For a group of twenty West Africans, World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, 2005, marked their third full week traveling the dusty roads of their region as part of a caravan conducting a six-country HIV awareness campaign. The Cross-Border Caravan Against Stigma and Discrimination helped individuals, communities and countries commit to stopping AIDS by improving HIV awareness and attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS in towns along the caravan route.

With support from FHI's USAID-funded Action for West Africa Region HIV/AIDS (AWARE) Project, the caravan journeyed through Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria. It ended on Dec. 4 at the opening of the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) in Abuja , Nigeria . By then it had shared its messages of tolerance and support in 23 towns along the way, sensitizing an estimated 23,000 people through talks and entertainment, and reaching many more through ongoing media coverage. National representatives in each country accompanied the caravan, and host countries funded components of the campaign. HIV stigma and discrimination training was also provided to 30 religious leaders in each town, and was supported by the Regional Coordination of Religious Networks in the Campaign Against AIDS.

The caravan was staffed by 20 people representing each of the six countries included on the route and included religious leaders, groups of people living with HIV and AIDS, journalists, a medical doctor, a technical advisor, a logistician and five drivers. All of the participants received specialized training on combating HIV stigma and discrimination.

When the caravan rolled to a stop at ICASA on Dec. 4, its members spoke at the opening ceremony of the conference, which was themed “HIV/AIDS and the Family,” a topic that complemented the caravan's messages of tolerance, care and support.