The European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG) is a European network of nationally-based volunteer activists comprising of more than 110 members from 40 countries in Europe. Our members are representatives of different communities affected by HIV/AIDS in Europe. The nature of the EATG implies that it has members all over Europe and sometimes even beyond. There are two kinds of membership:

• Supportive Membership, without voting right
• Ordinary Membership, with voting right, usually granted after 1 year

Since its foundation, the EATG has been at the forefront of the development of the civil society response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Europe. It represents and defends the treatment-related interests of people living with HIV/AIDS. Our activities focus on treatment literacy and treatment advocacy. A major goal for EATG when it was founded in 1992 was the simultaneous development of therapies in Europe, including not only antiretroviral therapies, but as well as treatments for opportunistic infections and other AIDS related conditions.

In responding to HIV, EATG considers diseases frequently seen as co-infection in people with HIV, as well as other health issues that increase the risk of HIV of prime importance. In the past few years EATG has increased its activities on co-infections such as hepatitis C, hepatitis B and tuberculosis.

Our primary geographic focus is member states served by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Europe. However, European AIDS Treatment group considers all potential opportunities for collaboration and support of similar efforts in other parts of the world. Access to the best available treatments is a major goal for the EATG. This includes:

• Access to all people who could benefit from the treatment, including so-called 'sub-populations' like drug-users, women, children, migrants, people with hepatitis or tuberculosis co-infection, with haemophilia and other.
• Access for patients in all stages of HIV infection (including first-line, salvage)
• Access to treatment in all European countries (according to WHO definition of Euro region)

Our members are active in the following countries:

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan. We also have members in Canada and US.

EATG maintains strong connexions with International Peer Networks

The EATG maintains strong links with harm reduction and drug user group from Western and Eastern Europe as well as advocacy organisations and networks of people living with HIV/AIDS, such as:

• International Harm Reduction Development Program (IHRD)
• Central and Eastern European Harm Reduction Network (CEEHRN)
• AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC)
• International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC)
• Health Global Access Project (Health GAP)
• Health Action International (HAI)
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
• Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+)
• International Community of Women with HIV/AIDS (ICW)
• Eastern European & Central Asian Union of PLWH Organizations (ECUO)
• South-Eastern European Network of PLWHA (SEEN)
• Global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM)

The first EATG Long Term Strategy did cover 2007-2010. At the end of 2011 EATG published its 2012-2015 Long Term Strategy (as follow up to the previous 2007-2010 LTS).

Within the framework of the Long Term Strategy a work plan is developed each year. At the end of the year an annual report is published.

The EATG is a signatory and active contributor of the constantly evolving "Renewing Our Voice - Code of Good Practice for NGOs Responding to HIV/AIDS" between Patient Organisations and the Healthcare Industry.

In 2007 the PCWP at EMEA initiated a debate on questionable practices when working with industry. The PO (patient organisations) present at the PCWP decided to write a code of good practice.This document is intended as guidance to help and encourage patient organisations to develop their Code of Practice.

The Code sets out a number of Guiding Principles which apply a human rights approach to the range of HIV/AIDS-specific health, development and humanitarian work undertaken by NGOs responding to HIV/AIDS.

These principles provide a common framework applicable to all NGOs engaged in responding to HIV/AIDS, and are embodied within good practice principles, which guide both how we work as NGOs and what we do.

It also includes key resources such as tool kits and manuals that can assist in putting the principles into practice and information about the process of ‘signing on’ to the Code and about implementation of the Code.

http://www.hivcode.org/

The EATG constitution was passed unanimously during the 2nd ^'AIDS & Medication' meeting convened in Berlin on 23 February 1992 where the participants formally inaugurated themselves as the European AIDS Treatment Group. Revisions of the constitution were performed during the General Assembly (GA) on June 14th 1998 in Raunheim, Germany and during the GA on May 20th 2000 in Athens, Greece. Other constitutional changes happened during the 2012 GA.