Caregivers need to step up lobbying for the inclusion of care and support strategies/activities in their forth coming Global Fund applications. I know that care and support to many people seems like it is “soft ware” in the HIV/AIDS response. Many actors have never seen/acknowledged the use/added value of such “soft ware” and therefore choose to concentrate on “hard ware” where the results are tangible and visible.

As care givers though, this is the time we need to make a case and speak for what we believe in. I think it will be helpful if groups/countries make analyses of what country situations can be like without the consideration and recognition of care and support activities and also comparatively present the value that care and support can add to the HIV/AIDS response. In some countries, such an analysis may have monetary implications but it is worth an investment. I would also recommend that care giver groups, strengthen their networks for organized lobbying so as to get positive feed back from respective Country Coordinating Mechanisms. It would be great to get allies with in Ministries of Health and donor agencies to support care givers. Lastly, the kind of interventions/strategies should clearly show the linkage between the three disease components (HIV, TB, Malaria) other than only focusing on HIV. Strategies that are cross-cutting for the three diseases are more likely to be accepted than those targeting one disease component.

-Alice Kayongo