ICW News
Welcome ICW's Young Advocates Media Team
November, 20 2021
ICW is proud to introduce you to our Young Advocates Media Team - Joy Abahi Oboyi and Faith Onuh from Nigeria, Svetlana Bondarenko from Kyrgyzstan, Eva Dewa from Indonesia, Doreen Moraa Moracha and Elizabeth Atieno Onyango from Kenya, Kimberly from Trinidad and Tobago, Nontsikelelo Shabangu and Marcia Dlamini both from ESwatini, Barbara Kemigisa, from Uganda and our members from Ukraine and Nepal.
ICW Announces New International Steering Committee Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer
October 12, 2021
The International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW) International Steering Committee (ISC) has elected Charity Mkona of Malawi, ICW Southern Africa as Global Chair; Kneeshe Parkinson of Missouri, USA, ICW North America as Vice Chair, and Immaculate Owomugisha Bazare (Uganda, ICW Eastern Africa) as Treasurer. ICW installed the new slate of ISC Officers on Thursday, October 7, 2021.
ICW SUPPORTS THE HLM 2021 CIVIL SOCIETY DECLARATION
6 ICW NON-NEGOTIABLES TO ACHIEVE GENDER EQUITY & SRHR FOR ALL
IN THE HLM 2021 POLITICAL DECLARATION
May 17, 2021
ICW supports the HLM 2021 Political Declaration and share its 6 Non - Negotiables to Achieving Gender Equity and SRHR for All for communities to use to advocate with their governments towards the UN HLM on HIV and AIDS. For more information about ways to engage in the HLM visit our partners https://gnpplus.net/latest/opportunities/launching-the-hlm-2021-community-engagement-webinar-series/
ICW Supports Key Population Joint Statement with Global Partners for World AIDS Day
Dec 1, 2020
Today, we commemorate World AIDS Day in support of people living with and affected by HIV, and to remember and celebrate those who lost their lives to AIDS. The global key population-led networks* – Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE); Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+); Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP); Global Network of Young People Living with HIV (Y+ Network); Innovative Response Globally for Trans Women and HIV (IRGT); International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD); International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW); MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights (MPact) - issue this joint statement in solidarity with this year’s World AIDS Day theme: “Global solidarity, shared responsibility.”
ICW Asia Pacific and UNAIDS Asia Pacific in Regional #GenderMatters Campaign
November 25, 2020
Inspired by the global #GenderMatters movement, ICWAP and UNAIDS have launched a regional campaign to highlight the issues for women living with HIV in the Asia Pacific region. Follow their campaign on their twitter, Facebook and Instagram and share your own story.
We Will NOT Tolerate Misogony in the HIV Response
November 6, 2020
Earlier this week a number of members and partners approached us and expressed concern about an upcoming male only panel about U=U and eMTCT during the International Pediatrics HIV Workshop later this month. ICW took decisive action and drafted a letter which was supported by ICASO, GNP+, Y+ Global, Canadian Positive People's Network, ATHENA and the WELL Project that was sent to the organizers, Virology Education, expressing our disappointment in their programming. Jointly, we are in conversation with the organizers who also expressed concern and are working on a solution. We will share what progress is made to ensure that there is gender balance and women living with HIV are meaningfully represented in this and any other session speaking about a woman's experience living with HIV. Thank you to the members who raised this issue. Together we are stronger.
UPDATED: Our advocacy worked! The session was cancelled and replaced by and all woman panel inclusive of three women living with HIV.
Beyond LIVING Launch World Mental Health Day Video.
October 10th, 2020
For World Mental Health Day the Beyond LIVING partnership, a global advocacy platform between GNP+, ICW, and Y+ Global, worked with our Life Force to highlight the impacts of mental health on people living with HIV around the world. Through this video we want to stress the importance of universal mental health access for all and its importance especially for our community.
Check out some of our other Mental Health Links:
ICW:
An Overlooked Epidemic: Mental Health and HIV - AIDS 2020 Symposium Session
Mental Health and Wellbeing - #GenderMatters Webinar Series
Young Women’s #GenderMatters Campaign Launch
Y+ Global:
READY Newsletter on Mental Wellbeing
HIV and Mental Health - AIDSMap LIVE Webinar
World Mental Health Day 2020 Event
#InvestinMentalHealth
#WorldMentalHealthDay
#GenderMatters Campaign Launched by ICW
September 24, 2020
ICW's Young Women's Media Team took the lead in conceptualizing and driving the new ICW campaign #GenderMatters to talk about intersecting issues in the gender and HIV response.
"Through our campaign #GenderMatters we want to highlight how gender inequality and patriarchy underscores our health outcomes and intensifies the diverse issues women living with HIV experience in relation to our other intersecting identities."
Check out their video launch on ICW's Facebook Live.
ICW Launches 2nd Young Women's Media Team for HIV 2020
August 11, 2020
Our team is back again and ready to share the gender issues that are most pressing for young women and girls living with HIV. The 2nd cohort of our Young Women's Media Team will be covering the activities at HIV 2020 in partnership with Y+, GNP+ and UNICEF. This team includes some mentors from. the first team and some new members. Please welcome Best Estellah (Uganda), Mwango Chanda (Zambia), Asiimwe Hajarah (Uganda), Hlanganisa Nhlabatsi (Eswatini), Laura Thoa (Kenya), Shyrene Mvula (Malawi), Loyiso Lindani (South Africa), Keren Dunaway (Argentina), Saidy Brown (Souther Africa), Lili Nascimento (Brazil), Mariia Viadova (Ukraine), Nurafiqah (Singapore), Sara Maga Thapa (Nepal), and Sharifah Kyomuka (Uganda). Follow them on social media where they will launch their own youth specific advocacy campaign for #gendermatters the first week of Septermber.
ICW Launch Blog Series by Young Women's Media Team
August 4, 2020
ICW is proud to launch a series of blogs by young women living with HIV developed during the Young Women's Media Team's AIDS 2020 program. This series of blogs builds off the team's successful #gendermatters campaign and will feature various issues that each team member chose to write about. Every few days during the month of August we will launch a new blog. Keep watching.
Networks of people living with HIV plug the gap in essential services as weak health systems struggle to cope with COVID-19
July 14, 2019
As health systems the world over are buckling under the pressure of COVID-19, volunteers and activists from the HIV movement have stepped in to ensure that essential services continue. A survey by GNP+, ICW and Y+ Global has found that networks of people living with HIV are using innovative ways to ensure their peers and their communities continue to have access to the critical services that they need.
The results of the survey, released today in our report Living with HIV in the time of COVID-19, show how governments are focusing their efforts on COVID-19 at the expense of other essential services and leaving marginalised people more vulnerable than ever. Services including HIV testing and prevention, sexual and reproductive health services and rights, harm reduction and psycho-social support have all been cut back leading to a real risk that the gains made over recent years to reduce new HIV infections and increase access to treatment will be erased. Read full report here.
ICW is Proud to Announce Our Young Women's Social Media Team for AIDS 2020 Virtual
June 11, 2020
ICW is thrilled to have 12 young women join our social media team to support advocacy and information sharing during AIDS 2020 Virtual. We congratulate Best Estellah (Uganda), Mwango Chanda (Zambia), Asiimwe Hajarah (Uganda), Hlanganisa Nhlabatsi (Eswatini), Angaihi Khawlhring (India), Laura Thoa (Kenya), Shyrene Mvula (Malawi), Loyiso Lindani (South Africa), Keren Dunaway (Argentina), and three others that are not open about their HIV statuses from Nepal and Trinidad. Our dynamic team will be in action in June and July thanks to a support and partnership from UNICEF, GNP+ and Y+.
ICW Launches Gender Matters Webinar Series for AIDS 2020
June 1, 2020
As a proud partner of #AIDS2020Virtual, ICW is thrilled to announce its pre-conference webinar series #GenderMatters. This series will feature some of the high-level speakers and discussions about women living with HIV happening during the conference, making them free and accessible to all civil society who wants to join us. Our dynamic list of speakers include Lucy Wanjiku (Kenya), Mariana Iacono (Argentina) , Morolake Odetoyinbo (Nigeria/US), Jody Lee Fredericks (South Africa), Lillian Mworeko (Uganda), Brittany Cameron (Canada), Martha Cameron (US).
For more information or to register please contact ICWtweets@gmail.com.
To register click on links below:
Mental Health and Welling - https://bit.ly/3cJXBTk
U=U + Women - Minding the Gaps - https://bit.ly/3f7ne2l
Forced and Coerced Sterilization Victory in South Africa
February 24, 2020
ICW, ICW Southern Africa and partners lodged a complaint in 2015 on behalf of 48 (forty-eight) women living with HIV who suffered forced or coerced sterilization in state hospitals. The CGE’s investigation confirmed ICW's allegations that that women living with HIV in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng were sterilized without their informed consent in public hospitals on the basis of discrimination related to their gender and HIV status. Read the CGE’s findings and exploration this grave human rights violation experienced by women living with HIV.
Our Community Champion, Deloris Dockrey
April 28, 2020
ICW, GNP+ and Positive Women's Network USA mourn the loss of all of our former Board member and community champion Deloris Dockrey, who passed due to complications with COVID-19. For anyone that knew Deloris she was a ray of light and positivity as well as a fierce advocate for the rights of people living with HIV, in particular women. She was a mentor to many, who shared her knowledge and inspired numerous others. From 2012 – 2016, she was critical in the re-establishing of the ICW global secretariat as a member of the International Steering Committee as well as supporting ICW-North America to establish itself with its first paid staff position. As GNP+ Board Member, Deloris passionately advocated for the involvement of people living with HIV in the development, execution and evaluation of policy and programmes. As a leader within Positive Women’s Network-USA, Deloris helped shape thinking around sexual and reproductive rights as well as quality of care for women with HIV, mentored many emerging leaders, and connected us to a global community of women with HIV. To those left behind and mourning, our condolences. Deloris will be missed dearly
ICW Communique - Amsterdam Meeting
January 23, 2020
We, the ICW International Steering Committee (ISC), regional coordinators and key experts, came together on 20-22 January 2020 in Amsterdam with support from UNAIDS, UN Women and GNP+.
The purpose of the meeting was to collectively reflect and understand the past events that led to the recent crisis in the organization and map the way forward.
Together, we chose to focus on women we represent and put our movement first. We recommit to our mission and vision, and the 2018-2023 Global Strategic Plan.
We acknowledge the system failure at multiple levels that has caused the crisis and significant hurt and damage to people and ICW, including those in governance, staff and regional networks.
We have agreed that ICW needs to rebuild through a process of reform. We commit to ensuring that this results in greater transparency and accountability to our membership.
We thank members and partners for their trust and support as we rebuild.
