Gaewwansa P, Nopachai SV; International Conference on AIDS (15th : 2004 : Bangkok, Thailand).
Int Conf AIDS. 2004 Jul 11-16; 15: abstract no. ThPeD7698.
The Power of Life Group, Bangkok, Thailand
Issues: Past research and experiences have shown that HIV-positive women in Thailand face a number of problems relating to reproductive health and rights and often receive inadequate counseling and support from health providers. At the same time, other positive women have learned from their own past experiences and possess the ability and determination to help their peers. These positive women do not want to feel like burdens to society but want to contribute their time and energies for the benefit of others. However, various obstacles, such as lack of experience, skills, and confidence, prevent groups of positive people from implementing HIV/AIDS projects. In addition, many organizations and society do not believe in the potential of people living with HIV/AIDS. Description: The Power of Life Group (POL) is a group of people living with HIV/AIDS working on issues of positive women. After realizing the problems of positive women, POL wanted to actively work to solve these problems. Facing many of the obstacles listed above, POL joined with Raks Thai Foundation (RTF) to design and implement Voices and Choices 2 which focuses on empowering positive women, working with hospital counseling services, policy research and advocacy, and research on the experiences of positive women. RTF developed the 3-year project proposal based on the ideas of POL and provides technical support and capacity building while POL serves as the main implementer and manager of the project. Lessons learned: With assistance from a partner organization, HIV-positive women groups are able to design and implement large projects effectively, learn from their experiences, and make a significant difference in the lives of others. Once organizations and society see this, they become more accepting towards people living with HIV/AIDS. Recommendations: Efforts are needed to develop the capacity of and facilitate the overall involvement of HIV-positive people in designing and implementing HIV/AIDS projects. Their work in HIV/AIDS benefits other positive people while also building their own sense of hope and confidence.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Counseling
- Female
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Health
- Health Planning Guidelines
- Health Services
- Human Rights
- Humans
- Organizations
- Reproductive Medicine
- Research
- Thailand
Other ID:
UI: 102281469
From Meeting Abstracts