Call to Action: PLHIV - Write Your Rights!

"Get Up - Speak Up! Write Your Rights!", loudly called WLHIV activists Celina Menezes and Preeti Ahuja, at the Women’s Press Club in New Delhi, India on the eve of International Women’s Day, launching a message to be heard around the world.

To mark International Women’s Day 2009, Women Living with HIV are launching a global initiative on Rights and Responsibilities, and invite their sisters and brothers, comrades and peers from around the world to participate in the collective drafting of the PLHIV Charter for HIV Care. This Charter will be the synthesis of values, principles, and aspirations that are globally shared by People living with HIV, include elements of related rights-based documents, and establish the international Standard for Care that should be attained in all countries.

The PLHIV Charter aims to outline the fundamental elements for building an equitable and effective system of care, from the perspective of those in need. The Charter will also serve to foster partnerships, bringing PLHIV and health professionals together to better collaborate in the global fight against HIV/AIDS through implementation of these best practices in local communities, and to inspire a new sense of participation, inter-dependence and shared responsibilities for the well-being of the HIV Community. It is the dignified expression of common cause, and amplifies the voices of those who have a lifesaving interest in improving the standards of care.