21353: Feldman: New program to address HIV/AIDS in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Janet Feldman <kaippg@earthlink.net>

Dear Friends,
Here is an interesting and hopeful article on a new program to address
HIV/AIDS in Haiti! This particular project at Johns Hopkins (Center for
Communication Programs) also has a wealth of materials that organizations
in developing countries can order for free, and that url is
http://www.jhuccp.org/resources. With many thanks and all best wishes,
Janet (Feldman, kaippg@earthlink.net)

Hopkins CCP To Use New Pfizer Foundation Funding to Partner with Haitian
Organizations on HIV/AIDS Prevention Project

Partners Include Faith-Based Workers and Youth Leaders

BALTIMORE--An innovative and effective HIV/AIDS prevention program that is
helping Africa combat the virus' spread will now be used to help turn
around Haiti's HIV/AIDS epidemic, thanks to a grant from the Pfizer
Foundation. Pfizer awarded a grant to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health/Center for Communication Programs (CCP) to translate and make
culturally appropriate the successful "Journey of Hope" kit, which is a
practical and participatory life-skills tool that promotes culturally
acceptable dialogue about HIV/AIDS and sexuality. In addition to Haiti and
Ghana, Journey of Hope, which was originally developed by a priest in
Tanzania, is being considered for adaptation in Ethiopia and Uganda. The
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supports the Journey of
Hope kit through the Stop AIDS Love Life project in Ghana.

Haiti has one of the worst HIV prevalence rates in Latin America and the
Caribbean with nearly 5 percent of the general population infected. It is
estimated that 85% of HIV-positive adults in the Caribbean live in either
Haiti or the Dominican Republic. Haiti also faces high rates of
unemployment, political instability, and a lack of healthcare coverage. The
Journey of Hope kit uses the concept of a rising flood to illustrate the
HIV/AIDS pandemic. By boarding a "prevention boat" symbolizing either
abstinence, faithfulness, or condom use,  individuals can survive the
flood. The kit is used to mobilize a network of community and faith-based
organizations in highly participatory and entertaining ways.

Beginning in January, CCP plans to translate the Journey of Hope kit into
Haitian Creole and make other changes as recommended by a broad group of
government agencies and nongovernmental organizations. CCP will then select
five Haitian organizations to receive training on using the Journey of Hope
kit. Those organizations will train about 200 community-based outreach
workers, including religious and youth leaders involved in HIV/AIDS
activities.
The Pfizer Foundation is an independent charitable foundation established
by Pfizer Inc in 1953. The Foundation's mission is to promote access to
quality health care and education, to nurture innovation and to support the
community involvement of Pfizer people. The grant to CCP is part of a
larger effort by the Foundation to provide support for HIV-training and
capacity-building in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Through
this and other public-private initiatives, the Pfizer Foundation hopes to
help stem the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and demonstrate its
commitment to being part of the solution.

With representatives in more than 30 countries, Johns Hopkins' CCP is a
pioneer in the field of strategic, research-based communication programs
for behavior change and health promotion that have helped transform the
theory and practice of public health communication. More than one-quarter
of CCP's annual budget is spent on HIV/AIDS interventions in developing
countries.