Introduction

Blue Sky Week (BSW) is an International HIV/AIDS Alliance key event which takes place annually in each region. The overall purpose of BSW is to bring together Alliance Linking Organisations (LOs) and strategic partners from a specific region, to enable strategic “blue sky”, i.e open ended, thinking.  The event provides a valuable opportunity for LOs to learn from each other and to engage in regional and global-level discussions and debates relevant to the HIV/AIDS response.

The Asia and Eastern Europe BSW 2015 will take place in Kuala Lumpur from 13 to 16 October. Thirteen LOs represented by the Executive Director and a member of Board of Trustees and three regional networks have been invited to attend the event hosted by Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC), an Alliance LO in Malaysia. The Executive Director of Via Libre in Peru will also attend as a key resource person on the topic of innovative HIV financing.

The Alliance is currently in the process of reviewing and updating its strategy for the period 2016-2020 in light of global developments in the HIV/AIDS response. The new global orientation of the HIV response towards decentralisation and medicalisation of the response prevesents opportunities and challenges for key populations which will require innovative approaches to programming, financing, advocacy and accountability.

The overarching theme of BSW is ‘innovation; a clear theme which is emerging from global strategies such as UNAIDS Fast Track strategy; the new strategy of the Global Fund as well as the SDG that are driving the HIV response at national and community levels.

Participants

By invitation only

Objectives

The objectives of the Asia and Eastern Europe Blue Sky Week 2015 are:

1. To better understand the changing global and regional context around HIV and reflect on how the Alliance strategy takes into consideration these changes.
2. To share innovative approaches in 1) the design and implementation of HIV programmes including testing and treatment and 2) innovative funding mechanisms and partnerships.
3. To discuss and internalise the draft Alliance strategy and results framework for its second phase 2016-2020, provide feedback on operationalization and concrete suggestions for the role of AEE
4. To better understand the AIDS response in Malaysia through field visits and a community forum.