Bridging the Gap: Conference Record [Abstract book, International Conference on AIDS (12th: 1998: Geneva, Switzerland)]

726 Abstracts 34202-34207

12th World AIDS Conference

1992. In addition, "A Mass In The Time Of AIDS" has been held every year for
the past five years to commemorate World AIDS Day. In 1995, the Cathedral
took a further step to increase its involvement in the HIV/AIDS field by setting
up a HIV Information & Drop-In Centre within the Cathedral grounds. The Centre
provides an important opportunity for members of the public seeking information
about HIV/AIDS issues and receiving emotional and social support in a safe
environment. In this way they can both be better informed about and protected
from the potential dangers of HIV infection. The Centre' services are open to
everyone regardless of religion, race or sexual orientation.
Results: The Cathedral is a signatory of the Hong Kong Community Charter On
AIDS which formulates AIDS policies in the workplace. Over 5000 people have
used the Drop-In Centre since it's opening and more than 50 AIDS Awareness
and Education programs have been conducted.
Lessons Learned: In a community where HIV/AIDS is still a taboo subject and
where there is discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS, St. John's Cathedral has taken an active and positive attitude towards these issues. It has also
established a good example for other religious or non religious sectors of the
community to follow.
34202 Overcoming the unfruitful debates: Toward a
comprehensive Christian view of AIDS prevention
Loyda Perez, L. Barrios, J. Cruz, J.C. Holguin, A. Ossers. Prog. Solidaridad
Evangelio Prev. Sida, Viriato Fiallo 30, EWS Julieta, Santo Domingo, Dominican
Republic
Issue: In the DR (population 7.5 million) there are 4,000 Christian churches (Adventist, Anglican, Baptist, Evangelical, Methodist and Pentecostal, among others),
with more than one million members. Their leaders have come together around 'A
Theology of AIDS' and a person-to-person enabling 'Gospel Solidarity with AIDS
Program' for adolescents and youths, as a part of their prophetic responsibility
of saving lives. This approach attempts to counteract the limited impact of mass
media educational campaigns in HIV transmission.
Project: 'A Theology of AIDS' promotes the dignity of the human being as
God's creature and continuator of Creation. Following the Bible, it teaches that
sexuality is a gift of God, that the human body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit and
that solidarity and compassion ought to be practiced with persons most exposed
to or infected by HIV and their families. This view becomes, thus, a deep spiritual
force for persistent behavioral change. Armed with this innovative conception and
with the State University's series of seven educational modules 'To Learn is to
Live', we have begun to enable our ministers and lay leaders for working with
adolescents and youths in three pilot provinces with a high impact of AIDS.
Results: By the end of 1997, the first 17 ministers and leaders of eight churches
and their service organizations were trained as 'Technical Supports' (professionals and technicians) and 'Multipliers' (25 years and older) of the modules, who
started early in 1998 to train 85 'Facilitators' (18 years and older) of the modules.
These will train a similar number of groups of 5-7 'Leader Apprentices' (13-24
years) in urban and rural communities. Modular instruction is introduced by them
into their households, as a way to transmit AIDS education to their parents.
Lessons Learned: 'A Theology of AIDS', together with educational modules, is
allowing the Christian churches to participate in this fight united by a comprehensive view of the human being. Person-to-person communication has improved the
quality of message understanding, raising the awareness for attaining relevant
behavior changes. Individuals make a personal commitment with themselves and
with peers, overcoming thus the unfruitful debates on AIDS prevention.
34203 The no. 1 AIDS prevention strategy: Condom?
Immaculate Nakiyinci. Nsambya Home Care/AWOFS, PO Box 10914, Kampala,
Uganda
Objectives: (i) To determine the accessibility of Condom in developing countries
and analyse the main courses of still a high infection rate of STD/HIV in the
Ugandan youth (ii) To assess the effectiveness of Condom describing factors and
circumstances which favor or disfavor condom use especially in low developing
countries like Uganda.
Method: The infection rate of STD/HIV has increased from 23% to 44%
(UNAIDS). 30 Makerere University students have died in the year 1996-1997.
Behavior change workshops are conducted by the SYFA (Safe Guard the Youth
From AIDs), Youth alive club and the Philly Lutaaya initiative. These have contradiction view of condom.
Results: The youth are confused between nature and condom. They wonder
how they can control nature yet in the meantime the infection rate is raising.
Religion and African culture are not in condom favor.
Conclusion: Condom use is still a mystery. There is improper use and unaffordableness by majority. Female condom is so expensive. Behavior change
programs should therefore be given priority. Human beings should stop immorality,
and should be able to control nature.

34204 A psycho-social model for services to AfricanAmericans
Neely Williams. 2128 11th Avenue North Nashville Tennessee 37208, USA
Issue: African Americans living with HIV/AIDS need safe, compassionate, culturally sensitive environments to receive services designed to help them manage
their lives while challenged by their HIV-related illness

Project: The Wellness Center provides a safe, comfortable environment where
persons can receive free services (counseling, education, housing, financial assistance, advocacy) designed to help them manage their illnesses and their lives.
This effort was born out of the low number of African Americans receiving services from traditional AIDS service organizations, although current statistics show
that African Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Traditionally,
African Americans look to the church to provide the first response in times of
crisis and need, so it is a natural venue to provide critical services to persons
living with HIV and AIDS. We are also uniquely concerned with the spiritual and
emotional well-being of each client while being non-proselytizing and inclusive at
all times.
Results: From January-September 1997, over 350 hours of counseling and
$5,000 in financial assistance (food, utility payments, etc.) And the client base
has more than doubled from 1996.
Lessons Learned: African Americans are more likely to seek assistance from
programs who take all of their needs- emotional, physical, spiritual, culturalinto consideration. Persons living with AIDS often need opportunities to develop
communities and support systems.
S34205 ALIVE: Art of AIDS/positive intervention
Chumpon Apisuk. Director of Naam Chewit Project, 57/60 Tivanond Road Talad
Kwan District, Nonhaburi 11000, Thailand
Projects: (1) Voice project; installation of walkman tape player set on a round
coffee table with one chair.
(2) Video project; installation for individual view only.
(3) Process and live performance
Description: The project ALIVE started in 1995 as an art intervention in different art space by exposing art audiences to voices of people living with HIV/AIDS.
An audience is invited to sit at the table in private setting as his/her own space
and listening to voices in a walk man cassette tape. It is not an education about
AIDS, but the project aims to recognize and respect PLWHA as an individual
human being.
In 1996 diary of an artist transfer in to a video tape as a story telling about two of
his colleagues who past away with AIDS. A simple textual 20 minute story which
allow only to private view (one person at a time) creates an impact to individual
experience and as sharing grievance among friends.
The artists was invited to participate in a time based art event in Hull, England,
in October 1996. During 5 days of preparation the artists works with community
people who volunteer to participate in the process to live performance. During
the workshop each person will be asked to share their cultural background by
creating an image in which each volunteer can relate to. The artists will record
each volunteer name and brief background and invite them to be presented at
the live performance.
At this conference the artist plans to develop similar project interact with
conference participants.
34206 Training for the design of graphic educational materials
addressed to HIV/AIDS prevention gouvenamental and
no gouvernamental workers and graphic designers
Patricia Ringe Nbach-Valdez. Calz. Tlalpan 4585 2 Floor, National AIDS
Council Mexico City DF, Mexico
Objective: Mexico is a mosaic of ethnic, social, cultural, religious and economic
groups that makes very difficult to have a global perception about its needs and
above all to plan a national strategy to prevent HIV/AIDS.
Generally, the material for education and information is elaborated from Mexico
City and do not satisfy the diferent needs neither of information, or about their
culture or the habits of each state or community. A Wategy to prevent HIV/AIDS,
needs an specific educational program for each region and the decentralization
of actions.
Method: We designed two workshops of methodology support for the design
of educational and prevention materials, one addressed to HIV/AIDS prevention
workers and the other to Graphic Design students and professionals, training them
to produce Graphic materials from and for their own community, starting from
the detection of their own needs, determination of the target group, objectives of
the materials with pre-evaluation and post- evaluation with focus groups.
Results: We have observed in groups that works out of Mexico City a grat
interest to produce their own materials according to their own idiosyncrasy, habits
and language (writing and graphic). In this case the contents are better accepted,
even if the visual effect is not perfect (as they are not designers). The G. D.
students have proved a great change about their own commitment and avoiding
myths about the subject, having obtained very creative and suitable proposals.
Conclusions: The roll of the graphic communication should not be left aside,
it has a important place at the HIV/AIDS prevention strategy and a big responsibility for the graphic materials production that satisfied each community needs,
according to a methodology and objectives that enable us to evaluate its impact.

S34207 Young HIV/AIDS widowed girls have little choice of
survival in Africa
Jessica Census. NGEN+, PO. Box 10028, Kamapala, Uganda
Issue: During the 10th ICASA conference in Abidjan, it was reported that 16,000
people are infected by HIV everyday, 90% from the sub-Saharan Africa. The most