Write Your Rights

The PLHIV Charter aims to outline the fundamental elements for building an equitable and effective system of care, from the perspective of those in need. The Charter will also serve to foster partnerships, bringing PLHIV and health professionals together to better collaborate in the global fight against HIV/AIDS through implementation of these best practices in local communities, and to inspire a new sense of participation, inter-dependence, and shared responsibilities for the well-being of the HIV community. It is meant to be a dignified expression of common cause that amplifies the voices of those who have a lifesaving interest in improving the standards of care, that empowers individuals with the disease through this knowledge, and that increases the understanding of affected families and communities.

A short first draft edition, drawn from existing rights-based documents and initial contributions, outlined rights and responsibilities in different categories. For instance, under the rubric of "Information" is this list: information about available care services; be informed about condition, treatment, and options; know drug names, dosage, side effects, and adherence; access to your medical records in your local language; and peer-support and voluntary counselling. Organisers have extended a "call to action" seeking additions, comments, and suggestions - either by email (see below) or through an online comment process - that will be synthesised and incorporated into the next version. Each of the planned six drafts during 2009 welcomed further input. A series of "Outreach for Input" meetings were held during 2009 in diverse cities around the world to further encourage the participation of individuals and organisations on the ground.

A final edition was to be launched on World AIDS Day in December 2009, with the anticipated endorsement of the World Health Organization (WHO), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Global Fund, and other international institutions. Organisers stress that, "While the final version of the Charter was put forward for the endorsement of the WHO, UNAIDS, Governments, and civil society organisations, and aimed to serve as a tool for raising the standards of care, the open process of outreach for inputs to each draft version of the PLHIV Charter was as important as the finished document itself." The PLHIV Charter was then made available broadly, to the end of providing activists with an advocacy tool to drive its implementation in many countries around the world.

HIV/AIDS, Rights.

Established in 2005, World Care Council is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) registered in India, France, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, that strives to raise the standards of care for people with tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. Driven by people living with HIV and/or TB, the World Care Council advances a rights and responsibilities approach to confronting pandemics, and practices the principle of greater and more meaningful involvement of people with the diseases. The World Care Council's twin-track strategy involved developing or influencing policy in international bodies such as the WHO and the Global Fund, and then initiating projects on the ground in communities in high-burden countries to implement these guidelines.