HIV prevention projects get positive report cards
Every year millions of dollars are spent in an effort to promote behaviour changes and curb the spread of HIV. Today, the financial donors of one such programme in our region took the time to find out if their money went to good use. News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports.
Kendra Griffith, Reporting
With funding from the OPEC Fund and technical support from the UNFPA, in 2003 six countries in Central America and the Caribbean began implementing HIV-related projects targeted at vulnerable youths.
Dr. Mario Vergara, OPEC Fund/UNFPA Prog. Coordinator
“The project is aimed at strengthening partnerships among different levels, from the political levels, towards operational and technical levels and also community levels. It’s also aimed to strengthen capacity building through the supply and demand of youth friendly services to prevent HIV among especially vulnerable youth, and the third, we are seeking for innovative approaches with youth participation for the different activities and strategies contained in the project.”
Three years and three point two million U.S. dollars later, representatives from Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, and St. Lucia have gathered at the Radisson Fort George Hotel for a final review of the project’s results and challenges.
Jose Ferraris, Deputy Dir., LatAm & Caribbean Division, UNFPA
“This meeting will provide us with the opportunity to exchange experiences and share lessons learnt among each of the participating countries, governments and other regional partners, discuss the conclusions and recommendations based on the programme results and external evaluation that was conducted on this particular project and as my colleagues have already mentioned to identify areas for scaling up HIV prevention among especially vulnerable youth in the region.”
Dr. Mario Vergara
“According to the evaluations, one of the major findings is that precisely strong partnerships have been established in each of the participating countries, and in the case of Belize, there has been a well-known political support toward the movement of reproductive health including HIV/AIDS prevention. Of course youth participation is also an essential component which also has been promoted in the projects.”
According to Programme Coordinator Dr. Mario Vergara capacity building and stigma and discrimination remain challenges in the participating countries.
Dr. Mario Vergara
“Capacity building is not just a matter of equipment and training. It has to do with technical assistance, it has to do with team work, it has to do with results based management, it has to do with ownership. There has to be a strong sense of ownership and of course accountability, that is important.”
“There is still discrimination towards men who have sex with men, towards drug users, towards gangs members, towards commercial sex workers, so a lot of that has to be done in the project.”
So what happens now that the project’s three years are up?
Dr. Mario Vergara
“We talk about capacity building and sustainability, these efforts must continue and they must continue with UNFPA’s own resources and/or with government initiatives. That would be the best option, that government supports and finance these kinds of important initiatives related to HIV/AIDS prevention.”
Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.
The meeting ends on Wednesday.
