Civil Society Perspectives on TB/HIV: Highlights from a Joint Initiative to Promote Community-Led Advocacy

On the eve of the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, OSI's Public Health Watch and the Treatment Action Group (TAG) released a joint publication to highlight the work of community-based organizations and people living with HIV/AIDS in advocating for coordinated TB and HIV policies and services in their countries.

The publication, Civil Society Perspectives on TB/HIV: Highlights from a Joint Initiative to Promote Community-Led Advocacy, is a product of a two-year grantmaking initiative, the TB/HIV Advocacy Grants Project, which was launched in 2004 by Public Health Watch and TAG. Both the project and the publication underscore the importance of enhancing community engagement in the design, implementation, and evaluation of collaborative TB/HIV programs. The report presents case studies from Indonesia, Mexico, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Ukraine, and the Caribbean, highlighting community advocates' strategies, achievements, and lessons learned.

The report outlines a number of areas for action by governments, the donor community, health care workers, and/or civil society, including the following:

• capacity-building activities for NGOs to engage in the development and implementation of collaborative TB/HIV policies;
• technical support and financial assistance to support social mobilization and education efforts related to TB/HIV coinfection among people living with HIV;
• research on the extent to which DOTS, the recommended TB control strategy, meets the needs of people living with HIV and TB/HIV, and on the interaction between TB drugs and antiretroviral therapy;
• support for community-led monitoring and evaluation to assess accessibility, quality, and delivery of joint TB/HIV programs and services.