www.ifrc.org/docs/news/03/03011701/

Joseph Scheich – a Tribute
17 January 2003

The Red Cross and Red Crescent today joined the world of AIDS activists in expressing a deep sense of grief at the untimely death of Joseph Scheich, the brilliant and inspiring former International Co-ordinator of the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+) and manager of the STOP AIDS NOW! Foundation.

“I am completely shocked at this tragic news. Joseph was an inspiration to me and many other health workers in the International Federation and made a tremendous contribution towards helping us to scale up our own efforts worldwide particularly through supporting our alliance with GNP+,” said Dr. Alvaro Bermejo, head of the Federation’s health department.

“He believed in us and that helped us to believe in ourselves. Our thoughts and all our sympathy are with his friends, family and colleagues around the world,” said Matthias Schmale, head of organisational development at the Federation, whose first meeting with Joseph in a small basement office in Amsterdam eventually led to the announcement at the UN Special Session on HIV/AIDS in 2001 that a mutually supportive partnership was being forged between the International Federation and GNP+.

In the view of Dr. Bermejo, the remarkable thing about this relationship was the fact that GNP+ through Joseph saw the value of an organisation of, and for, people living with HIV/AIDS partnering with a mainstream humanitarian organisation with a much broader mandate.

“He grasped the value of such an alliance and how it could make a difference at community level around the world in creating a mutually supportive environment for members and volunteers of both organisations in the struggle against the pandemic. This was truly visionary,” said Dr. Bermejo.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies