Development Issues: HIV/AIDS

Programme Summary

The Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP), in conjunction with the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) established an AIDS Resource Center (ARC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Center, which opened in December 2002, will serve as the hub for AIDS information for journalists, health providers, government departments, and HIV/AIDS organisations and programmes. The new resource centre offers its services free of charge.

The CDC has noted the following priorities for HIV/AIDS control in its country report on Ethiopi:

• Strengthening surveillance;
• Improving access to voluntary counselling and testing (VCT); and
• Developing prevention services, such as STD care; and services for HIV-infected persons, such as prevention of opportunistic infections, tuberculosis prevention, and social support, as well as interventions focused on behaviour change.

The report presented the following responses as being vital to HIV/AIDS prevention programs:

• Primary prevention - Improve access to, availability of, quality of, and use of HIV VCT service including establishing a VCT Centre in Addis Ababa and one in the interior of the country.
• Information Systems - Promote information exchange and improved coordination among partners working in HIV -- 1) develop or expand information resource centre and services, 2) provide support and technical guidance to foster information exchange, 3) provide surveillance updates for involved agencies and organizations.
• Support the HIV/AIDS/STI/TB research agenda of the Government of Ethiopia and serve as technical resource for HIV/AIDS prevention in Ethiopia.
• Provide technical assistance to national STI and TB control programs.
• Assess social marketing needs to promote VCT.

Summary of ICT Initiatives

The (JHU/CCP) has responded to some of these identified priorities by developing a an AIDS resource centre which will:

1. Develop and maintain a clearinghouse on all HIV/AIDS, VCT, STD and TB materials (print and audiovisual) produced in Ethiopia, as well as a sample of international materials. Part of the mandate of the clearinghouse will be to establish an efficient materials distribution system, develop a materials database and develop a web site.
2. Develop standardized high-quality print and audio-visual HIV/AIDS, VCT, STD and TB materials that are useful to all programme managers nationwide.
3. Support the AIDS Hotline managed by the Organization for Social services for AIDS (OSSA). Hotlines have proved to be an effective means for people to access free and anonymous HIV/AIDS information and referrals.
4. Develop a strong relationship with the media by training journalists in HIV/AIDS reporting and serving as an ongoing source of information for those journalists.
5. Encourage networking and coordination of all HIV/AIDS stakeholders. This will in part be accomplished through the development of a database of all HIV/AIDS organisations and projects.

In 2001, an IEC gap analysis completed by Population Communication Services (the USAID-supported program operated by JHU/CCP in Ethiopia) revealed that quality, culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS materials are limited in Ethiopia. Those that do exist are frequently out of date and often out of print. Generally, access to any HIV/AIDS information in Ethiopia is severely limited, especially for the smaller, rural AIDS projects. In addition, there is a need for better coordination of HIV/AIDS IEC and programme activities to prevent duplication of resources.In response to these needs, the centre provides services that include a broad multi-media reference collection, modern computer terminals with Internet access, audiovisual equipment, and databases of local and international HIV/AIDS organizations and avenues for funding. The centre is free to users affiliated with government agencies, media organizations or NGOs working on HIV/AIDS issues. Plans are in the works to open other regional sites that will be networked to the Addis Ababa centre. A national HIV/AIDS hotline is also slated for development. [Click here for more info]

The establishment of the ARC comes at a crucial time in Ethiopia because the demand for HIV testing is growing and with that, a demand for HIV/AIDS information. Not only do the VCT sites require support materials for providers and clients, but VCT is inextricably linked to all aspects of HIV/AIDS and therefore creates a demand for information on issues such as; transmission, treatment, care and support, TB, STIs, MTCT etc.

Now that the ARC is fully operational, partners may consider expanding to other regional sites that will be networked through the main centre in Addis Ababa. There are also plans for an expanded audiovisual unit, additional databases, and a national HIV/AIDS telephone hotline.

Partners: Ethiopia's HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (CCP), Analytical Sciences Inc., and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The advisory committee consisted of a number of UN agencies and ministries including UNAIDS, WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP and the World Bank.

Source: Letter sent from Kim Martin to The Communication Initiative on December 10, 2002. and the Centres for Disease Control.

For More Information Contact:

Ato Araya Demissie

Country Representative

JHU/PCS

Dashen Building, 1st Floor

Addis Ababa

Ethiopia

jhu-pcs@telecom.net.et

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