20 Years at the Coalition – A celebration of our work and Coalition Member Stuart Kean
It was 2004 at the International AIDS Conference in Bangkok when Stuart convened with others including founding member Lorraine Sherr. They were struck by how little attention was being given to children and the issues relating to their needs in the sector. The focus on children was at best tokenistic and at worst, non-existent. Stuart was working at World Vision UK and World Vision International when his increasing global work saw him able to utilise the work of the Coalition to help move children to the top of the international agenda, galvanising support from civil society and academia to do so. It was 20 years ago that the Coalition was founded, and, at our inception, the Coalition originally sought to ensure children were a prominent feature at further International AIDS Conferences. This evolved into a broader approach and the Coalition, and Stuart, turned their attention to other critical international development matters, including the United Nations and PEPFAR. Over the years, Stuart has helped the Coalition become advocacy orientated and was a key actor behind many of the global policy changes we have achieved for children and adolescents.
Reflecting on his time at the Coalition, Stuart can see how being part of a major and respected network such as the Coalition has enabled him and others to reach policy-makers and advocates in a way that individual organisations simply can’t alone. He says, “When you are part of a Coalition, you have to put your own organisation aside to create more effective advocacy work. It’s about sharing the space with others to create success. The collective weight of advice and knowledge that civil society and academia brings, can bridge the gap between these areas and have influence at a national and international level.”
After 20 years, Stuart is moving on from the Coalition to focus on climate change advocacy. However, he isn’t forgetting his long-standing commitment to support HIV care for key populations, including his recent work with UNAIDS and PEPFAR to create a new Compendium of Promising Practices on the Power of Faith Communities. Another cause close to Stuart’s heart, the climate sector, brings new opportunities for Stuart to build on his experience from his early career working with the Ministry of Agriculture in Zambia and Ministry of Environment in Namibia, coming full circle to link his work in the United Kingdom helping to create high-quality eco churches. Stuart is keen to continue to focus on climate justice to ensure families and communities continue to thrive globally.
As Stuart reflects on the achievements of the Coalition 20 years later, he and the Coalition’s members alike are delighted that at the recent AIDS 2024 Conference, the first plenary dedicated to pediatrics was hosted, giving this key population the attention it deserves. In addition, the recent work of the Coalition on financing – identifying the gaps using evidence to call for more resourcing to end AIDS has come at a pivotal time. He believes this is the most significant piece of research we have produced yet, and that we should use this momentum to take our agenda forward.
Stuart believes our work with the Global Alliance to End AIDS in Children and key partners is the real gatekeeper to future success. He thinks that we have the evidence to reflect on our work at a global level and that now is the time to take this work to country-level, ensuring that it gets the publicity it deserves and the dissemination to ensure the work and findings are implemented in communities, with the backing of partners and networks. Stuart says, “Research alone can’t end AIDS by 2023, but together with our knowledge and the right support, we can work at national and local level to create lasting change.”
We wish to thank Stuart for his many years of service to the Coalition and look forward to seeing the impact of his work in the climate sector and beyond in the years to come.