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In 1983, at a health conference in Denver, United States, a group of HIV and AIDS activists publicly articulated for the first time the needs and values of people living with HIV. The Denver Principles called for an end to discrimination against people living with HIV, for respect of our rights, and for people living with HIV to be involved in all levels of decision-making. What was written in Denver laid the foundations of the GIPA principle – the Greater Involvement of People living with HIV. It was formalized eleven years later at the 1994 Paris AIDS Summit when 42 countries agreed to “support a greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS at all levels and to stimulate the creation of supportive political, legal and social environments”. GNP+ is based on the GIPA principle. We practise what we preach. All research and advocacy are designed and implemented by people living with HIV. GNP+ collects the voices of people living with HIV in all our diversity and we make sure our needs, hopes and challenges are heard at every possible junction where we can influence the HIV response. Our ECOSOC status enables us to speak at certain UN conferences. We are involved in the Communities Delegation to the Global Fund Board and to the UNITAID Board. We work closely with the NGO Delegationto the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB). Where we are not invited, we invite ourselves and make sure the voices of people living with HIV are heard and taken into account. Nothing about us without us. The HIV response has evolved with the HIV epidemic. Similarly the work of the Global Network of People living with HIV has evolved over the 30-odd years of its existence. We work with communities of people living with HIV, regardless of whether they are geographic or identity based, to challenge governments and global leaders to improve access and quality of essential HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services. We have created different evidence gathering tools to support networks of people living with HIV and HIV community activists in their advocacy. The tools use the methodology of learning-by-doing, empowering people living with HIV with knowledge and skills and building the capacity of our partners. Using the power of evidence-based advocacy we can improve the HIV response and the lives of people living with HIV. In different countries the tools have been instrumental to policy change. For example, in Malawi the results of the PLHIV Stigma Index has lead to a new first-line antiretroviral treatment. GNP+ provides technical assistance to networks using our tools, and we often use the data gathered by the national networks in international advocacy, showcasing the challenges and issues of people living with HIV around the world.
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