Summary: In the lead up to World AIDS Day, Christian Aid Communications Officer Ally Carnwath reflects on how the Christian Aid-supported CAHAC campaign in the Democratic Republic of Congo led to the introduction of a law protecting the rights of people living with HIV and extended access to life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) medication to some of the country’s poorest people. Starting in 2005, Community Action against HIV/AIDS in the Congo, organised a range of awareness-raising activities, including the country’s biggest ever HIV demonstration, which saw almost 10,000 AIDS activists take to the streets for simultaneous marches across all 11 of the country’s provinces. Finance for ARV treatment remains a problem but thanks to CAHAC’s pressure on the government, the number of people under ARV treatment has risen from 4,000 to 32,000 in the past five years.
