Abstract Book Vol. 2 [International Conference on AIDS (14th: 2002: Barcelona, Spain)]

XIV International AIDS Conference

Abstracts WePeG7047-WePeG7051 339

Recommendation: That HIV/AIDS NGOs consider the need to locate HIV in a
broader context that takes account of the needs of affected communities, social
and economic factors and the state of the epidemic in their location.
Presenting author: Stevie Clayton, Acon, PO box 350, Darlinghurst NSW 1300,
Australia, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone], E-mail: [email protected].
au
WePeG7047 The New York link: a model of technology transfer
between developed and less developed countries
R. Chambliss1, A. Jlmenez1, B. Cicatelli1, H. Cruz2. 1Cicatelli Associates Inc.,
505 Eighth Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10018, United States; 2New York
State Dept of Health AIDS Institute, New York, United States
Issues: The Caribbean Region has the highest incidence of HIV reported after Sub-Saharan Africa. The rate of HIV/AIDS is increasing among C. American
countries, currently ranging from 0.5% to over 2.0% among different countries.
Caribbean/C. Am immigrant populations in New York City have increased dramatically over the last few decades. Given the prevalence of HIV in the Caribbean/C.
America and the lack of success of health social services reaching these communities, there is concern for the increased spread of HIV among these immigrant
communities in NYC.
Project Description: The New York Link (NY LINK) is a technology transfer
and horizontal resource exchange project between NYC CBOs working with immigrants from the Caribbean/C. Am and their counterparts doing similar activities
in their respective countries. The NY LINK develops strategic alliances among
NYC CBOs, PWAs, and NGOs in the Caribbean/C. Am, health depts, and others
committed to HIV prevention.
Lessons Learned: While the concept of "twinning" has grown in popularity, there
are many issues which need to be addressed before organizations from different
countries can "twin". NYC PWAs and organizations met with PWAs and NGOs of
Caribbean and C. Am countries to exchange resources and develop linkages for
collaboration. It became apparent, however, that it is not enough to match organizations by the services they provide and the populations they serve. There is
a disconnect between US organizations and those of other countries, especially
those with less resources.
Recommendations: The next phase of the NY LINK will bring together teams
composed of a PWA, a physician and a nurse from select Caribbean and C. Am.
countries with PWA and clinical organizations in NYC. These teams will exchange
strategies and resources with the goal of developing linkages for implementing
some HIV prevention and treatment strategies in their home countries.
Presenting author: Banghee Chi, 505 Eighth Avenue, 16th Floor, New York,
NY 10018, United States, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone], E-mail:
banghee @ cicatelli.org
WePeG7048 Implementation of HIV/AIDS strategy in the Free
State Province: lessons in partnership and
community empowerment
F.B. Marshoff. Department of Social Development, PO BOX 264, Bloemfontein,
South Africa, 9300, South Africa
Issues: The conditions of poverty and unemployment and the numbers of people
infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in the Free state demand that the Welfare sector should continuously review their role in fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS and in
reducing its impact on affected communities in order to ensure that the needs of
the poor are met.
Description: The concepts of "sustainable development" and "total quality management" were applied to develop a model for promoting partnerships, pooling
and sharing of resources, building capacity and enhancing participation between
different service providers and communities around services. This paper argues
that despite their demand for transparency, accountability and openness from
government, the established NGOs in the welfare sector, Free State, are not always keen to implement progressive policies in service delivery, preferring to protect turfs, specialisms and ideological leanings at the expense of customers. In
order to meet the needs of the poorest and promote self-reliance, it is imperative that the CBO sector is brought on board the service delivery partnership
as an equal player. This means shifting focus from short-term achievements towards long-term strategic objectives, and from inward-looking strategic priorities
to those strategic priorities that respond to changes in the outside environment.
Lessons learned: The implementation of the HIV/AIDS strategy by the Department of Social Development in the Free State has created opportunities for the
poor through skills transfer, community empowerment and self-reliance.
Recommendations: The benefits of empowering and involving communities in
caring for their own cannot be over emphasized. In light of the ever-increasing
demand for services and the limited resources at our disposal, there is a need
to explore ways in which this model can be extended to the rest of the other
programmes.

Presenting author: Beatrice Marshoff, PO BOX 264, Bloemfontein, South
Africa, 9300, South Africa, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone], E-mail:
socwell [email protected]

WePeG7049 Partnership and Action against HIV/AIDS in the
Caribbean
N. Taylor, H. Chow. Caribbean Epidemiology Centre, Caribbean Epidemiology
Centre, 16-18 Jamaica Boulevard, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Issue: Over the last 13 years, the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC/
PAHO/WHO) a sub regional organization of PAHO has financed its response to
the AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean mainly through grants and contracts with international financial partners. In a typical year, the Special Programme on Sexually Transmitted Infections (SPSTI) manages and implements multi-million dollar
projects financed by six or seven international agencies. The beneficiaries are
the 21 CAREC member countries. The number of financial partners is expected
to increase as the scope and intensity of the programme gain momentum. The
complexity of meeting all the needs of the partners has been challenging.
Description: In order to implement SPSTI's HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan, CAREC
and PAHO with the collaboration and active involvement of its partners proposed
streamlining its reporting requirements by introducing a single project reporting
format. At a meeting at PAHO in Washington with the key financial partners
agreed to accept the Strategic Plan as the common project document. This would
form the basis of the single management reporting system.
Lessons Learned: A single management reporting system, complemented by
joint meetings between CAREC/SPSTI and its partners including regional institutions and country representatives, as well as joint monitoring of programmes, has
been seen as the best way to improve efficiency, coordination and accountability.
This approach also deepened mutual involvement between CAREC and its partners including regional institutions in the planning of HIV prevention and control
activities in the Caribbean.
Recommendation: All new partners willing to support the implementation of the
CAREC/SPSTI HIV response in the Region will be asked to sign a Memorandum of Understanding where they agree to use the single management reporting
system.
Presenting author: Nicola Taylor, Caribbean Epidemiology Centre, 16-18 Jamaica Boulevard, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Tel.: [phone], Fax:
[phone], E-mail: [email protected]
WePeG7050 CHARCA - a joint UN project working with young
women in India
P. Berlin1, S.M. Afsar2, A.B. Chaudhuri3, S. Chowdhury4, S. Dhar5,
M.P Gupatha6, A. Kanchan7, N.S. Kang8, R. Kohli9, V. Mendonca7,
A. Narang10, K. Pradeep', D.C.S. Reddy", R. Sadanandan8, A. Tiwari1,
D. Miller'. IUNAIDS, New Delhi, India; 21LO, New Delhi, India; 3UNDCP, New
Delhi, India; 4 UNESCO, New Delhi, India; 5UNIFEM, UNAIDS, c/o UNDP, 55
Lodi Estate, New Delhi - 110003, India; 6UNFPA, New Delhi, India; 7UNICEF,
New Delhi, India; 8NACO, New Delhi, India; 9UNRCO, New Delhi, India;
10UNDR New Delhi, India; 11 WHO, New Delhi, India
To effectively reduce the vulnerabilities of young women to STD and HIV/AIDS,
and to strengthen women's possibilities to protect themselves, the need to
adopt a community-based multi-pronged prevention approach has become evident. In close collaboration with the National AIDS Control Organisation and
the UN Foundation, the UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS in India agreed to
support the development of a decentralised, innovative inter-agency project
- CHARCA. 'Community-based HIV/AIDS/STD Response through Capacitybuilding and Awareness' (CHARCA) is a product of UN teamwork in planning,
fundraising and project implementation. By seeking novel partnerships on national, state and district level the chances for community-owned and sustainable
impact are envisioned. CHARCA aims to develop a better co-ordinated functioning of existing services and systems rather than setting up new structures: to build
on the governmental and non-governmental initiatives, draw on the strengths of
both partners and constituencies and thus enable increased effectiveness. Technical, managerial and financial sustainability are sought by involving all and new
partners in both planning and implementation processes. The five strategic pillars of CHARCA in this deliberately bottom-up approach are a) raising awareness, b) building skills, c) improving services, d) building support structures and
e) enabling the environment. CHARCA will be implemented in 6 districts in 6
different states. Due to the diversity of India, in practice 6 unique implementation plans will be sought. Lessons learnt will be shared between all districts,
guide their respective implementation processes and feed into existing government programmes. Mechanisms to interact such as a specially designed interactive electronic workspace will provide platforms for continued discussions. UN
Theme Groups are recommended to consider this type of community-based,
multi-sectoral, inter-agency collaboration.
Presenting author: Pernilla Berlin, UNAIDS, c/o UNDP, 55 Lodi Estate, New
Delhi - 110003, India, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone], E-mail: berlin
@youandaids.org

WePeG7051 State-level scaling-up of targeted interventions:
Gujarat model
U. Pandya, D. Teraiya, A. Patel, N. Mehta. Project Support Unit, 4/A; Orient
Apartment, Usmanpura, Ahmedabad 380 013, Gujarat State, India
Issues: In addition to resources, identification, development, support, creation
and managing networking of project partners are some of the major challenges