«Advocacy in HIV/AIDS field: overcoming obstacles together!»
InJuly 2008 ICF “InternationalHIV/AIDSAllianceinUkraine”inpartnershipwiththeOSIInternationalHarmReductionProgrammeconductedthethirdsummerschool in HIV/AIDS advocacy for the local HIV-service organizations. This year the participants discussed implementation of the substitution and maintenance therapy for drug users. The focus of this year summer school was at learning how to advocate for theNGO clients’ rights for substitution maintenance therapy in their regions. The participants learned how to draft and implement the projects directed at overcoming obstacles in ensuring access to the SMT programmes for the vulnerable populations.
20 representatives of HIV-service organisations from all regions of Ukraine attended the school; majority of the represented organisations in partnership with the Alliance implement projects under the “Scaling up the National Response to HIV/AIDS through Information and Services” Programme (SUNRISE) supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Majorfieldsofdiscussioncoveredadvocacytheory, generaloverviewoftheSMTprogrammes, theirstrengthsandweaknesses; settingtargetsandobjectives to solve specific SMT advocacy challenges; training in efficient communicating with mass media.
Theintensivetraining courseconsisted ofatheorysession, aone-dayretreatteambuilding andpracticalsessionswhichtrainedtheparticipants in drafting advocacyprojectconcepts fortheirorganisations. Significant attention was given to experience of the successful SMT projects in Ukraine and advocacy activities.
Thesummerschooltrainers werePavloSkala, HalynaNaduta (ICF “InternationalHIV/AIDSAllianceinUkraine”), SerhiyDvoryak (UkrainianInstituteonPublicHealthPolicy), DmytroKrykun, Osman Pashayev (STB TV Channel).
To exchange SMT programmes implementation experience the trainees attended an SMT project in Kyiv (based on the facility of the Kiyv filia of the International Charitable Fund “Shody Rehabilitation Centre”) where they learned about the current project, all its success and challenges.
The summer school attendees got a good understanding of advocacy theory aspects but in addition, they applied this new knowledge and presented 17 concepts of the future advocacy projects, developed during the summer school course. The attendees themselves voted for the best project presented by Olga Lokhonya (Head of the Board of the ACO “All-Ukrainian Network of PLH” in Sumy). The project aims at improving quality of life of the SMT clients who have TB via establishing an SMT site on the premises of the Sumy Oblast TB hospital.