HIV/AIDS eForums

Keep the Promise: Start Making Sense! Initiative

BTS is hosting online discussion as part of the new global 'Keep the Promise: Start Making Sense!� Initiative.

'Keep the Promise: Start Making Sense!� provides a forum for discussion and debate focusing on major AIDS-related geopolitical milestones in 2005-06, centring on the review of progress with implementing the 2001 UNGASS Declaration of Commitment (DoC) on HIV/AIDS.

Rather than being a side-show to the UN discussion process, CS should make a critical contribution to the assessment of what our governments are doing � or should be doing � in response to HIV/AIDS and related health issues, and the UNGASS commitments on HIV/AIDS in particular.

This is important because, in most places, CS not only contributes but clearly spearheads the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. And yet, remarkably, the unique roles of civil society organisations (CSOs) in advocacy, policy-setting, implementing HIV/AIDS programmes and service delivery remain insufficiently articulated, acknowledged or understood at many levels. Therefore, it is crucial for us to start operating and organising in more efficient ways to increase the weight of CS opinion and experience.

Keep the promise: Start Making Sense! is an initiative of the civil society-led World AIDS Campaign with the support of Health & Development Networks.

� More

Primers

The Keep the Promise: Start Making Sense! Initiative has produced the following series of primers intended to provide information and opinion that provokes discussion, challenges assumptions and calls to account institutions and organisations claiming to act on behalf of people living with HIV/AIDS and other health- and development-related challenges:

1) Keep the Promise: Start Making Sense! (pdf - 88 KB)

2) Demand a better deal for the poor of the world in 2005 (pdf - 91 KB)

3) What is the Monterrey Consensus? (pdf - 60 KB)

4) Why are the Millennium Development Goals important? (pdf - 62 KB)

5) Sachs Appeal: The �new deal� for aid and UN endurance (pdf - 100 KB)

6) OECD Ministers: 2005 Statement to follow-up on UN Millennium Declaration and Monterrey Consensus (pdf - 99 KB)

7) The MDGs and Health (pdf - 98 KB)

8) A search for the 0.7% ODA Holy Grail? (pdf - 97 KB

9) Promises, promises... (pdf - 164KB)

10) �Shaking the Tree� at the United Nations(pdf - 99 KB)

11) Commission gives G8/EU explicit pointers on African �solutions� (pdf - 98 KB)

12) Never mind 2015: How are we doing against the Abuja Declaration? (pdf - 64 KB)

13) Progress against poverty? Some, but not enough (pdf - 104 KB)

Welcome to Break-the-Silence!

Break-the-Silence (BTS) is an international eForum for major stakeholder groups to highlight the unique roles of civil society organisations (CSOs) in HIV/AIDS-, health- and development-related advocacy, policy -setting, programme implementation and service delivery. BTS also explores models for CSO participation and representation in international- and national-level dialogue.

BTS provides a platform for information sharing, dialogue, discussion and debate.

Beginning in June 2005, BTS will be providing online discussion as part of the new global initiative called Start Making Sense!

Break-the-Silence members include organizations and individuals from across the world.

All major civil society stakeholder groups are encouraged to participate in BTS as part of Start Making Sense! including:

- People living with HIV/AIDS

- Young people

- Business and industry

- Non-governmental organizations

- Community-based organizations

- Indigenous peoples

- Trade unions

- Social and cultural leaders

- Teachers and other education specialists

- Scientific/research community

- Others from the academic sector

- Health and social workers

- Women�s groups

- Older people

- Foundations and private institutions

- Media organizations

- Faith-based groups