Cairo – Ahmed Balah: The meeting of the HIV Arab Networks Leadership was full of constructive dialogues, often raising heated debates, exchange of experience, and expression of different views that either coincided or disagreed, all with the one common aim of responding to one of the barriers to development in the Arab world.

Damascus: Recognizing the significant role played by media means in formulating public opinion, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) HIV/AIDS Regional Programme in the Arab States (HARPAS) organized a training workshop along with the OPEC Fund for International Finance and Development. The workshop comprised a number of Syrian media professionals working in the field of Radio and TV, including presenters, developers and directors from 24 to 26 March in the Syrian Capital Damascus.

Doha – Under the slogan "Effective Mercy" and during four full days, proceedings of Imam and Preacher trainers' workshop in response to AIDS were held in the Qatari Capital Doha from 16 to 19 March 2009. The workshop was organized by the Qatari Ministry of Health in cooperation with the Ministry of Religious Endowments (Waqfs) and Islamic Affairs and the HIV/AIDS Regional Programme in the Arab States (HARPAS).

Djibouti: Proceedings of the training workshop organized by the Ministry of Health in Djibouti in cooperation with HIV/AIDS Regional Programme in the Arab States (HARPAS) and the OPEC Fund for International Development have terminated recently in Djibouti. It took place from 1 February till 3 February 2009, within the framework of "Towards a press that protects rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS".

Abu Dhabi (UAE): The Abu Dhabi Health Organization, UAE, in collaboration with the UNDP HIV/AIDS Regional Programme in the Arab States (UNDP/HARPAS), organized a training workshop on 2 February 2009, which aimed at raising awareness on HIV/AIDS, and promoting the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH). Sixty imams and women religious leaders from the General Organization of Islamic Affairs and Awqaf participated in this meeting.
 

Building on HARPAS' six years of successful work recruiting high-level support to build capacity to respond to HIV/AIDS in the Arab region, and building networks on the ground of multi-sector partners and stakeholders with a keen understanding of the human rights-based approach to the complex issues of HIV/AIDS and human development, HARPAS is taking response and capacity building initiatives further to help key partners promote their own on the ground projects to work directly with key populations, in those areas where national projects do not exist or where national capacity is still limited.

A successful response to HIV/AIDS is one that needs the true involvement of the whole community acting together as one force complementing and supporting each other. A key influential actor in this Arab community is the religious leaders; their impact is one that cannot be neglected. They have legitimacy, a durable presence and even more than that; they help shape the social values and norms of people ...

The second event conducted in Algiers, Algeria 29-31 Oct. 2007 is part of a series of sub-regional workshops. Organized by UNDP/HARPAS in partnership with UNDP Algeria, ILO, and UNHCR, it gathered 60 parliamentarians from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. It built up on a previous initiative organized in November 2005, "The Legal Framework for HIV/AIDS ...

HIV/AIDS impacts are likely to concentrate on young adults in their most productive years. Thus, AIDS is projected as having the potential to become the second major cause of death among adults of working age in the world - including the Arab world - posing a serious economic threat. The epidemic is eroding productivity just at the time when developing countries, including most of the Arab countries, need to become more competitive to cope with rapid globalization...

From the 8th to the 11th of September 2007, HARPAS has organized a regional training workshop co-facilitated by UNDP and the Reuters Foundations employing UNDP's transformative leadership and development enhancement methodologies that have generated highly effective responses to the epidemic in the region, in synergy with the Media professional expertise of the Reuters Foundation...