HIV and AIDS

In the Dominican Republic and in Guyana, HIV prevalence rates among key populations are significantly higher than those in the countries’ general population. This disparity highlights the disproportionate vulnerability of populations such as female sex workers (FSW), men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender (TG), migrant and mobile populations to HIV. High HIV prevalence among these key affected populations also suggests the potential for continued spread of the virus. In both the Dominican Republic and Guyana, Advancing Partners & Communities’ (APC) efforts are geared towards contributing to a sustainable reduction in HIV transmission among key populations and an improved quality of life for people living with HIV. By strengthening the technical and organizational capacity of NGOs and community-based organizations through sub-grants, monitoring, and mentoring, APC enables grantees to establish the foundations for increasing the quality of HIV services and reduce stigma and discrimination. APC provides technical and organizational capacity building for USAID-supported NGOs implementing HIV prevention, counseling and testing (HCT) and care and support programming, as well as technical assistance (TA) to the Ministry of Health (MoH).

Photo credit: This child is HIV-positive and has come to the Muranga District Hospital in Kenya for treatment from a USAID-backed program run by the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs, Columbia University School of Public Health. Photo credit: Casey Kelbaugh, International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs, Columbia University School of Public Health

Below you will find links to resources created by APC and other organizations.

APC Resources

Hope For All
May 2015 | Video

Hope for all is located in Region 2 at lot 6 Belfield Suddie, Essequibo Coast. Hope for all offers HIV testing and counseling and care and support services, as well as STI, gender-based violence, and substance abuse counseling and information in a professional and comfortable environment and operates with the highest level of confidentiality.

Peace Corps Maternal and Newborn Health Training Package
February 2015 | Toolkit

This training package introduces Peace Corps Volunteers to the fundamentals of maternal and newborn health and exposes them to key concepts and global trends. The training package highlights the latest evidence-based practices that can be implemented by Volunteers and their counterparts at the community level to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes. These modules were developed with support from APC.

The Local Capacity Initiative
December 2014 | Fact Sheet

The Local Capacity Initiative (LCI) was established by the U.S. Government in 2013 to strengthen sustainability of national HIV and AIDS responses through increased advocacy capacity of local civil society organizations (CSOs).

Local Capacity Initiative Facilitated Discussion and Capacity Assessment Tool: Facilitator’s Manual
December 2014 | Manual

The purpose of this manual is to help determine technical assistance needs and to conduct an assessment of an organization’s policy, advocacy, and organizational systems capacity. The assessment consists of a facilitated self-assessment as well as optional stakeholder interviews. The tool is divided into five major sections (LCI outcome areas); four of these areas focus on critical elements for advocacy and one focuses on overall organizational capacity. Additionally, there are in-depth domains associated with each larger outcome, which can be used to further review capacity.

External Resources

Developing Policy Advocacy Strategies: Session 15 - Closing
March 2019 | Manual

This manual is part of a learning package focused on developing an advocacy strategy, specifically to advocate for policy change to address barriers to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The five-day curriculum is broken into 15 modules. Session 15 ensures that expectations were met; evaluations, and closing remarks.

Developing Policy Advocacy Strategies: Session 14 - Present Advocacy Strategies
March 2019 | Manual

This manual is part of a learning package focused on developing an advocacy strategy, specifically to advocate for policy change to address barriers to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The five-day curriculum is broken into 15 modules. Session 14 presents opportunities for small groups to receive constructive feedback on their draft strategies from facilitators and other participants.

Developing Policy Advocacy Strategies: Session 13 - Draft the Advocacy Strategy
March 2019 | Manual

This manual is part of a learning package focused on developing an advocacy strategy, specifically to advocate for policy change to address barriers to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The five-day curriculum is broken into 15 modules. Session 13 provides participants the opportunity to compile the work completed during the workshop into a draft advocacy strategy.

Developing Policy Advocacy Strategies: Session 12 - Monitor and Evaluate Policy Advocacy
March 2019 | Manual

This manual is part of a learning package focused on developing an advocacy strategy, specifically to advocate for policy change to address barriers to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The five-day curriculum is broken into 15 modules. Session 12 reviews basic principles of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and the use of M&E to demonstrate progress toward accomplishing advocacy goals and objectives.

Developing Policy Advocacy Strategies: Session 11 - Assess Resources
March 2019 | Manual

This manual is part of a learning package focused on developing an advocacy strategy, specifically to advocate for policy change to address barriers to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The five-day curriculum is broken into 15 modules. Session 11 identifies the resources needed to implement an advocacy strategy and plan how to obtain them.

Developing Policy Advocacy Strategies: Session 10 - Plan Advocacy Activities
March 2019 | Manual

This manual is part of a learning package focused on developing an advocacy strategy, specifically to advocate for policy change to address barriers to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The five-day curriculum is broken into 15 modules. Session 10 reviews the types of activities that can be used to support advocacy objectives and identify specific activities to support an objective in the advocacy strategy.

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Below are select resources related to key issues within gender.

Gender-Based Violence

Gender-based violence is pervasive worldwide. Violence against women in particular has implications for community health programs, especially those that address family planning. Women and girls who experience sexual violence and coercion have an urgent need for family planning, including emergency contraception, to prevent unintended pregnancies. Women experiencing intimate partner violence may have lower demand for family planning, are more likely to use contraception in secret, and have higher rates of both unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions.

Gender-based violence also increases during pregnancy, which has serious implications for maternal health. Children of women who experience violence during pregnancy also suffer poor health outcomes.

Community health services present an opportunity to screen women and girls for gender-based violence and to refer them to appropriate services for support.

Flowchart: Integrating GBV Screening Within HIV Support Services in Guyana
November 2017 | Infographic

This flowchart breaks down the process for GBV screening within HIV support services in Guyana.

Gender-Based Violence & You: Know Your Rights
November 2017 | Brochure

This brochure provides information on how to get help for gender-based violence.

Gender-Based Violence Screening Tool
November 2017 | Training Guide

This screening tool was developed by APC Guyana to screen gender-based violence.

Guyana Gender-Based Violence Services Resource Directory
November 2017 | List

This directory from Guyana provides a rating system that is geared towards collecting information on how acceptable GBV services of each organization are for members of the key population.

Addressing Stigma and Gender-Based Violence to Improve HIV Service Delivery to Key Populations
November 2017 | Assessment

This rapid assessment was conducted to gather information on the programmatic and capacity needs of the NGOs supported through APC to implement services for key populations as well as the structural challenges faced by these NGOs.

Integrating Gender-Based Violence Screening Into HIV Services Provided by Non-governmental Organizations in Guyana
November 2017 | Toolkit

The following protocol was created to assist community-based nongovernmental organizations in Guyana with implementing gender-based violence screening. Social workers can use this tool to understand ways to detect GBV and to better prepare themselves for implementation of GBV screening.

HIV and AIDS

Final Report: APC Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention Project
September 2019 | Report

From September 2013 to September 2019, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. implemented the USAID-funded APC Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention Project. The project design included innovative, evidence-based, and cost-effective solutions, tailored to meet the needs of populations at risk of HIV in Guyana, in the contexts where programs are implemented, and where individuals reside.

Developing Policy Advocacy Strategies: Session 15 - Closing
March 2019 | Manual

This manual is part of a learning package focused on developing an advocacy strategy, specifically to advocate for policy change to address barriers to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The five-day curriculum is broken into 15 modules. Session 15 ensures that expectations were met; evaluations, and closing remarks.

Developing Policy Advocacy Strategies: Session 15 Manual (PDF, 1.3 MB)

Workshop Curriculum: Developing Policy Advocacy Strategies
March 2019 | Training Curriculum
Workshop participants hold string creating a web.

A learning package focused on developing an advocacy strategy, specifically to advocate for policy change to address barriers to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services.

This five-day curriculum is broken into 15 modules; a facilitator’s manual provides overall guidance on how to use the module components including, session plans, PowerPoint slides, and participant handouts for use during the sessions and as job aids after the workshop concludes.

APC created this curriculum as part of the PEPFAR-funded Local Capacity Initiative, which strengthened sustainability of national HIV and AIDS responses in 14 countries and regions. As part of the program, APC provided technical assistance to increase the advocacy capacity of local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Facilitator’s Manual - Provides background on the workshop, tips for preparation, and sample agendas, as well as the pre-work assignment and pre-/post-test.

Session 1: Opening Session - Welcomes participants to the workshop; reviews expectations, the agenda, and ground rules; and sets the tone of the workshop.

Session 2. Key Concepts and Definitions - Introduces basic elements of policy advocacy, provides definitions of key concepts, differentiates advocacy from similar concepts, and identifies types of policy change.

Session 3. The Policy Development Process - Reviews policy development frameworks, the basic steps of the policy development process, and which advocacy activities to use when advocating for change.

Session 4. Overview of Steps in Advocacy Strategy Development - Introduces the steps to develop and implement an advocacy strategy.

Session 5. Define the Issue and Identify a Policy Solution - Introduces methods to define a policy issue, including criteria to assess whether an issue is well suited for advocacy and the most appropriate policy solution.

Session 6. Set Goals and Objectives - Introduces goals and objectives of policy advocacy strategies and allows participants to develop goals and objectives for advocacy strategies they are creating.

Session 7. Identify Target Audiences: Decision-makers and Influencers - Defines target audience, decision-maker, and influencer; reinforces the importance of knowing your primary and secondary target audiences and capturing information about stakeholders in a power map.

Session 8. Engage in Partnerships - Reviews the various types of partnerships, the characteristics of successful teams, and creating and maintaining effective partnerships.

Session 9. Create Effective Advocacy Communication - Introduces the components of, and the process for developing and delivering, an effective advocacy message; allows participants to design and deliver a message for their advocacy strategy.

Session 10. Plan Advocacy Activities - Reviews the types of activities that can be used to support advocacy objectives and identify specific activities to support an objective in the advocacy strategy.

Session 11. Assess Resources - Identifies the resources needed to implement an advocacy strategy and plan how to obtain them.

Session 12. Monitor and Evaluate Policy Advocacy - Reviews basic principles of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and the use of M&E to demonstrate progress toward accomplishing advocacy goals and objectives.

Session 13. Draft the Advocacy Strategy - Provides participants the opportunity to compile the work completed during the workshop into a draft advocacy strategy.

Session 14. Present Advocacy Strategies - Presents opportunities for small groups to receive constructive feedback on their draft strategies from facilitators and other participants.

Session 15. Closing - Ensures that expectations were met; evaluations and closing remarks.

Civil Society Organizations Forge a Place within the Dominican Republic’s HIV Response
June 2018 | Brief

In the Dominican Republic (DR), HIV-focused civil society organizations (CSOs) developed a platform to expand access to primary health care (PHC), including HIV services, for key and vulnerable populations.

Family Planning and HIV Integration: Important Contributions to the Global HIV Goals
January 2018 | Infographic

Integrating FP into HIV services can help ensure that people living with HIV, young women, key populations, and male partners can access critical information and services that empower them to fulfill their reproductive health needs and goals.

Family Planning/HIV Integration Quality Assurance Tool
January 2018 | Toolkit

This tool is designed to assess the extent to which facilities offering integrated family planning (FP) and HIV services are meeting basic minimum standards for the provision of quality FP services, identify any gaps in the provision of integrated services, and serve as a starting point for improving FP service delivery.

Family Planning/HIV Integration Quality Assurance Tool [printable paper-based version] (PDF, 4 MB)

Family Planning/HIV Integration Quality Assurance Tool [interactive Excel-based version] (XLSX, 6.7 MB)

Pilotaje RIE República Dominicana
August 2016 | Publication

Lecciones aprendidas de una estrategia de colaboración entre la Dirección Regional de Salud V, organizaciones comunitarias, organizaciones nogubernamentales, y la sociedad civil.

DIAGNÓSTICO DE LAS NECESIDADES DE SALUD DE LAS POBLACIONES TRANS DE LA REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA
August 2016 | Study

En la República Dominicana, la epidemia del Virus de Inmunodeficiencia Humana (VIH) se caracteriza por estar concentrada en poblaciones como la de hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (HSH) y las mujeres trans. La prevalencia del VIH en HSH es de un 5.2 % , mientras que en algunos estudios en poblaciones trans, el VIH oscila entre 12 y 17 % .

Webinar: Strategies to Increase Male engagement in eMTCT of HIV and Syphilis
May 2016 | Webinar

Please join WHO and the Human Reproduction Programme on June 10, 2016 from 1530-1700 (Geneva Time) / 9:30-11:00 (Washington Time) for a webinar discussion on Strategies to Increase Male engagement in eMTCT of HIV and Syphilis.

This is the first instalment of a new RHR Webinar series focusing on male engagement in SRHR.

Understanding and Challenging HIV and Key Population Stigma and Discrimination: Caribbean Facilitator's Guide
February 2015 | Guide

Developed by the USAID- and PEPFAR-funded Health Policy Project, this guide is a training tool that provides a standard for stigma reduction. It is a resource for facilitators seeking to train participants to reduce HIV and key population stigma and discrimination, and for leaders of community dialogue and policy development in this area. The guide has been piloted in the Caribbean and other settings and can be readily adapted for other contexts.

Delivery of Integrated Family Planning and HIV Testing and Counseling Services by Community-Based Health Workers
October 2014 | Brief

To increase access to and use of HIV testing and counseling (HTC), FHI 360 and the Uganda Ministry of Health developed an innovative model to add HTC services to the family planning services provided by government-endorsed community health workers, known as village health teams (VHTs), in two districts in Uganda. 

Policy brief: Consolidated guidelines on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations
July 2014 | Brief

This policy brief provides an overview of key findings, data and figures of the new consolidated guidelines on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations. In addition, it offers an overview of the comprehensive package on interventions and a table summarizing WHO recommendations concerning key populations.

Abriendo Puertas: Feasibility and Initial Effects of a Multi-Level Intervention among Female Sex Workers Living with HIV in the Dominican Republic
February 2014 | Study

This study aims to assess the feasibility and initial effects of an integrated prevention and care model for female sex workers (FSW) living with HIV called Abriendo Puertas and to assess the feasibility of engaging the male regular partners of FSW living with HIV in prevention and care services.

AIDSTAR-One Project Highlight: Integrating and Mainstreaming HIV Services
December 2013 | Series

This project highlight combines key resources from AIDSTAR-One related to the Global Health Initiative and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief priority of integrating and mainstreaming HIV services to improve access to prevention, testing, treatment, and care.

Exploring the Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention (PHDP) Needs of Female Sex Workers, Men Who Have Sex with Men and Transgender Women in the Dominican Republic and Swaziland
March 2013 | Report

This report describes the current social and structural context of FSW, MSM, and TW in the DR and Swaziland, particularly as it relates to stigma and discrimination among PLHIV. It also examines the specific PHDP needs of FSW, MSM and TW who are living with HIV, including challenges to accessing ongoing prevention, treatment, care and support service. Finally, it identifies ways in which PHDP interventions and services can be tailored to meet the needs of FSW, MSM, and TW, including specific program models and communication messages.

A Global HIV Stigma Reduction Framework Adapted and Implemented in Five Settings in India
January 2013 | Report

This report synthesizes the lessons learned from the process, including the feasibility and relevance of the framework for use by the NACP and other global stakeholders in informing stigma reduction interventions and measurement.

REDOVIH+ defends the rights of people living with or affected by HIV. The organization offers community and home-based care, secondary prevention, and advocacy through peer counselors and home visit specialists. REDOVIH+ provides HIV services for men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender individuals, integrated HIV services for sex workers, and other support services.

SASOD is committed to ending all forms of homophobia in Guyana, including transphobia, biphobia and lesbophibia. To achieve this goal, our Homophobia(s) Programme, focuses on engaging key sectors of society where anti-LGBT prejudices are prevalent. Through a discrimination reporting and documentation system, awareness, sensitization and education activities and direct engagement with key stakeholders, the Programme seeks to cultivate positive changes in attitudes which drive stigma and discrimination against LGBT people.

The Network of Guyanese Living With and Affected by HIV/AIDS advocates for the social and economic development of people living and affected by HIV/AIDS through care and support, information, and collective action.

United Bricklayers facilitates and advocates for the social and economic development of the most vulnerable. The membership-based organization works in partnership with relevant organizations and the broader community to address issues of care and support and prevention in Guyana.

Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) offers young people from Guyana and abroad opportunities to utilize leadership and conflict resolution skills to contribute to community-driven development projects. The program implements projects that build and strengthen the capacity of communities and improve the livelihood of individuals across Guyana.

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February 25, 2015 | Article

The HIV Prevention efforts of a number of local Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) recently came under strategic evaluation with the aim of bettering the crucial services that they offer.

February 24, 2015 | General News

As a result of Youth Challenge Guyana's (YCG) efforts, the past year saw an increased number of persons seeking to be tested for HIV. Additionally there have been reports of greater consistency in the number of sex workers using condoms during their sexual encounters, while more miners have been asking for YCG field officers to visit their sites to conduct Voluntary Counselling and Testing activities. 

November 25, 2014 | Blog

Over the next 15 days, the Advancing Partners & Communities Project in Guyana will be doing a series of blogs to highlight different aspects of gender-based violence.

July 21, 2014 | Blog

The One Million Community Health Worker (1mCHW) Campaign’s blog post discusses the 20th annual International AIDS Conference and the importance of community health workers in the eradication of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

June 24, 2014 | Blog

Anne Stangl, a senior behavioral scientist at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), discusses the ICRW’s goal to help strengthen the capacity of local organizations in Guyana to provide HIV prevention, care and treatment services to key populations.

June 17, 2014 | Blog

This post discusses the PEPFAR-supported Strengthening Uganda’s Systems for Treating AIDS Nationally (SUSTAIN) project’s work to progressively increase numbers of clients receiving HIV testing and counseling services in Uganda through provider-initiated testing and counseling.

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Check back again for related photo galleries or videos.

A photo of Ruby

Ruby Mercenario is a 32-year-old transgender woman who receives care at the Francisco Gonzalvo public hospital in the La Romana province of the Dominican Republic. She praises the benefits of receiving services at a place free of stigma and discrimination.

Guyana School of Agriculture

The Family Awareness Consciousness Togetherness (FACT) program in Guyana helped two sisters, who were made vulnerable by HIV, to break the cycle of poverty and attend university.

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