Despite pledges by world leaders and the UN to support civil society, AIDS nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) face heavy restrictions in Cambodia, China, Myanmar and Vietnam, Asia Catalyst said in a report released for World AIDS Day. English press release (pdf) Download the report in English (pdf)

UNAIDS Executive Secretary Michel Sidibe's trip to China got off to a strong start today with a round of meetings with Chinese NGOs. He began with   an awards ceremony given by International Treatment Preparedness Coalition in Shanghai. Over lunch, he heard from representatives of NGOs, including sex workers and drug users, about the challenges they face doing their work, and the need for more government cooperation with civil society.

In an open letter in August, Asia Catalyst and over 30 international AIDS and human rights organizations called on UNAIDS to speak out against restrictions on civil society. NGOs in China are growing despite burdensome restrictions on registration, censorship, and on individual AIDS activists.

Part 2 of Asia Catalyst's trip to China brings Meg and Gisa to Yunnan Province, where they are working with their new partner Phoenix （苦草工作室), a group of over 90 women living with HIV/AIDS. The group, which includes current and former sex workers and drug users, provides direct services to women in need. These range from hospice care to prison visits and funerals for those cut off from their families.

by Gisa Hartmann

An integral part of Asia Catalyst's approach to assisting organizations to become stronger and more effective is teaching groups how to create a simple strategic plan. Having just returned from an intensive working trip to China, and having also participated in AC's strategic planning meetings with Phoenix in China, with IKON in Bali, and with Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group (TTAG) in New York, I have noticed some issues that appear to be integral to the process, even for diverse groups in different parts of Asia.

By Louisa Greve

 

You might be surprised at some of the mistakes NGOs make when writing funding proposals.  Here are ten of the more serious missteps NGOs make -- and how to avoid them.  

by Chang Kun, Human Rights activist and co-founder of Beijing Yirenping Center

Chinese activists have been using different types of social medias to post their works and raise international awareness to assist special cases. Following are examples of some public ways in which Chinese activists have automatic access to information resources. In the past few years, because of the Internet and increasing work in this sphere by some HIV/AIDS organizations, such as Beijing AIZHIXING Institute, a lot of grass-root organizations have grown in skills on how to use Internet tools for their work and community, especially for posting human rights cases to increase attention.

For the next two weeks, Meg and Gisa will be "vlogging" (video blogging) our trip to Beijing and Yunnan to do on-the-ground work for Asia Catalyst: lobbying officials, coaching NGO partners, and holding a party to celebrate the accomplishments of our first "incubation" project, the Korekata AIDS Law Center.