Wider-ranging NGO networking will be one of the earliest results of the Community Rendez-Vous, the series of symposia a skill-building sessions that took place in the course of the 12th World AIDS Conference.

"There's been a better understanding of each other's needs," says Winstone Zulu of Zambia, who reported to the Rendez-Vous' closing plenary last night.

"The Northern community groups are very willing to network better with those in the South, because our needs are obviously different," Zulu told The Bridge. "The needs of PWAs in the South are more for nutrition and drugs while, here in the North, it's more a question of human rights."

Zulu expresses disappointment that there wasn't more crossover between panelists in the scientific and community sessions. He's also concerned that the continuing emphasis on antiretroviral therapy will lead to the closure of counselling and support services for persons living with HIV/AIDS. "There's still a need for drop-in centres, where people can be advised and counselled," he stresses.

But he's pleased that community participants have come up with a set of specific resolutions, directed at the co-organisers of the Conference.

"At past Conferences, the community resolutions have been too general," he says, "so then you go to the next Conference and pass them all again." The more focussed approach this year means community participants will be looking for specific progress when they arrive in Durban in two years.

Community Rendez-Vous resolutions included:

* A recommendation that AfriCASO and UNAIDS improve information dissemination to community-based organisations and individuals, and to optimise the use of electronic networks for that purpose;

* A call for all Conference co-organisers, especially ICASO and UNAIDS, to include migration issues in their Asia/Pacific networking, and to recognise treatment access as a "fundamental, non-negotiable priority;"

* A recommendation that Durban 2000 sessions on marginalised groups be designed and presented by community representatives, rather than organisations or researchers working with those communities;

* A commitment on the part of LACCASO, GNP+, ICW and the AIDS Working Group of ILGA to co-organise a community forum at the 1999 Pan-American AIDS Conference in Brazil;

* The observation that current HIV/AIDS networks must be expanded to reflect cultural, religious, economic and sexual diversity;

* A call for UNAIDS to work with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to document HIV-related human rights abuses and best practices.

Web Editor's Note: The full text of the resolutions is available

this story can also be found in The Bridge, the onsite print newspaper

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