AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA)

22 Jul

Thumbs up for new Political Declaration on ending AIDS

ObserverObserver MoneyAIDS, AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), Political Declaration on Ending AIDS

Moses Magadza The AIDS and Rights Alliance for southern Africa (ARASA) has welcomed the new Political Declaration on Ending AIDS by 2030, saying it includes clear targets that should prompt member states to take pointed action to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. United Nations Member States adopted the Political Declaration: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030, during the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS last month. In the Political Declaration, world leaders expressed concern over inequalities across multiple forms and national contexts based on HIV status, gender, race, ethnicity, disability,…

21 Jul

Choices and bodily autonomy are key to development

ObserverUncategorisedAIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), civil society organizations

Felicita Hikuam On 11 July, the world marked World Population Day, with the light shining brightly on the rights to bodily autonomy and integrity, which are prerequisites not only for realization of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), but also for overall socio-economic development in our countries and the entire world. The day is observed annually to raise awareness about global population issues such as family planning, sexual and reproductive health and rights, poverty, gender equality and human rights. This year’s theme was: “Rights and Choices are the Answer: Whether baby boom or bust, the solution to shifting fertility…

12 Dec

New study shows decline in funding for HIV-related human rights work

ObserverUncategorisedAIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), Study shows decline in funding for HIV-related human rights work

Moses Magadza WINDHOEK – As the world marked International Human Rights Day on 10 December under the COVID-19 related theme “Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights”, a study by the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) showed a steady decline in funding for social enablers. Social enablers include activities that address barriers such as stigma and discrimination, violence, gender inequality and problematic laws and policies which increase the vulnerability of people to HIV and also impede their access to, and retention in services. At the United Nations General Assembly in 2016, world leaders committed to invest…

02 Dec

The missing link: including civil society in COVID-19 responses

ObserverObserver Money2020)., AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA), Covid-19, HIV and AIDS, undertook the assessment, University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research Division (HEARD), whose findings were released virtually yesterday (December 1

Moses Magadza WINDHOEK - A rapid assessment on the impact of the COVID-19 national measures on community-led HIV responses in the SADC Region shows a complex scenario in which interventions aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19 significantly disrupted community-based responses to HIV and AIDS, while also catalysing creativity and innovation in the way Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) respond to the health and rights challenges facing their communities. The AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research Division (HEARD), undertook the assessment, whose findings were released virtually yesterday…