Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV (GIPA)

The GIPA Principle The active and meaningful involvement of people living with HIV in the inception, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes. The active and meaningful involvement of people living with HIV in the inception, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes. To be successful, the involvement of people living with HIV should be mainstreamed across all aspects of the HIV response, including prevention, treatment, care and support To be successful, the involvement of people living with HIV should be mainstreamed across all aspects of the HIV response, including prevention, treatment, care and support

Policies, programmes and services that are based on the experiences of people living with HIV are more likely to: Respond to the needs and priorities of other people living with HIV Respond to the needs and priorities of other people living with HIV Become more open and non-judgemental Become more open and non-judgemental Be seen as acceptable and credible Be seen as acceptable and credible Increase access to programmes and services Increase access to programmes and services Make sure that resources are directed towards the most relevant and realistic interventions Make sure that resources are directed towards the most relevant and realistic interventions Sustain funding and resources Sustain funding and resources

The GIPA principle also supports the personal development of people living with HIV by: Reducing social isolation and stigma Reducing social isolation and stigma Building self-esteem Building self-esteem Promoting overall health and well-being Promoting overall health and well-being Creating support networks through peer connections Creating support networks through peer connections Increasing employability Increasing employability

Good practices for involving people living with HIV in programmes Build capacity in organisations to practice GIPA Build capacity in organisations to practice GIPA Address HIV stigma and discrimination Address HIV stigma and discrimination Recognise the competencies of people living with HIV Recognise the competencies of people living with HIV Build capacity among people living with HIV for effective involvement Build capacity among people living with HIV for effective involvement Promote representation and accountability Promote representation and accountability Plan to overcome barriers to involving key populations Plan to overcome barriers to involving key populations

Practical ways to build capacity to enable people living with HIV to participate actively and meaningfully Enrol people living with HIV in relevant training/ learning programmes Enrol people living with HIV in relevant training/ learning programmes Open up all your organisational training to members of organisations living with HIV Open up all your organisational training to members of organisations living with HIV Ensure ongoing training for volunteers living with HIV Ensure ongoing training for volunteers living with HIV Develop a staff swap programme with an organisation of people living with HIV Develop a staff swap programme with an organisation of people living with HIV

Put capable people living with HIV in leadership positions including as facilitators of meetings, workshops and events Put capable people living with HIV in leadership positions including as facilitators of meetings, workshops and events Invest in organisations of people living with HIV – through financial support, partnership development, collaborative projects, training and mentorship Invest in organisations of people living with HIV – through financial support, partnership development, collaborative projects, training and mentorship Support people living with HIV to participate in conferences Support people living with HIV to participate in conferences

The GIPA Good Practice Guide can be downloaded from: The GIPA Good Practice Guide can be downloaded from: