c

Agriculture and Environment Interventions in Support of HIV Programming (Heinrich, G., Penders, C., Senefeld, S. and Burpee G., 2008) recognizes the challenges faced by CRS country programs in helping individuals, families and communities in rural areas beset with high HIV prevalence.

Many people in rural areas of developing countries who are infected with, and affected by, HIV and AIDS depend on agriculture as a significant component of their livelihood. However, there is limited practical advice to date on how agriculture and environment interventions can be used to strengthen HIV and AIDS prevention and mitigation programs in the field. This paper provides some practical ideas and options for integrating the two sectors of programming.

December 1 is World AIDS Day, the day on which we pause to think about the millions of people affected by the HIV pandemic. As the date approaches, we will post a series of entries focusing on our HIV and AIDS programs around the world. Some of the posts will be technical in nature, underscoring the scientific and programmatic foundations of CRS’ work.

Since we began our first HIV and AIDS project in the 1980s, CRS has become a leader in viewing the disease and its impact holistically, using the Integral Human Development (IHD) framework as a tool to understand the multiple levels of human development and related issues. The IHD, which is derived from Catholic Social Teaching (CST), provides a framework to assist people to in leading full and productive lives, meeting their basic physical needs in a sustainable manner, while living with dignity in a just and peaceful social environment.

In this spirit, Guidelines for Establishing and Operating Successful Support Groups for People Living with HIV (Fanelli C. & Moyo A., 2008) was created to give guidance for those seeking to initiate or improve existing support groups for people living with HIV.

This invaluable guide reminds us “people living with HIV form support groups to give and receive emotional, social and spiritual support. They also form support groups to develop and sustain positive strategies for living with the virus and to strengthen their knowledge about HIV and AIDS. The group is a place where people living with HIV can share experiences confidentially, gain self-confidence, make friends and develop a public voice.”

December 1 is World AIDS Day, the day on which we pause to think about the millions of people affected by the HIV pandemic. As the date approaches, we will post a series of entries focusing on our HIV and AIDS programs around the world. Some of the posts will be technical in nature, underscoring the scientific and programmatic foundations of CRS’ work.

“CRS believes that development occurs within an integrated framework, which parallels the lives of the people we serve. As such, CRS often uses the Integral Human Development (IHD) framework as a tool to understand the multiple levels of human development and related issues.

The IHD, which is derived from Catholic Social Teaching (CST), provides a framework to assist people to be able to lead full and productive lives, meeting their basic physical needs in a sustainable manner, while living with dignity in a just and peaceful social environment.

A key purpose of the IHD framework is to help CRS and partners become more effective in assisting the people we serve to improve their livelihood outcomes with the primary livelihood outcome sought being Integral Human Development, meaning that people are able to meet their basic needs and improve their well-being in an atmosphere of social justice and human dignity.”

December 1 is World AIDS Day, the day on which we pause to think about the millions of people affected by the HIV pandemic. As the date approaches, we will post a series of entries focusing on our HIV and AIDS programs around the world. Some of the posts will be technical in nature, underscoring the scientific and programmatic foundations of CRS’ work.

As the commemoration of World AIDS Day approaches, Simple on Paper, Complex in Practice (Greenway, K., 2008) is a reminder that the nature of HIV has changed and we must change with it.

In the early days of Cambodia’s HIV epidemic, most of the people infected were men who acquired the virus through risky behavior. Increasingly, however, HIV is spreading to the wives and children of infected men. Today, more than 40% of new infections occur among monogamous women.

With the increasing feminization of Cambodia’s HIV epidemic comes a heightened emphasis on access to HIV services for women and children. The highly-respected Maryknoll Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) program has offered extensive service to mothers living with HIV since 2002. Working in partnership with NCHADS (National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology, and STD) and the national MCH (Maternal Child Health) program, this program was designed and refined over time to provide much-needed social support as a complement to the government program.

Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez, President of Caritas Internationalis addresses HIV challenges and Caritas’ commitment to children in 2009 in an article posted on the Caritas website.”

“Greater leadership on HIV is still needed as we mark the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. Despite some progress, HIV is a major obstacle to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The pandemic causes incalculable human suffering. It threatens the social and economic infrastructure of the human family. More needs to be done.”

December 1 is World AIDS Day, the day on which we pause to think about the millions of people affected by the HIV pandemic. As the date approaches, we will post a series of entries focusing on our HIV and AIDS programs around the world. Some of the posts will be technical in nature, underscoring the scientific and programmatic foundations of CRS’ work.

In Cambodia, HIV and AIDS carry great stigma. People who become ill are sometimes ostracized from their communities. However, with the increased availability of medical treatment, many regain their health and wish to rejoin their communities, reenter the workforce, and resume normal lives. The Bridges of Hope program, which is supported by CRS, helps them make that transition.

In 2004, Maryknoll Cambodia (with support from CRS, USAID, and CARITAS Australia) started Bridges of Hope “with the purpose of assisting people living with HIV and AIDS who had been marginalized due to illness to socially and economically reintegrate into society after regaining their health on anti-retroviral therapy. Bridges provides group and family counseling, basic training for managing a small business, apprenticeships, job placements, vocational training, small grants, health education, reconciliation with estranged families and other services required for clients to transition from being dependent upon project assistance to supporting themselves.”

Bridges of Hope Socioeconomic Reintegration Project: Report of a Follow-Up Survey with Clients Living with HIV and AIDS (Kruse-Levy, N., Senefeld, S., Sitha, A., & Ang A., 2007) presents key findings from a follow-up survey of “bridged” clients. The survey measured such things as quality of life, social inclusion, family support, health and household economics.

December 1 is World AIDS Day, the day on which we pause to think about the millions of people affected by the HIV pandemic. As the date approaches, we will post a series of entries focusing on our HIV and AIDS programs around the world. Some of the posts will be technical in nature, underscoring the scientific and programmatic foundations of CRS’ work.

When people are diagnosed with HIV, they don’t necessarily begin taking antiretroviral medication immediately. However, they may begin palliative care – medical care or treatments designed to help lessen symptoms or delay progression of the virus. One common treatment is nutritional supplementation – extra food, vitamins, or other supplements that the body needs to remain healthy. In fact, nutritional supplementation is a part of many CRS HIV programs.

(more…)

December 1 is World AIDS Day, the day on which we pause to think about the millions of people affected by the HIV pandemic. As the date approaches, we will post a series of entries focusing on our HIV and AIDS programs around the world. Some of the posts will be technical in nature, underscoring the scientific and programmatic foundations of CRS’ work.

India recently announced some good news in the fight against HIV. New treatments and a strong government response have caused the epidemic to stabilize in much of the country. But India has the world’s second-largest population, so even small percentages translate to vast numbers. In fact, more than 2.5 million Indians are living with HIV. And the epidemic varies widely in different areas of the country.

(more…)

CRS Ethiopia holds a vigil with its staff for World AIDS Day. Photo by CRS staff

CRS offices around the world work on HIV projects daily, but employees often don’t have time to stop and reflect together on the impact of the disease on their own lives. Several CRS programs observed World AIDS Day with in-house events that allowed that time for reflection. Following are two entries about those events.

The first entry was sent in by Aynalem Demeke, a deputy administration manager with CRS Ethiopia who also serves as a point person for the HIV in the Workplace program.

CRS Ethiopia held a candlelight vigil to mark World AIDS Day and invited Berhane Kelkay, a woman living with HIV who works to educate other Ethiopians about the virus and lessen the stigma surrounding it. Berhane is a founder and the executive director of the Association of Women Living with HIV, a group known as “Tilla,” which means “umbrella” or “shelter.” The organization works to increase awareness and change attitudes about HIV through education, advocacy and promoting positive living. The association, which has more than 100 members, primarily focuses on women, who are often more vulnerable to the pandemic.

Berhane Kelkay arrives for the World AIDS Day ceremony at CRS Ethiopia. Photo by CRS staff

Berhane is a widow who quietly started serving people affected by the pandemic in her community, and grew to become a national figure on HIV issues. Speaking publicly at international symposiums and workshops, she challenges Ethiopians and those outside her country to confront the stigma often associated with HIV and understand the need to care for those affected.

A mother and a counselor to vulnerable youth, Berhane urged CRS to remember that problems children face today will continue into the next generation. She asked the audience to pledge to take an active role in awareness campaigns, echoing this year’s theme for World AIDS Day — leadership.

“Leadership starts at home, in the family,” she told the CRS employees in Addis Ababa.

Members of the staff said they were touched by Berhane’s presentation.

“She is one of the few HIV-positive women determined to expose her [story] to the public,” one person wrote in comments after the event. “I really acknowledge her effort and the great work she is doing.”

_____________________________________________________

The second entry was sent in by Debbie DeVoe, Catholic Relief Services’ regional information officer for East Africa, after participating in an HIV in the Workplace event at CRS Kenya in honor of World AIDS Day.

Talking about HIV and AIDS isn’t always easy. There’s often a fear in the back of your mind that someone might think your question is stupid, especially since you’re supposed to be completely informed working for an international aid agency. And there’s the concern of offending someone in the room with the words you choose to use. And then let’s face it: HIV discussions touch on, yes, sex — a topic many don’t want to talk about to anyone but their best friends. And now they’re being asked to discuss it with 40 of their closest colleagues.

CRS Kenya HIV in the Workplace Officer Pauline Kibe makes it easy for staff to discuss HIV issues by keeping everyone laughing. Photo by Debbie DeVoe/CRS

CRS Kenya invited all staff to come together in honor of World AIDS Day. Amazingly, the event facilitator Pauline Kibe, CRS Kenya’s HIV in the Workplace officer, put everyone at ease and led employees to have a frank discussion about the issues they face in Kenya and the support CRS can offer.

CRS Kenya has strict guidelines to protect employee confidentiality — an employee who breaches confidentiality to reveal another employee’s HIV status risks penalties that include possible termination. CRS Kenya will also revise work expectations for an employee if failing health prevents him or her from taking on certain aspects of their job. And, like other CRS programs, CRS Kenya taps one staff member to be available to answer questions about HIV and provide support or counseling.

This event also highlighted the staff’s generosity. Over the course of a week, employees donated enough toys, clothes, food staples and shoes to fill nine boxes. These were distributed to three agencies: a privately funded program that CRS Kenya runs to help children orphaned by AIDS, a group that provides assistance in Nairobi’s slums, and an agency that rescues abandoned infants, cares for young girls and provides HIV services.

I’ve only been working in Kenya for seven months now, but I already feel like I’m part of a supportive family — and even better, one that laughs more than cries.

Most Rev. George Thomas and Constance Proctor, members of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) board of directors, visited CRS Senegal last week. They visited SIDA Service on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day. SIDA Service is a CRS partner that works with HIV-positive Senegalese (SIDA is the French acronym for AIDS). Lane Hartill, the CRS regional information officer for West Africa, filed this dispatch:

Bishop George Thomas and Connie Proctor talk with Paul Sagna, the executive secretary of SIDA Service. Photo by Lane Hartill/CRS

In a spotless Dakar apartment, decorated with photos of beaming children and plastic flowers, a Senegalese social worker won the heart of an American lawyer.

These two women come from different worlds: one graduated cum laude from Vassar College; the other has never set foot in such lofty institutions.

The lawyer spends her days representing influential clients in the Pacific Northwest. She lectures budding law students with the crisp elocution and precision required of her profession. She sits on boards with some of America’s most accomplished women and men.

The social worker spends her days scuffing through Dakar’s streets, working her way through forgotten neighborhoods that smell of sewage and warm sand. She dodges bleating sheep and dusty kids and hikes up her skirt to step over sludgy canals. She ducks into dank apartments and drinks tea with people who look forward to her visit all day.

(more…)