 We interview Rhon Reynolds by phone. Not because he's at the other end of the world. He's not. Actually he's not even at the other end of town. But with two weeks to go to the Vienna conference, and just after finishing his first UNAIDS Program Coordinating Board (PCB) meeting as the main EU NGO delegate, Rhon is a busy man.
European NGO Delegate to the UNAIDS Program Coordinating Board (PCB) sounds like an important job. But is it really?
[Laughs] It's a very important job. You have a great responsibility and you are accountable to your constituency. You have to try to consult with all of them and be aware of their priorities.
What is that you exactly do as a NGO delegate at the UNAIDS PCB?
We represent NGOs from different regions and do all the preparatory work to make the UNAIDS PCB outcome as successful as possible for our constituencies. One part of the work is preparing an NGO paper. This year's theme was stigma and discrimination, which was identified as one critical barrier in the response during the latest PCB. Another task of the NGO delegation is to sit in a number of working groups preparing the meeting and have a say in setting the agenda. Closer to the meeting, we prepare talking points and have meetings with delegates, co-sponsors and the UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, to influence the process and the outcome of the meeting.
The PCB of UNAIDS is highly focussed on policy. Is it a challenge to operate in such a forum when you're also an activist?
Not for me, because I see myself as an activist and a policy person. I have a master in health care financing and experience with national policy making. The biggest challenge is representation: who is representing who? As NGO delegate I have the opportunity to represent those who normally don't have a voice at this policy level: men who have sex with men, drug users and sexworkers. As a NGO delegate I get the chance to be an activist that makes policy that supports these groups. But I will not say that it is easy. Bringing policy into the room is a tough job. At the latest UNGASS meeting, I got almost arrested when we raised our voices for transgenders who were not being acknowledged.
What is the main achievement that came out of this PCB?
The amount of representation of the people involved was very good. Because of this we were successful in calling upon members to remove punitive laws, policies and practices that block access to HIV services, as well as to intensify efforts to meet the health needs of vulnerable populations. NGOs played a key role in this success. Also the MSM agenda was completely accepted by the PCB.
What mark do you hope to leave a NGO representative?
My focus has always been on the impact of HIV and AIDS on misplaced and displaced people. A group that is largely overlooked by international institutions. I want to give them a voice. Also I would like to stress that treatment alone is not enough. There should be a more holistic view on prevention, which also entails human rights. Only 7% of the men who have sex with men have access to prevention methods. This is unacceptable. Just like the complacency and indifference you sometimes see with governments to these facts. HIV and AIDS have to be important to our governments and our populations. That is something I want to contribute to.
Why did you become involved with HIV and AIDS?
HIV and AIDS cut across a number of issues. Not only health, but also human rights and poverty. The whole thing is highly political. I have been working in the field of HIV and AIDS since graduate school in New Jersey, when I was involved with the issue of African-American men and condom use. After that I joined the Gay Men's Health Crisis in NYC, and via the National Aids Trust in London, I now work for IAVI in Amsterdam. They give me the time to do my work as NGO delegate. All these years, I have also been active in different volunteer positions. As NGO delegate I now have the opportunity to bring all these different networks together.
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