Some Best Advocacy Practices In The Fight Against Hiv/Aids In Mali, West Africa

This paper explores some best advocacy practices in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Mali. My study focuses mainly on the different strategies advocates use, not only to promote the prevention and the treatment of HIV in Mali but also to address the many challenges they encounter when working in the field. This is a qualitative study for which three main methods of data collection are used. These include personal observation, the review of several documents related to the topic, and unstructured interviews with selected employees of the Malian government, local non governmental organizations (NGOs), and an international donor. The study shows that both the public sector and non governmental organizations deal with HIV/AIDS and poverty separately, as if they were distinct issues. Many health programs emphasize prevention and treatment, ignoring the role that poverty plays in the spread of the HIV pandemic. However, some community based organizations (CBOs) bridge the gap between the traditional response to HIV/AIDS and an integrated approach that can lead to both short and long term solutions to the problems posed by the disease. Findings from this research might be of help to a large spectrum of actors. They could guide governments and policy makers, international funding agencies and NGOs in adapting programs and policies which address the real needs of people affected by HIV/AIDS. Both NGOs and the private sector will find in the results incentives to develop strategies which are more comprehensive and effective than those they have traditionally used in the fight against HIV/AIDS