Community Responses to HIV and AIDS (Research and Policy Brief)

Although the AIDS epidemic has been examined from many angles, there is still a paucity of data on how communities themselves are responding to it. The UNRISD project, Community Responses to HIV/AIDS, initiated in 2004, commissioned researchers from eight sites across the globe to document what communities—individuals, extended families, households and wider social groupings—are doing about HIV and AIDS, how they are interacting with state and non-state institutions, and the opportunities for—or barriers to—more supportive community environments. This Research and Policy Brief summarizes the project findings as they were published the British journal AIDS Care: Psychological and socio-medical aspects of AIDS/HIV (Vol. 19, Supplement 1, 2007). The journal issue comprises eight articles, plus introductory and concluding comments by guest editor Rene Loewenson. The research was coordinated by the Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC), a non-profit organization that mentors and carries out research internationally on health and social policy issues.

UNRISD Research and Policy Briefs aim to improve the quality of development dialogue. They situate the Institute’s research within wider social development debates, synthesize its findings and draw out issues for consideration in decision-making processes. They provide this information in a concise format that should be of use to policy makers, scholars, activists, journalists and others.

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