As well as campaigning internationally for access to AIDS treatment for all, ActionAid works with hundreds of communities in Africa, Asia and The Americas to stop the spread of HIV and defend the rights of people already infected with the virus.

33 million people worldwide are living with HIV and AIDS, 70% of them in Africa. However on current trends, Asia will overtake Africa by 2010. Emerging epidemics are also being projected in Latin America.

ActionAid has a long history of working with communities to protect vulnerable groups from infection and to tackle stigma and discrimination. We work with HIV-positive people, often using innovative methods, to develop their skills in living positively and claiming their rights. Some of the ways we do this include:

Community HIV training
Stepping Stones is a training programme that helps women and men explore their own sexual health needs, discuss the changes that they want, and find ways of making those changes.

Parallel workshops take place for men and women - by working in separate groups they have a safe, supportive space for discussing intimate issues, using methods such as role-play to build on their own experiences and priorities. The separate groups then meet together to share insights.

Results include:

• safer sexual behaviour
• reduction in domestic violence
• greater sharing of household tasks by men
• improved communication between couples and between parents and children (especially on sensitive issues relating to HIV and sexual health)

Bags of love
ActionAid funds the Nepal National Social Welfare Association's maya ko thaili (bag of love) project.

Nepalese migrants working in India are sent packages which include a letter from their family, some family keepsakes and HIV and AIDS-related information. The package reminds the worker of their family and promotes awareness of the dangers of unsafe sex.

Dating in Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, ActionAid funds a dating service for HIV-positive listeners of a radio station, with the aim of ending the stigma associated with the virus and the social isolation of those who are HIV-positive.