Communities 'always take the lead'

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Communities affected by HIV have always taken the lead in responding to the Aids epidemic. These same communities must take the lead now to increase access to antiretrovirals and other essential medications.
This was the message to the conference from 32-year-old Ugandan activist Milly Katana, the only HIV positive person on the Global Fund Board.
"In some countries where scientists took no action, communities were already on the ground offering support, long before there was a diagnosis of this strange disease," she said.
Katana called on scientists and clinicians to consult

Katana: communities know what works

with the groups and individuals with long experience working with little or no funding to provide support, reduce stigma, silence and denial around HIV/Aids.
"We have resources and skills, which have accumulated over the years," Milly said, "and knowledge of what works and what does not work."
"Community groups need to put this to maximum use."
Katana urged the conference not to dismiss community groups from impoverished countries as low-tech or lacking in expertise as they had already found many cheap solutions against the epidemic.
She concluded: "Let us remember that communities affected were there before this disease had its name. If we are ever to arrive at a day when its name no longer strikes fear, looms large and casts a

shadow over people's lives...it will be because of the tireless work of communities that have been there all along."