What are the Activities in the Project?

This project will focus its activities in the following areas:

Knowledge Base Creation, Management, and Dissemination

This has been identified as one of the fundamental priorities and needs during the development of this project. The partners’ organisations, the development workers, and the project manager will all be working together in this area. Baseline statistics and more accurate information from the municipalities will be collected, analysed, and disseminated to municipal, state, and national policy makers and other key actors.

The municipal STI/HIV/AIDS teams will produce and disseminate information on STI/HIV/AIDS, local and state health services, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and access to treatment and care programmes.

IS and the State of Amazonas STI/HIV/AIDS Control Programme will develop socio-economic and epidemiological databases that will be used to plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate its activities and programmes more effectively.

A project video will be developed to generate and disseminate information, best practices, and methodologies developed in the 3rd year of the project.

IS will create a knowledge base in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, STI/HIV/AIDS, national and state public policies, research methodologies, information on vulnerable populations, training peer educators’ guidelines, best practices and successful experiences, participatory and community-based approaches, information on preventative and educational programmes, organisational strengthening and networking strategies.

Each year, a project workshop will be facilitated that will include opportunities for partner organisations, the development workers, and other key stakeholders to share and disseminate information from their experiences.

IS will share data collected, best practices and successful pilot experiences developed; information on project development, implementation, and monitoring techniques and systems; and networking strategies at local, state, national, and international levels to other partners in Brazil and throughout IS’s global programme.

Technical and Organisational Capacity-Building

The project will work with the State of Amazonas STI/AIDS control programme and the participating municipalities to strengthen their capacities to develop community-based preventative and educational programmes and activities in the areas of STI/HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive rights and health.

Training workshops and activities are a key component of this project that be used to train municipal health professionals, community health agents, and members of civil society organisations in the implementation of public STI/HIV/AIDS policies including information on STI/HIV/AIDS, local heath and state health services, the Prevention in the Schools project; Projeto Nascer; epidemiological surveillance data collection, reporting, and follow-up; adhesion to treatment programmes and strengthening and the participation of organisations of People Living with HIV or AIDS; and consultations with vulnerable populations.

These training workshops will be facilitated during the three years of the project and be planned by the partner organisations and IS.

In the second and third years of the project, peer education training programmes will be implemented and monitored to train people on STI/HIV/AIDS, about local and state services, their health and reproductive rights, about public policies, and organisational development so that they can become agents of change in their municipalities and teach and support other civil society and municipal government staff members.

Training workshops and follow-up activities will be directed towards vulnerable populations and at-risk groups about STI/HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health services and their rights, and on organisational strengthening techniques so that they can know, exercise and defend their rights.

Through the activities developed in this project and by other partner organisations’ activities and projects, the technical capacity in the area of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills will be strengthened.

Networking and Development Awareness

This project will strengthen the capacities of IS, the partner organisations, and civil society organisations to network more effectively so they can learn and share information about new and existing public policies and programmes, to voice and share their needs and priorities, develop more effective strategies to respond to and reduce the spread of STI/HIV/AIDS, and on sexual and reproductive health issues.

Staff members from the partners, the development workers, and the project manager will participate in the Macro Norte STI/HIV/AIDS programmes and other key events planned in the State of Amazonas.

The project will strengthen the networks of civil society organisations and governmental institutions so that they work to reduce and control the spread of STI/HIV/AIDS and implement public policies more effectively at the local, state, and national levels.

The project manager will participate in the annual National STI/HIV/AIDS Congress and other key events to build up relationships with key actors and to share information and advances of this project.

International Service in Brazil through its other partners and across its global programme will network with other actors to raise the importance of sexual and reproductive health and rights including STI/HIV/AIDS awareness.

How to obtain more Information about the Project?

If you would like more information about the project or about International Service, please contact the project manager.

International Service Brazil George Truckenbrod
Project Manager
Office Phone: (92) 3657-2174
Mobile Phone: (92) 9111- 2957
E-mail: george@isbrasil.org.br
Website: www.isbrasil.org.br

Luca Sinesi Field Director
Office Phone: (81) 3244-6391
Email: luca@isbrasil.org.br

What is the Project?

This 3-year project that is supported by the Big Lottery Fund of the United Kingdom will support sustainable social, and economic development by strengthening the capacity of municipal health teams in the interior of Amazonas State in the area of sexual and reproductive health awareness and rights. The aim is to increase the access of at high risk and vulnerable groups to accurate information on STI/HIV/AIDS prevention and care; reduce stigma; and promote sexual and reproductive health rights. Through a strategic partnership with the Amazonas State STI/HIV/AIDS Control programme, International Service will place development workers in four strategic polo municipalities of Itacoatiara, Benjamin Constant, Eirunepé, and Labrea. This partnership will increase the reach of the state programme to some of the most at risk and excluded groups in Amazonas State, and strengthen links between municipal health teams and the state programme. In addition, another development worker will be placed in Manaus, to strengthen the planning, monitoring and evaluation capacity of the State HIV/STI/AIDS prevention programme team.

The primary beneficiaries of this project will be the municipal health teams comprised of community health workers and health professionals, working with the state STI/HIV/AIDS programme to improve the sexual and reproductive health of the people living in the interior of Amazonas. The staffs of the state programme in Manaus are also primary beneficiaries. Development workers will also work with other community-based groups such as teachers and associations to ensure effective and accurate dissemination of prevention messages and strengthened partnerships between the municipal health teams and civil society. The number of primary beneficiaries is estimated to be in excess of 1,700 people.

The secondary beneficiaries are users and participants of the health services and activities of the municipal health teams: the local populations of polo municipalities, particularly marginalized and vulnerable groups such as sex workers, members of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender community, the disabled, and those living in rural and isolated areas. There is a great need and desire to strengthen municipal health teams in order to reach more vulnerable groups who have not been reached by sexual and reproductive health activities and messages, particularly in more isolated rural areas. By strengthening the capacities of health teams at the municipal level, the project will be better able to work with these groups. As expected, there are few accurate disaggregated statistics available that can be used to provide an insight into the sexual and reproductive health situation of people in rural areas in Amazonas. Thus, one of the objectives of the project will be to improve the collection of data and statistics. Using current available statistics, the number of secondary beneficiaries is estimated to be in excess of 275,140 people.

The overriding characteristic of all high-risk and vulnerable groups is their lack of access to information and services as a result of geographical distances and lack of communications infrastructure. This is in addition to the stigma that some groups face, particularly sex professionals, their partners and clients; gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM); and transvestites, all of whom are high-risk groups. Indigenous groups that are present in all the project areas also have specific needs and interests that are often overlooked due to the lack of resources.

What are the Project Objectives?

This is a three-year project that is working in partnership with the Amazonas Tropical Medicine Foundation, the State of Amazonas STI/HIV/AIDS Control Programme, and the municipal STI/HIV/AIDS programmes in the ‘polo’ municipalities of Benjamin Constant, Itacoatiara, Labrea, and Eirunepé.

The aim of the project is to increase the access to the most vulnerable people to accurate information on STI/HIV/AIDS prevention and care, to promote their sexual and reproductive health and rights, and to reduce the stigma towards vulnerable communities.

The 4 development workers will work with the municipal STI/HIV/AIDS programmes of the participating municipalities through technical, organisational, and institutional capacity-building in the following areas:

* To work with the Municipal Health Secretary’s STI/HIV/AIDS Programme to plan and develop activities (from the National STI/HIV/AIDS programme) within the municipality and surrounding municipalities especially linked to preventative health education with children, adolescents and young people.
* To develop systems to train and use peer educators (via the Family Health Programmes, Community Health Agents etc) for the prevention of STI/HIV/AIDS.
* To work with the municipal programme to develop and apply monitoring and evaluation tools and systems as required by the State Control Programme to the activities being developed within the municipality
* Jointly with the technical team systematize epidemiological information gathered through monitoring and evaluation.
* To work with the State STI/HIV/AIDS Control programme coordination to develop activities for the efficient “interiorization” of the State Programme within their particular municipality and municipalities of the polo
* Together with the local technical team identify and respond (when possible) to identified training needs of the local team, project members and partners

1 development worker will work with the State of Amazonas STI/HIV/AIDS Control Programme and through technical, organisational, and institutional capacity-building in the following areas:

* To strengthen the planning processes of the State STI/HIV/AIDS Control Programme
* To develop and applying adequate tools and systems to effectively monitoring and evaluate the activities and projects being developed throughout the state.
* To systematize information gathered through monitoring and evaluation by the ‘polo’ municipalities
* To train and support the coordination of the State Programme and their team in the efficient use of these tools in their daily work
* To identify and respond to additional training needs of the state coordination team, municipal teams, and other stakeholder organisations

International Service has placed the project manager within the Amazonas Tropical Medicine Foundation to manage the project including in the following roles and responsibilities:

* In conjunction with the IS field director and State STI/HIV/AIDS Programme Coordinator plan and monitor all project activities.
* To oversee the in-country preparation and orientation of development workers prior to starting in their placements with partner organisations/municipalities.
* To monitor and evaluate the work of development workers, their partner organisations and other actors involved in the project
* In conjunction with the State STI/HIV/AIDS programme help develop and maintain databases containing baseline socio-economic and epidemiological data
* To plan and organise three annual workshops to include all IS development workers, partner organisations and other relevant parties on issues pertinent to the project
* To share information about the project and lessons learnt through network and other civil society organisations (national and international)
* To manage communications’ activities, including producing a project video and disseminating information on the project amongst DWs and partners through a bi-annual bulletin (in English and Portuguese)
* To oversee the development of the project website in conjunction with the State programme and other partners
* To provide an annual report of project activities
* To act as a champion for HIV/AIDS prevention within IS, creating a database of resources on sexual and reproductive health and responding to periodic requests for information
* In conjunction with the IS field director, manage the project budget and provide monthly accounts

 

What are the Expected Project Outcomes?

1. Improved knowledge of 500 municipal level health professionals and workers on STI/HIV/AIDS and preventative health education by the end of the project
2. 5000 children and adolescents access STI/HIV/AIDS prevention and education programmes in the 4 target areas reducing child and adolescent vulnerability to STI/HIV/AIDS by the end of the project
3. 50% increase in access to prevention activities in the 4 target areas reducing the incidence of STI/HIV/AIDS in the target areas by the end of the project
4. Increased capacity of 4 municipal teams targeting vulnerable populations, in particular young people, by the end of the project