Helpful Resources HIV/AIDS Tools and Resources

Croatia

AIHA began its work in Croatia in 1994 and, after helping establish a number of new of healthcare initiatives, was asked to return in 2001 to establish a new Healthy Communities partnership.

At that time, HIV/AIDS incidence and prevalence rates in Croatia were relatively low, but on the upswing. All member cities of the Healthy Cities Network in the country were invited to apply for the partnership and ultimately the port city of Split was selected.

The Split partners recommended working with Udruga “Help”, a local nongovernmental organization, to help combat the city’s HIV/AIDS problem and, in 2002, AIHA joined forces with the organization. Through Udruga “Help,” HIV/AIDS prevention activities targeting adolescents, including high-risk and vulnerable groups such as intravenous drug users and sex workers were implemented. Udruga “Help” provided voluntary testing and counseling services and developed outreach materials to reach the target groups through community awareness materials, peer education activities, a media campaign, and a hotline.

Although many positive outcomes were realized as a result of this relationship, due to concerns related to inappropriate use of USAID funds, AIHA conducted a performance review of Udruga “Help” in 2003 and, based on the findings, decided to terminate the contract with Udruga “Help.”

To utilize remaining funding, AIHA and the Stampar School of Public Health held a workshop and roundtable in Zagreb in 2004 where a number of leaders openly discussed ways to prevent stigmatization of and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. The meetings were the first of their kind in Croatia, and were well-publicized in local and national mass media.

During the meetings, participants agreed to develop a handbook for the media and general public on how to report on and discuss HIV/AIDS-related issues without using negative terms and concepts. AIHA provided limited funding to the Stampar School to lead this effort and a handbook was published late 2004.

Croatian participants also agreed to implement a number of activities and programs that had been identified throughout the course of the workshop. One outcome, for example, was that legal experts and NGO representatives decided to work together to analyze the current legal and regulatory framework regarding HIV/AIDS, which could lead to the drafting of anti-discrimination legislation.

Russia

Russia has become a new epicenter of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic and is home to both one of the world’s highest rates of new infections and the largest HIV epidemic in Europe. As of mid-2006, more than 350,000 cases of HIV infection have been diagnosed and officially reported, but UNAIDS estimates put the actual number of people living with HIV (PLWH) in Russia closer to 1 million. The vast majority of those infected with the virus are between the ages of 15-30. Injecting drug use has fueled the AIDS epidemic in Russia—as well as other countries in the region—but more and more new cases are attributed to heterosexual transmission, which indicates the infection is fast making its way into the general population.

In the best of circumstances, prevention and treatment of HIV is a highly complicated process. In Russia, the situation is further complicated because the existing healthcare infrastructure does not provide for coordination among the many national and local administrative agencies, clinical facilities, and community-based organizations needed to ensure PLWH have access to a continuum of care and support.

Through its Community Leadership Development Program (CLDP), AIHA is helping civic, political, and healthcare leaders from Russia build local capacity to address healthcare challenges—including HIV/AIDS—using the Healthy Communities model.

Launched in 2002 through a grant from the Open World Leadership Center at the US Library of Congress, the CLDP focuses on building professional and personal relationships among participants while at the same time giving overseas communities the tools they need to improve the health and wellbeing of citizens by engaging all stakeholders in the Healthy Communities process.

Delegates visit US communities where they learn about local government and civic institutions. They also witness first-hand how the local healthcare system operates in collaboration with a host of community and faith-based organizations to provide a continuum of care and support services to people in the community, particularly those in high-risk or marginalized segments of the population. When it comes to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, participants are clearly shown how the Healthy Communities approach can help ensure a comprehensive network of care and support to people living with, affected by, or at risk of contracting the virus.

Since the CLDP’s inception, Russian participants have made dramatic progress in developing their own Healthy Communities programs.

To date, some 400 community leaders from Russia and Uzbekistan have participated in AIHA’s CLDP exchanges. These individuals are using what they have learned to design and implement programs rooted in the Healthy Communities concept to address key health concerns—including HIV/AIDS—in their own hometowns.

Tools and Resources:

• HIV/AIDS, Stigma and Discrimination handbook (English / Croatian)
• Zagreb AIDS-Stigma-Discrimination Workshop Poster (pictured above)

Additional Reading:

• Moving Beyond Traditional Structures: Russian CLDP Graduates Use Community Mobilization Techniques to Bring Health to Their Cities (AIHA Connections, June 2004)