GNP+ collaborates with the International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the United Nations Joint Programme on
HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to fight HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.
Since the signing of a formal statement in August 2002, GNP+, IFRC and
UNAIDS have made official their close collaboration in the fight
against HIV-related stigma and discrimination. The three-way
partnership calls for the national societies of the IFRC and the
agencies and organizations of the United Nations system to work with
GNP+ and national organizations of PLWHA to fight HIV/AIDS-related
stigma and discrimination. Specifically, it calls for broad and
creative collaborative involvement in campaigns like the IFRC's "The
Truth About AIDS. Pass it on..." --which we launched with the IFRC on
World Red Cross Red Crescent Day, May 8, 2002--and in the UNAIDS
2002-2003 World AIDS Campaign, "Live and Let Live". It is important to
understand, however, that the joint work of GNP+ and the IFRC, for
example, is not limited to fighting stigma and discrimination in the
context the aforementioned agreement. Indeed, the official beginning of
the partnership between the two international organizations dates back
to the UN Special Session on HIV/AIDS in June 2001. The experience of
how this partnership was built has been documented to help promote
similar collaborative ventures involving national Red Cross and Red
Crescent societies in their work on HIV/AIDS at the country level. The
case study, initiated by UNAIDS, provides a detailed recount of the
process that led to the partnership, elaborating on background and
examples. The Document is also intended to benefit other organizations
seeking to forge innovative partnerships to deal with the HIV/AIDS
pandemic.