AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa-ARASA

The AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) was established in 2003 as a partnership of like-minded, progressive civil society organisations to galvanise a movement of civil society actors to advance a human rights-based response to HIV in Southern Africa. Since 2019, the partnership has been working to promote respect for and the protection of the rights to bodily autonomy and integrity (BAI) for all to reduce inequality, especially gender inequality, and to promote health, dignity, and wellbeing in East and Southern Africa (ESA). The organisation has grown immensely commencing from five partner organisations at inception and currently works with more than 115 partners within 18 countries in the sub-region. ARASA aims to strengthen and build a strong voice regarding HIV and TB prevention, Universal Health Coverage, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) for the marginalised groups (in their diversities) mainly women, adolescent girls and young women, LGBTQI+, people who use drugs, people living with HIV and sex workers. They collaborate with partners to tackle hepatitis as well as through the people who use drugs constituency. The ITPC-ARASA Consortium focused on the global empowerment, leadership, health and rights of people living with HIV, other people in need of life-saving treatments for TB and viral hepatitis, and other inadequately served populations (ISPs) advocating for access to health and human rights. With their partner Pleaders of children and elderly people at risk in Democratic Republic of Congo, in addition to conducting awareness raising sessions on HIV, TB and hepatitis C prevention and treatment for people who use drugs and community members, PEPA hosted a training workshop on HIV, TB and human rights for 30 people who use drugs.