The launch of the Invisible women campaign saw campaigners send action cards personalised with romantic messages, lipstick marks and perfume to International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander, asking him to put women at the heart of his department’s new HIV and AIDS strategy. 

Over 4,000 actions poured in to the Department for International Development (DFID) who were blown away by your creativity.  According to one senior government adviser, your cards got people talking at the highest level and brought our campaign attention that it wouldn’t otherwise have received.

We’ve now had a response from Douglas Alexander, acknowledging that women’s rights should be at the heart of DFID’s new HIV and AIDS strategy.  While this is a major win, ActionAid was disappointed that his letter didn’t promise any specific targets. 

For the new strategy to genuinely deliver for women and girls in developing countries, it needs to include clear targets and identify how DFID will measure the impact of its work on women. 

Some of the things we really want to see are: 

• funding for HIV prevention methods that work for women, including female condoms and research into microbicides
• training for doctors and nurses so they can spot and respond to the signs of violence when treating women
• support and remuneration for the millions of women and girls who devote time and energy to caring for those living with HIV and AIDS.

Now we’re launching the next phase of our campaign to ensure we get our key recommendations into the new strategy. 

Help keep the pressure on - take action now!