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Programs
Western Balkans Program to fight AIDS
HIV/AIDS has grown into one of the most destructive epidemics of all times. The Western Balkans is one region in which current social and economic transitions make their population particularly vulnerable to HIV. These transitions may cause people to take actions (e.g. injecting drug use, commercial sex work) that they would not otherwise take, placing themselves at higher risk for HIV infection. Although current HIV prevalence rates are low in this region, the window of opportunity for prevention is short and the time to act is now.
The goal of the program is two-fold:
- To contain the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Balkans; and
- To build the capacity of countries to prevent current conditions from escalating into major HIV/AIDS epidemics
In order to accomplish these goals, the FPH has adopted a series of short term goals, including bringing together both national governmental organizations and NGOs to identify, prevent and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS in each country; and the establishment of a broader regional perspective in addressing HIV/AIDS in the Western Balkans region.
Some of the many results of the program to date include:
- Two NGO managements workshops, each for at least 5 NGOs per country, were held in 3 countries
- Needs assessments were conducted on the clinicians, the laboratory as well as on ARV treatment access.
- Regional annual workshops attended by at least 10 NGOs in the region, will be developed in 2005 and 2006.
- 5 new Voluntary Confidential Counselling and Testing (VCCT) sites were established- one per country.
For more information, please read our
factsheet on the project |
