Support for Advocacy Initiatives in the Area of HIV/AIDS. Follow up to the Minsk Meeting

Support for Advocacy Initiatives in the Area of HIV/AIDS. Follow up to the Minsk Meeting Raminta Stuikyte Central and Eastern European Harm Reduction Network

Minsk meeting • Choosing Life, Choosing Action – Increasing Advocacy Possibilities for the Rights of PLWHA in NIS • 75 community and harm reduction organizations’ leaders from NIS • May 7-10 in Minsk, Belarus

Goals of Minsk meeting • Create an agenda for HIV advocacy and develop priorities and strategies for implementation of that agenda; • Address how to ensure inclusion of all affected communities, especially drug users and youth; • Develop communications and information transfer networks; • Integrate harm reduction and other related services with HIV advocacy efforts;

What is advocacy? • Activities to influence decision-makers to implement HIV policy and programs that best meet the needs of affected individuals and communities and promote human rights

Advocacy priorities in NIS • Access to HIV treatment (including drug treatment) • Combating stigma and discrimination

Follow-up of Minsk meeting • Grant program with support of the IHRD/OSI and the Tides Foundation • Community Review Panel (CRP) • Set goals and priorities • Set process • Review applications (avoiding conflict of interest) • Make recommendations

Grant program • to support the work of people with and at risk for HIV/AIDS and the organizations that represent them to advocate to promote better treatment of HIV disease, reduce stigma and discrimination that people with and at risk for HIV often face, and to ensure that HIV prevention strategies best meet the needs of those at risk

CRP members: criteria • Expertise in HIV/AIDS activism and advocacy • Representation of community and harm reduction • Regional diversity

CRP members • David Ananiashvili (Georgia) • Roman Dudnik (Russia) • Anastasia Kamlyk (Belarus) - coordinator • Murtazokul Khidirov (Tajikistan) • Svilen Konov (Bulgaria) • Konstantin Lezhentsev (Hungary/Ukraine) • Olena Semenova (Ukraine) • Raminta Stuikyte (Lithuania)

Grant eligibility and process • Registered NGOs • Advocacy activities • NIS • End 2002- 2003 • 2 rounds (June 1-September 1-January 1)

Priorities • Improving access to treatment for PLWHA • Overcoming stigma and discrimination • Improving links between stakeholders • Inclusion of AIDS-affected communities in project development and implementation

Received applications • 133 in total • 13 countries (all NIS, except Estonia and Turkmenistan) • almost a half from Russia and Ukraine • 25% from Central Asia • Issues: stigma and discrimination, empowerment of PLWHA and drug users, treatment access • 43 applications for 2 round

Recommended for support • 20 projects selected • $188,130 in total • $9,000-$10,000 grant in average • 9 countries • New and not well-funded organizations • Self-organizations (10 out of 20)

Activities • Scope – from local, to national and international • Content • Empowerment, HIV treatment, other

Follow-up of grant program • Meeting of grantees • Next grant program • Possible expansion of geographical scope • Improvement of coordination • Revision of CRP

Closing remarks • Drug use and AIDS advocacy is crucial and not well developed • Community role in advocacy and activism is low and should be further supported • Better linking advocacy efforts of community, harm reduction and other stakeholders is crucial

Support for Advocacy Initiatives in the Area of HIV/AIDS. Follow up to the Minsk Meeting