RNP+ Brazil (National Net of People Living With HIV/ADS, in Portuguese) arose in 1995 with a group of 10 persons with positive answer to HIV, in a meeting held parallel to the 5th National Meeting of People living and cohabiting with HIV and AIDS, also known as “Living”, which is an annual gathering held by “Grupo Pela Vidda”, of Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi.

In 1996, at the National Meeting of Non Governmental Organizations - ENONG/AIDS, in Sao Paulo, 60 persons with positive answer to HIV get together and give RNP+ its continuity. In 96, at the 6th National Meeting of People living and cohabiting with HIV and AIDS, also known as “Living” 45 persons with positive answer to HIV act and produce the main goals of a project for regional meetings and the creation of RNP+’s Letter of Principles.

In 1997, at the National Meeting of Non Governmental Organizations - ENONG/AIDS, in Brasilia, 65 persons with positive answer to HIV stand grounds for the main goals. Through a project conceived by GADA - Grupo de Apoio ao Doente de Aids (Supporting Group to the Aids Patient, in Portuguese), from Sao Jose do Rio Preto, under Julio Cesar Figueiredo Caetano’s coordination at the National Coordination STD/AIDS of the Ministry of Health, five regional meetings were held, as follows: the one of the Southeast Region was held in Sao Jose do Rio Preto, State of Sao Paulo, from the 24th to the 26th of October, 1997; the one for the Northeast Region was held in Recife, from 12th to 14th of December, 1997; the one for the North Region, in Belem, from 13th to 15th of March, 1998; the one for the South Region happened from 20th to 22nd of April, 1998; and the one for the Center-West Region, in Goiania, from 01st ti 03rd of May, 1998.

On May 04th, 1998, also in Goiania, the 1st National Gathering of State Representatives and Regional Secretaries for RNP+ Brazil was held, where among other goals were presented a minimum national program that would aim at the improvement of life quality of the people HIV/positives. At this meeting 5 Regional Representatives, 23 State Representatives, Focal Point and National Substitute were elected.

These meetings had as an objective the agglutination of HIV/positives, aiming at their strengthening in all the national territory, as well as the beginning of a political, technical and mutual empowerment in order to rise new leaderships with the purpose of acting in their settlements, together with their governments and communities.

Things were happening throughout the State and Municipal Meetings. Whereas the second version of the project, sponsored by the National Coordination of STD/AIDS, from the Ministry of Heath, the 2nd Southeast Region RNP+ Meeting happened from 17th to 20th of April, 1999.

Since then several RNP+ cores emerged in the whole country and several meetings have happened at regional, state and municipal levels. Some of these cores have been legally institutionalized, others continued their work informally, in an independent way, or under the OSC’s (Civil Social Organizations, in Portuguese), AIDS bound protection. In 2003, in Brasilia, it took place the 1st RNP+ Cores Meeting that has turned out to be self-named RNP+ Brazil, where new Regional Representatives and a National Secretary were elected, becoming the National Joint. Also in this very year, during ENONG, in Sao Paulo, for the first time, representatives to Cnaids and Cams were elected.

During the Brazilian Congresses of STD and AIDS, held in August of 2004, the current RNP+ Brazil National Secretary was elected and among the present leadership it was decided to make a meeting with national feature.

In August, 2005, we have made the 1st RNP+ National Meeting, in Florianopolis, that consolidated the RNP+ in all of Brazil and changed its Letter of Principles, adapting it to the new reality of the people living with HIV/AIDS in the country. Spread throughout the country during these years we have made possible to strengthen our bonds, to better determine our role in the fight for our rights and duties, ripen our political participation, as well as establishing new partnerships aiming at the strengthening of RNP+ Brazil.

There is a lot yet to be done in this matter but we have begun the task of gathering efforts, talents and leadership, aiming at the RNP+ Brazil collective. We have proven to ourselves that we want and we are capable of taking the active roll in social control an in redeeming our citizenship, settling ourselves in the main role of this epidemic and co-stars of the National Program for STD/AIDS in the quest for the human rights of the people living with HIV/AIDS and the vulnerable population to the AIDS pandemy.