USAID HIV/AIDS E-Newsletter - September 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
  • Food for the Hungry
    
    
• B. News
  • Small Loan Initiative Shows Promise in Uganda
  • Wealthy and Educated Women Are the Most Vulnerable to HIV Infection in Cameroon
    
    
• C. Recent Events
  • Workshop Seeks to Better Equip Trainers in Youth WorkKenyan Teachers Living with HIV/AIDS Tell Their Stories
  • Telling the Story of HIV Treatment in Ethiopia
  • Iraqi Health Officials Visit Jordan to Learn About AIDS Programming
  • Religious Leaders Discuss Their Role in the Response to HIV/AIDS
  • Exhibition on HIV/AIDS Opens at Kenya's National Museum
    
    
• D. Publications
  • Guide Highlights Ethical Approaches to Gathering Information from Children
  • Newsletter Provides Information on Youth Reproductive Health and HIV Prevention
  • New Course Manual for Counseling Supervisors Released HIV Test Kits Procurement Information Document Released
    
    
• E. Online Resources
  • The Synergy HIV/AIDS Resource Center Highlights What’s New
  • Mozambique 2003 DHS and Cameroon 2004 DHS Now Available Online

A. New Partner Spotlight

• Food for the Hungry
  Food for the Hungry was founded in 1971and helps some of the world's most disadvantaged people in 47 countries through child development programs, agriculture and clean-water projects, health and nutrition programs, education, micro-enterprise loans and emergency relief. As part of the Emergency Plan, Food for the Hungry will collaborate with eight other Association of Evangelical Relief and Development Organizations under the "Healthy Choices Leading to Life" project. This program aims to empower churches, schools, and other community-based organizations to provide youth and adult stakeholders with the skills, information, and strengthened community-level social structures necessary to reduce HIV transmission and risky behaviors among targeted youth and adults in Ethiopia, Haiti, Mozambique, and Nigeria. The five-year project will build upon existing faith-based networks to reach more than 1,389,000 youth and children and 243,800 adults via direct contact, and an additional 55 million people through television and radio messages.

B. News

• Small Loan Initiative Shows Promise in Uganda
  As part of the Emergency Plan, Opportunity International is assisting women who care for orphans. Janet Korutaro, a widow from Nsike Village, belongs to an Opportunity International Trust Bank, a lending group whose members make weekly contributions. Together, the group supports 43 orphans. Using Opportunity loans, Janet runs a little grocery store in her house. Her daily net profits of just $1.15 enable her to care for her two youngest children, a grandchild, and three orphans. This is just one of thousands of such stories that reflect the achievements made possible by USAID through Opportunity International in Uganda, Mozambique, and Zambia.
  
  
• Wealthy and Educated Women Are the Most Vulnerable to HIV Infection in Cameroon
  Approximately 7 percent of women in Cameroon are infected with HIV, compared with 4 percent of men, according to the latest Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), conducted from February to August of 2004, the third DHS in this country. The risk of HIV infection among women living in relatively wealthy households is more than three times greater than that among those in the poorest households. HIV positive women are also more likely to be educated than not. These are just a few of the facts revealed in the full survey, which is available for download.

C. Recent Events

• Workshop Seeks to Better Equip Trainers in Youth Work
  YouthNet and UNFPA co-sponsored an eight-day Master Training of Trainers Workshop for the Y-PEER program in Istanbul, Turkey. YouthNet staff collaborated with UNFPA, serving as facilitators, resource personnel, and evaluators. Individuals from 22 countries participated in the training.
  
  
• Telling the Story of HIV Treatment in Ethiopia
  Internews, in collaboration with the AIDS Resource Center and HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Organization, conducted a training workshop for 11 print journalists in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in mid-August to improve local reporting on HIV care and treatment issues. The journalist-participants were from private and government newspapers that are published in Amharic and English.
  
  
• Iraqi Health Officials Visit Jordan to Learn About AIDS Programming
  Officials from Iraq's Ministry of Health recently traveled to Jordan for an HIV counseling and testing workshop conducted by Family Health International. The workshop was part of a weeklong study tour to encourage the two countries to share lessons learned in HIV/AIDS programming.
  
  
• Religious Leaders Discuss Their Role in the Response to HIV/AIDS
  The International HIV/AIDS Alliance recently facilitated a short workshop with a group of 55 religious leaders to discuss their role in the response to HIV/AIDS in Madagascar. The workshop focused on helping participants to understand all the components of a comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS. A follow-up workshop will allow participants to share their experiences to date in responding to HIV/AIDS. The Alliance is also developing a program of technical support to build the religious leaders' skills and capacity.
  
  
• Exhibition on HIV/AIDS Opens at Kenya's National Museum
  The first HIV/AIDS exhibition ever mounted in an African museum opened at Kenya's National Museum in Nairobi on August 18. "Taking a Positive Step" uses interactive multimedia to cover a broad range of information about the epidemic. The show is supported by the Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care Project of Family Health International.

D. Publications

• Guide Highlights Ethical Approaches to Gathering Information from Children
  Horizons/Population Council and Family Health International/Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care Project recently released "Ethical Approaches to Gathering Information from Children and Adolescents in International Settings: Guidelines and Resources." This publication identifies challenges that confront researchers and program implementers working with children and adolescents affected by HIV/AIDS, and proposes practical approaches for ensuring that child-related activities are conducted ethically.
  
  
• Newsletter Provides Information on Youth Reproductive Health and HIV Prevention
  Youth InfoNet, YouthNet's monthly newsletter, contains program summaries and links to 19 program resources, including reports on establishing cyber-cafes to improve youth reproductive health and a manual for HIV counseling and testing for youth. Summaries of 20 research articles include findings from China, Côte d'Ivoire, El Salvador, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, Peru, Thailand, Zambia, and other countries grouped by contraception, education, gender, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, and sexual risks.
  
  
• New Course Manual for Counseling Supervisors Released
  "Trainer's Manual: Counseling Supervision and Training" is the latest addition to the Voluntary Counseling and Testing Toolkit, a series published by Family Health International. The course helps counseling supervisors build skills through experiential learning.

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 3,600 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.
  
  
• Mozambique 2003 DHS and Cameroon 2004 DHS Now Available Online
  Findings on HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and behavior from the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) conducted in Mozambique, an Emergency Plan focus country, are now available on the MEASURE DHS website. The report, published in Portuguese, also presents data on sexually transmitted infections. In addition, the 2004 Cameroon DHS, published in French, presents data on HIV prevalence. Complete HIV/AIDS-related data from both surveys will soon be added to the HIV/AIDS Surveys Indicators database.