in HIV and AIDS mainstreaming: HIV and AIDS as a development issue, a human rights issue, internal and external mainstreaming, partnerships and community participation. This Training Guide is an introductory manual on HIV and AIDS mainstreaming based on varied experiences, contexts and even approaches, and according to the publishers can be adjusted to meet varying needs in different situations.