CAI International

Caribbean Region

USAID/Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention Project (GHARP), Guyana

With 18,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, (PLWHAs) the country of Guyana faces an HIV/AIDS epidemic second only to Haiti among countries in the Caribbean region and has been identified as one of the fifteen priority countries of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). To combat this epidemic, the Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention Project (GHARP), was initiated in 2004 with funding from USAID. GHARP seeks to reduce the risk of vulnerability to infection through prevention and control of the transmission of STIs and HIV, and reduce the social and economic impact of HIV/AIDS on individuals and communities. GHARP seeks to

provide treatment to at least 2000 HIV-positive individuals,

prevent 15,000 new infections, and

provide care and support services to up to 9,000 people, with an emphasis on reaching orphans and vulnerable people.

As a partner on GHARP, Cicatelli Associates Inc (CAI) has been leading efforts to strengthen the capacity of local health and social service agencies, PLWHA networks, and communities. Working closely with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Faith-based Organizations (FBOs), PLWHA networks, and Ministry of Health (MOH) clinics and hospitals, CAI has provided a variety of unique and special capacity building services to help communities:

Initiate and provide quality home-based and palliative care,

Foster micro-enterprise activities among the vulnerable populations, and

Build and strengthen PLWHA leadership throughout the country.

CAI has also been working closely with the three major religious groups in the country, Muslims, Hindus and Christians, to enhance their ability and willingness to work together as well as within their faiths to address HIV/AIDS, provide support services to PLWHA, and more effectively promote abstinence and other prevention strategies.

Case Navigation Demonstration Project
The overall goal of the demonstration project is to increase the number of newly diagnosed HIV positive clients at Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) sites who successfully access care and/or treatment by linking them to a Case Navigator at time of diagnosis, who provides assistance in accessing services and referrals. Eight PLWHA case navigators have been hired by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and are currently providing case navigation services at select MoH VCT sites. Training for case navigators to be based at NGOs and a 3-month evaluation of will take place in March 2008.

Ecotourism Training Project
GHARP/CAI and Iwokrama have partnered to provide a three-month training program to five young persons infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, with the goal of providing these persons with marketable skills that will ensure them a steady source of income through employment. In January 2007, the five participants were selected through an application and interview process and were provided an orientation to the project as well as sensitization in HIV 101. The participants left for Iwokrama on January 17^th, where they will spend the next three months learning skills in ecotourism.

Construction Training and Housing Project
GHARP/CAI has created a partnership with Habitat for Humanity for a hands-on construction training program and the construction of five new homes for families affected by HIV/AIDS. The goal of the project is to provide PLWHA and their family members with marketable skills to ensure them a steady source of income through employment or entrepreneurship. Participation in the housing project was awarded to five families affected by HIV/AIDS through lottery in December 2007. Each family designated three individuals to assist in building their house and the other families’ houses; these selected members will be specially trained and certified by CAI and Habitat in construction started in February 2008.

Secondary Prevention
CAI International facilitated the first secondary prevention workshop held in Guyana for Persons Living with HIV in January 2008.Twenty-seven persons attended the three-day training, the goal of which was to provide PLWHA working with NGOs the skills to educate and coach their peers in secondary prevention behaviors and to help peers develop individual secondary prevention plans. The persons attending the training will receive support and supervision from their NGO supervisor in carrying out secondary prevention interventions and will monitor and document their activities on a monthly basis.

CAI Capacity Building Initiatives provided through GHARP

Homebased Care

Micro-enterprise

PLWHA Leadership

Faith Based Organizations

Cicatelli Associates Incorporated, 505 Eighth Avenue, Suite 1600, New York, NY 10018
phone: (212) 594-7741 / fax: (212) 629-3321
http://www.cicatelli.org

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