Arm advocates with the appropriate facts so that they can drive change in their own countries

CHARLES BROWN writes: Maureen Milanga, a staffer at Health GAP in Keyna and an alumna of the AVAC Advocacy Fellows program, presented a poster demonstrating how advocates from Kenya, Zimbambwe and Nigeria were able to influence their countries by strategically raising their voices to increase demand for key interventions. Their work has helped secure a number of significant changes—including global WHO guidelines that recommend early ART initiation for sero-discordant couples regardless of CD4 counts. Demand is also driving expanding attention to the need to deliver post exposure prophylaxis (PEP – ARVs given after a person suspects they have been exposed to HIV) for key populations like sex workers in Zimbabwe and South Africa. There has also been increased effective engagement of communities in trials.

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However, a lot still needs to be done to scale up pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP (programs that provide ARVs to HIV-negative people to reduce their risk of HIV infection). This includes additional research, demonstration projects and large scale roll out programs. 

It is important to note that advocacy requires appropriate strategy for each country in order to create meaningful change. They need to be given basic facts about the research and the prevention/treatment options for them to influence policy makers. Advocates can then frame arguments that help the policy makers see themselves as beneficiaries of the action—whether by saving costs, lives or earning the respect and alliance of the key constituencies driving change.