The AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) was created to galvanise a movement of progressive civil society actors to advance a human rights-based response to HIV in southern Africa.  ARASA set out to build a cadre of civil society organisations in the region to raise awareness and understanding by both communities and policy makers about the need for human rights to be at the centre of national HIV (and subsequently TB) responses and to strongly advocate for a human rights-based response.