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

12th World AIDS Conference

Abstracts 34307-34312 745

Project: In December 1997, members of RODA, a self-suport of PWA in Lima,
Peru, contacted other regional organizations working in similar projects, specifically OASIS in Guatemala. OASIS has worked closely with the Washington Office
on Latin America (WOLA), experts in advocacy training. In a working exchange
with OASIS, a member of RODA got support from WOLA to train in advocacy
several of its members. This workshop was carried ou in Lima, Peru.
Results: The advocacy workshop resulted in the participation of 10 members
of RODA. The situational analysis detected a major weakness of RODA, that is
the lack of a formal organization of PWA in Peru. Further analysis and comparison with other Latin American countries (Costa Rica) identified the constitutional
guarantees of access to health care for all Peruvians mandated upon the Peruvian Government. THus, constituting RODA and the network of PWA in Lima
into a legally-recognized NGO and lobbying the Government into carrying out its
constitutional obligations relative to access to health care for all were identified
as working priorities.
Lessons learned: Work done by other organizations of PWA in the Latin American region focus on specific needs and according to the institutional development
of each organization. Specific activities are needed to analyze the situation of
each self-support PWA group in order to prioritize among the different working
possibilities. An advocacy workshop is an adequate tool to achieve this. Lessons
learned in other countries can be relevant and used in order to successfully
promote specific working plans.
34307 New alternative against HIV/AIDS in Cuba
Juan Miguel Roque Bosch1, Infante Zaldivar2. 1Calle 45 No 863 e/26 y Sta. Ana
10600 Ciudad Habana; 2Community Activist Havana, Cuba
Issue: The Cuban HIV/AIDS population and the community as a whole require
a fast educative and integral intervention conditioned by new anti-AIDS health
policy.
Project: On spite of the apparent contention of the epidemic through the current
Cuban anti-AIDS policy there is an increase of the persons affected or in risk
and a lack in the integral attention of people affected and the population in the
community.
The project tries to promote others alternatives actions for palliating this crisis
and for assuming a protagonistic role by persons affected in ambulatory treatment.
For taking it in action, it has been created for the first time groups of self-help in
differents municipalities in Havana City they interact among them and with the
community.
Results: the role assumed by the affected persons working in groups of
self-help have promoted new and better perspectives against HIV/AIDS.
Activities of the groups of self-help are decisive for finding alternatives against
the HIV/AIDS and promote the respect for the human rights.
34308 Sol En Si's children's national conference on HIV
Danielle Le Roox. Sol EN SI, 125 Rue Diavrov 75020 Paris, France
Issue: Children today have never known a world without AIDS. Should adults
listen to what they have to say about policy-making? Are their ideas feasible?
Project: At the request of Sol En Si for the 1997 World AIDS Day, 40 groups of
chidren aged 7 to 18, from prevention clubs, children's councils, schools, drafted
projects on prevention, solidarity and Africa. A children's conference was held in
Paris. 350 children-out of 1000 involved-publicly presented their work.
Results: Children from all over France (including French Guiana), from different age-groups and social backgrounds, have a lot to say about HIV/AIDS.
They can draft creative prevention campaigns, make suggestions for fund-raising,
demonstrate their solidarity and have practical ideas to help Africa. Their means
of communication are many and include drawings, videos, music, poetry, plays,
comic strips, balloons.
Lessons learned: Awareness can easily be encouraged, even in very young
children. Their interest in and knowledge of HIV & AIDS is high. Prevention
and information appear to be the most popular topics. NGOs, local authorities,
transnational organizations could profitably involve children in policy-making.
108* / 34309 The role of appropriate policies in the fight against
HIV/AIDS: Uganda's experiences and the way
forward
Yusuf Nsubuga1, John Rwomushana1, Elizbeth Madra2, Nathan Bakyaita3,
Anna Nakaweesi1, Jane Francis Asaba Kanyunyuzi1, Fred Odongokara1.
'Uganda AIDS Commission, PO. Box 10779, Kampala; 2STD/ACP-MOH,
Entebbe; 3STD/ACP Ministry of Health, Entebbe, Uganda
Issues: Formulation and implementation of appropriate policies backed by political commitment are key to a successful fight against HIV/AIDS. In Uganda, the
presence of a conducive policy environment and a supportive legal regime has
contributed to the success of most HIV/AIDS interventions. It is on this premise
that we have now based the development of the National Strategic Framework

for HIV/AIDS control for the next five years.
Project: Since 1982 when the first AIDS case was reported in Uganda, the
National response to the HIV/AIDS has been characterized by the policy of
openness and the Multisectrol Approach.
This Approach was bone out of the recognition that the HIV/AIDS had causes
and consequences beyond the health domain, and that the epidemic affected
various aspects of our lives that required to be addressed comprehensively. The

need for an appropriate legal and ethical response to HIV/AIDS was also recognized and has been key to the enactment of the necessary legislation and reforms
in the wake of HIV/AIDS. The Uganda AIDS Commission and its Secretariat were
established by statute of Parliament and specifically charged inter alia with the
implementation of this Approach.
Results: Although in the past Uganda has experienced an ever increasing
number of people being infected by HIV, by the 1995 the trend of HIV infection
started changing. A number of urban sites have recorded a downward trend.
Some rural sentinel suevillance sites have also began to record a drop in infection
rates. Uganda is also one of the countries that have recorded the highest number
of NGO's and CBO's implementing HIV/AIDS programmes.
Lessons Learnt: Effective policy must encompass many dimensions for deeper
understanding of the epidemic and mitigation of its adverse consequences. There
is an urgent ethical duty for all Governments to stand up and lead the struggle by
proving political commitment as well as ensuring the adoption and implementation
of appropriate policies. This should form the cornerstone of our strategic planning
for HIV/AIDS activities into the 21st Century.
S34310 1The impact of HIV/AIDS treatment advances on
community based AIDS service organisations
Tony Keenan. Unit 8 14 A Acland Street, St Kilda Vic 3182, Australia
Issue: The advances in treatments for HIV/AIDS are causing new and increased demands and pressures on community based AIDS Service Organisations (ASOs).
Project: This project took place as part of a Harkness Fellowship project, based
at the University of California, San Francisco, examining the funding, governance
and management of ASOs operating in the USA. A formal structured interview
was developed and administered to Executive Directors of 27 small, medium and
large (classified by annual income) ASOs which operated in 21 different states
in the USA. The interviews were recorded verbatim and participant responses
regarding the impact of the new treatments were classified according to the
impact on clients, impact on service demands and impact on the operations of
the organisations.
Results: ASOs reported that the majority of clients who had access to treatments were seeing improvements in health. Clients were not able to access
treatments because of unavailability of drugs (due to finance) or because of
compliance and or social factors. 89% of ASOs reported an increase in demands
for services, including new services. The only reported decrease in demand was
for buddy programs. ASOs also reported a decrease in fundraising and public
interest in AIDS, an increased need for public education regarding the perception
of a "cure", a change in organisational morale and a need for greater medical
knowledge/skills for staff.
Lessons Learned: Treatment developments have lead to an increased demand for existing services as well as demands for new services for ASOs, but
have also lead to a drop in resources as well as a decline in public interest in
AIDS due to a perception of a "cure".
34311 1 Children with HIV on holidays
Didier Valentin. Sol En Si 125 Rue Diavrov, 75020 Paris, France
Issue: Children with HIV on holidays in non-specific holiday-camps
Project: To ensure the social integration of children with HIV, Solidarite Enfants
Sida runs a service that organizes and covers the expenses for their stay in nonspecific holiday camps. Most of these children are not aware of their serological
status. Therefore, to avoid any non-respect of confidentiality, only the camp manager (legally responsible) and his/her health assistant (in charge, among other
things, of a follow-up of the children's drugs regimens) receive the information regarding the children's health and social background. This information is provided
to them during a formal meeting prior to the children's departure. Also, we remain
at all times available to them throughout the holidays for any complementary
information they might need (risks of transmission, symptoms of opportunistic
infections etc), which, if not given, could have negative consequences on the
children's integration.
Results: From January 1995 to the Christmas season in 1997, 87 stays were
organized in 10 non-specific holiday camps, and all of them were successful.
Most of the children did participate fully in the camps' various activities and saw
their health improve during and after their holidays.
Lessons learned: Children with HIV can be integrated in non-specific holiday
structures if an adaptation to their specific needs is offered.
34312 Volunteer training resources: A comprehensive volunteer
training kit
Dino Paoletti', T.D. Minerson2. 1399 Church St 4th Floor (ACT) Toronto Ontario
M5B 256; 2AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) Toronto ON, Canada
Issue: Community-based responses to HIV/AIDS necessitate volunteer service

delivery in most key sectors of HIV work. Few comprehensive volunteer training
resources exist to train and prepare volunteers for HIV/AIDS service delivery. High
turnover of staff and loss of institutional memory in AIDS Service Organizations
(ASOs) has meant that training initiatives in this important area have rarely been
recorded and developed.
Project: This three phase project involved: 1) an international literature review
and bibliography of HIV/AIDS-related volunteer training materials, 2) a report