January 26^th – 29^th, 2010

In the scope of its Regional Program in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (IHAA) is organizing a regional workshop on planning and evaluation in partnership with the Soins Infirmiers et Développement Communautaire (SIDC) Association.

This regional workshop will be held in Beirut, Sin El fil, Hotel Padova from January 26^th to 29^th, 2010 from 9:00 am till 5:30 Pm and will gather representatives of partner organizations of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia.

The overall objective of this workshop is to assess, with the contribution of partner organizations in the Middle East and North Africa, the strengths and challenges of the project entitled "Meeting sexual needs of Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) in the MENA region" in order to plan the coming year and to revise the regional advocacy project in collaboration with the Regional / Arab Network against HIV/AIDS (RANAA). 

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The UNDP – HARPAS worked, since its creation, on strengthening and supporting regional and national initiatives of the Civil Society in the Arab States in the HIV/AIDS response. Therefore the “Programme” established various partnerships with the Civil Society, Community leaders, the private sector and governments in the region. One of the main outcomes of the partnership with the Civil Society was the creation of active regional networks working on the HIV/AIDS response in the region, including RANAA – the Regional/Arab Network Against HIV/AIDS, the SHAHAMA network that gathers Christian and Muslim religious leaders, the network that groups private sector leaders - ABKAR and last but not least, the SARAHA initiative for independent journalists, etc.

In the context of its continuous efforts to assist and reinforce these initiatives, the UNDP – HARPAS organized the First Forum of the Steering Committees of the regional Civil Society, entitled "Active communities in the HIV/AIDS response", in order to strengthen the cooperation between regional networks working on HIV/AIDS in the Arab States. The Forum was held in April 27-29,2009, in Cairo, Egypt.

The RANAA Executive Board members represented the Network at this meeting, and the RANAA President introduced the Network’s objectives and activities, as well as the main activities RANAA is going to undertake during the two following years.