USAID HIV/AIDS E-Newsletter - April 2005
The Synergy Project, implemented by Social & Scientific Systems, Inc., published this E-Newsletter on behalf of USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS.
This E-Newsletter ended in 2005, but access past editions in the archive section.
The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of HIV/AIDS is proud to be a partner in The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. This e-newsletter is a regular update from USAID and its partners on programs that prevent and mitigate HIV/AIDS across the developing world.
We encourage you to circulate this publication to colleagues.
Table of Contents
- A. New Partner Spotlight
- American Red Cross Scales Up HIV/AIDS Peer Education
- B. News
- Namibian Nurses Help Prevent Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission
- Program To Train Youth as Caregivers Adapted To Target Children Affected by AIDS
- Online Youth Forum Held: “Pregnancy Prevention in a Time of AIDS”
- C. Recent Events
- Nigerian Editors Trained in Reporting on Counseling and Testing
- Essentials of Integrated HIV/AIDS Programming Course Held in Jamaica
- D. Publications
- Fourth Edition of "USAID Project Profiles: Children Affected by HIV/AIDS" Released
- Report on Pediatric Antiretroviral Treatment Released
- Study To Assess Innovative Treatment Strategy
- Report Shows Causes and Consequences of AIDS Stigma Similar Across Countries
- Scaling Up Delayed Sexual Debut: A Campaign for Africa
- Kenyan Companies Receive Support for Employee HIV Treatment
- Multi-Country Prevention and Treatment Project Benefits Mobile Populations
- Materials Build Awareness of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission in Guyana
- Online Health Information Resources Build Capacity in Eurasia
- Report Details Lessons Learned in Prevention among MSM in Latin America and the Caribbean
- Publication Addresses Issues for Muslim Communities Affected by HIV and AIDS
- Opportunities Assessed to Integrate Family Planning and HIV Counseling and Testing Services in Ghana
- Publication Assists in Development of Frameworks for HIV Programming
- E. Online Resources
- The Synergy HIV/AIDS Resource Center Highlights What’s New
- Website Launches New Global Resources Centre
A. New Partner Spotlight
- American Red Cross Scales Up HIV/AIDS Peer Education
The American Red Cross (ARC) works with a global network to bring emergency relief and improved living conditions to vulnerable people in Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, the Pacific, the Americas, and the former Soviet Union. As part of the Emergency Plan, ARC’s Together We Can project will scale up proven HIV/AIDS peer education methodology for youth in Tanzania, Haiti, and Guyana. Through an interactive eight-hour curriculum, together with culturally-appropriate community mobilization approaches, the program will reach 766,000 youth to encourage delayed sexual activity, secondary abstinence, and safer behaviors. ARC will also build the capacity of national Red Cross societies and selected local branches to implement effective youth HIV prevention programs.
B. News
- Namibian Nurses Help Prevent Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission [PDF, 95KB]
Improving interpersonal communication and counseling skills for those working in prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission is the aim of the Quality Communication Assurance program, a pilot endeavor that has trained nurses in five faith-based hospitals in Namibia. This year, seven training sessions will be held as a prelude to the program’s launch in government hospitals. The program is implemented by the Health Communication Partnership, a global communication project supported by USAID and based at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs.
- Program To Train Youth as Caregivers Adapted To Target Children Affected by AIDS
Building on previous Population Council/Horizons research in Zambia, which found that trained youth could be a valuable resource for home-based care programs, staff from Horizons and Valley Trust, a faith-based organization, are developing and evaluating an adapted model in South Africa. The intervention study is examining the role trained youth can play in providing care and support to children affected by AIDS.
- Online Youth Forum Held: “Pregnancy Prevention in a Time of AIDS”
An online forum held March 15-April 15, 2005, enabled more than 600 people from 84 countries to share experiences and lessons learned concerning pregnancy prevention among youth, and to communicate with guest experts from the United Nations and other international agencies. Family Health International/YouthNet cosponsored the forum with the INFO Project and the Implementing Best Practices in Reproductive Health Initiative, coordinated by the World Health Organization. Archived postings are available.
C. Recent Events
- Nigerian Editors Trained in Reporting on Counseling and Testing
The USAID-funded Internews’ Local Voices project in Nigeria held a workshop in February to train editors to report accurately on counseling and testing as tools to help prevent and control HIV/AIDS. Few news editors and reporters are sufficiently prepared to cover critical public health issues. With every training activity, Internews works to raise the level of journalists' preparedness to cover HIV/AIDS issues.
- Essentials of Integrated HIV/AIDS Programming Course Held in Jamaica
The Synergy Project of Social & Scientific Systems, Inc., conducted a third regional offering of the Essentials of Integrated HIV/AIDS Programming course, this one in Montego Bay, Jamaica, February 28–March 5, 2005. The course introduced participants to The Synergy Project’s integrated programming cycle comprising assessment, strategic planning, design, implementation monitoring, and evaluation (APDIME), and helped participants explore how they might integrate aspects of APDIME in their work. A total of 38 participants from 16 countries and 32 organizations attended the course.
D. Publications
- Fourth Edition of "USAID Project Profiles: Children Affected by HIV/AIDS" Released
This report profiles 114 projects (90 country-specific, 12 regional, and 12 global) funded by USAID. The diversity of these projects demonstrates the determination of the U.S. Government to meet the wide array of needs of children and adolescents affected by HIV/AIDS. Documenting these project activities promotes the exchange of ideas and information, fosters the leveraging of technical and financial resources, and encourages partnerships and coordination among programs supported by USAID, other U.S. agencies, new partners, and other donors. Print copies are available.
- Report on Pediatric Antiretroviral Treatment Released [PDF, 169KB]
“Pediatric ARV Roll-out in South Africa: Report on a Consultative Workshop, January 21, 2005” discusses the status of providing antiretroviral therapy to children in South Africa, gaps in service delivery, and strategies to expand and improve services. The report, published by Population Council/Horizons and the University of Capetown, summarizes key findings from a meeting of expert practitioners and stakeholders.
- Study To Assess Innovative Treatment Strategy
Because sexually transmitted infections (STIs) facilitate the spread of HIV, effective STI treatment strategies remain a key goal of HIV-prevention efforts. A Population Council/Horizons intervention study is now under way in Ghana that targets chemical sellers, i.e., untrained personnel licensed to sell certain medications. These personnel are a major source of information and drugs for symptomatic men. The study will evaluate the use of chemical sellers in distributing prepackaged therapy for males experiencing urethral discharge, a common STI symptom, and in counseling clients.
- Report Shows Causes and Consequences of AIDS Stigma Similar Across Countries [PDF, 415KB]
HIV/AIDS-related stigma has long been recognized as one of the main obstacles to the prevention, care, and treatment. Yet little has been done on a large scale to combat stigma because it is often deemed too difficult to define and measure, and too context-specific for large-scale interventions. Nonetheless, “Common at Its Core: HIV-related Stigma Across Contexts,” which examined stigma in Ethiopia, Zambia, Tanzania, and Vietnam, suggests that there are many more similarities than differences in the key causes of stigma, its impact, and its consequences. This finding opens a number of important avenues for intervention in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
- Scaling Up Delayed Sexual Debut: A Campaign for Africa
Sexual violence and coercion, intense peer pressure, and transactional sex have proven to be major barriers to delayed sexual debut for African teens. In order to address these life-threatening issues, Population Services International’s AIDSMark project has produced a powerful multimedia regional campaign using television, print, radio, and interpersonal communications. The Delayed Debut campaign aims to encourage youth ages 13-19 to postpone sexual activity or to refrain from engaging in future sexual activity if they have already been sexually active.
- Kenyan Companies Receive Support for Employee HIV Treatment
A new public-private partnership pairs some of Kenya’s largest companies with Pharm Access Africa Ltd., which negotiates low drug prices and offers technical assistance to establish employee HIV-treatment programs. Population Services International manages the program through the Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care (IMPACT) Project.
- Multi-Country Prevention and Treatment Project Benefits Mobile Populations
USAID’s Regional Economic Development Services Office (REDSO) for East and Southern Africa and project partners launched the SafeTStop Program on March 9. The program provides HIV prevention and care services to truck drivers and members of communities near trucking routes in the region. Family Health International manages SafeTStop.
- Materials Build Awareness of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission in Guyana
Family Health International recently released a set of dynamic behavior change communication materials to help prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in Guyana. The set features counseling cards, brochures, buttons, posters, and teaching materials for community and clinic settings.
- Online Health Information Resources Build Capacity in Eurasia
Supported by USAID, the EurasiaHealth AIDS Knowledge Network (EAKN) is part of EurasiaHealth Knowledge Network, a clearinghouse of free online health information resources contributed, created, and translated by and for health professionals in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. EAKN has posted the following Russian-language translations of HIV/AIDS-related guidelines and reference materials:
- Report Details Lessons Learned in Prevention among MSM in Latin America and the Caribbean [PDF, 477KB]
The Asociación para la Salud Integral y Cuidadanía en Américan Latina y el Caribe and The Synergy Project of Social & Scientific Systems, Inc. have released “Desafíos y Lecciones Aprendidas: Prevención de las ITS, el VIH y el SIDA entre hombres gay y otros hombres que tienen sexo con hombres en América Latina y el Caribe latino” (Challenges and Lessons Learned in HIV/AIDS/STI Prevention for Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean). Based on proceedings of an October 2003 workshop conducted in Guatemala with support from POLICY Project and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, this Spanish-language manual is an important contribution to the literature on best practices, lessons learned, and case studies in HIV/AIDS/STI prevention for MSM in the region.
- Publication Addresses Issues for Muslim Communities Affected by HIV and AIDS
The South African nongovernmental organization Positive Muslims has released “HIV, AIDS, and Islam.” This publication addresses many issues for Muslim communities affected by HIV and AIDS, and poses questions for small group discussion.
- Opportunities Assessed to Integrate Family Planning and HIV Counseling and Testing Services in Ghana [PDF, 135KB]
Family Health International has released results of a rapid programmatic assessment of the opportunities for integrating family planning and HIV counseling and testing services in Ghana. Based on a review of documents, as well as interviews with nearly 100 key informants from 11 sites in Ghana, this 22-page report describes demand for integrated family planning and counseling and testing services, and the extent to which integrated services are already being provided. Also discussed are challenges to integration and recommendations for strengthening linkages between family planning and counseling and testing throughout the country.
- Publication Assists in Development of Frameworks for HIV Programming
Published by Pact, “Building Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Systems for HIV/AIDS Programs” is an easy-to-use workbook designed to assist nongovernmental and faith- and community-based organizations in developing monitoring, evaluation, and reporting frameworks. The document includes the basic principles underpinning such frameworks, indicators, and worksheets to guide local organizations. The workbook also demonstrates how organizations can adapt their monitoring, evaluation, and reporting systems to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief indicators.
E. Online Resources
- The Synergy HIV/AIDS Resource Center Highlights What’s New
The Synergy HIV/AIDS Resource Center, implemented by Social & Scientific Systems, Inc., currently contains more than 3,700 documents on HIV/AIDS project management, research, and reproductive health issues, most of which are available for download. Users can refer to “What’s New in the Synergy Resource Center,” which provides links to new publications, or search the entire online database.
- Website Launches New Global Resources Center
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance presents a new online face to the world with the relaunch of its website, which aims to be a “first stop” for information and resources about community action on HIV/AIDS in developing countries. The site provides information, case studies, and images demonstrating the work of Alliance and its partners, as well as training tools and resources for HIV/AIDS programming. Users can also order new Alliance publications online, receive e-mail news bulletins, participate in discussion forums, and peruse up-to-date HIV treatment news from Alliance partner NAM.
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