ABSTRACT
International financial support and the mobilisation of civil society has created an African (NGO) collective centred on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome(AIDS). In some sub-Saharan states the indifference of government to the epidemic has reflected its lack of any constituency, or tenuous link with its population, leading to an absence of any definable accountability to those most affected by the pandemic. While the initial responses of NGOs centred on a witnessing and support role of those directly affected by HIV/AIDS, the overall mandate has arguably moved on. There are several strands to this advocacy, which together constitute the search for legitimacy: the representation of minority groups within a larger and nebulous civil society and the articulation of good/best practices in HIV prevention and HIV/AIDS care. The central place of NGOs within the response to HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa is not in dispute.
