Regional Report - Yemen
Building capacity among
NGOs to combat AIDS
The Sanaa office of the international
development charity
Progressio is trying to build up
capacity among four local nongovernmental
organisations
(NGOs) with the aim of
helping them respond to
HIV/AIDS.
Funded by the Irish
Government and Progressio, the
three-and-a-half-year project
began in January 2007 in the
governorates of al-Hudeidah ,
Aden, Sanaa and Taiz.
Progressio has brought in four
international experts to share
their experiences on a full-time
basis in the target areas.
Abdulla al-Syari, country
representative of Progressio in
Yemen, said: “The four local
NGOs will fully phase in to
HIV and AIDS project planning,
implementing,
managing and executing with
the skills they gained from
Progressio development
workers. They will act as local
resource organisations cutting
out dependency on foreign
experts, although this may
take a little time,” he told
IRIN news.
Abdulla said over 1,000
people – including educators
from vulnerable communities,
NGO staff members and people
living with HIV/AIDS – would
be trained by the experts.
Others “like imams
preaching in mosques, journalists
creating awareness in
the media and peer educators
educating through interpersonal
education in their
respective communities”,
would also benefit, he said.
Local capacities not strong
Irfan Akhtar, HIV/AIDS coordinator
at Progressio, told IRIN
news that local capacity to
respond to emerging HIV/AIDS
issues was “not really strong”.
“We also seek to build the
capacity of people living with
HIV. There are people living
with HIV who don't have a
voice. They feel isolated and
that they are discriminated
against. So we are working to
increase their participation in
HIV programmes,” he said.
“They [people living with
HIV] should be at the centre of
any well-meaning programme,”
he said.
Progressio held the first
training of trainers for 21 people
living with HIV in March 2008
in Sanaa city. “Increasing their
participation means giving
them opportunities in planning
and implementation,” he said.
Abdul-Hafed al-Ward,
secretary-general of the
Integral Care Association for
People living with HIV, said
there was a need to increase
the number of local NGOs
dealing with HIV/AIDS and
qualify them in this regard.
The insufficient numbers of
local NGOs dealing with
HIV/AIDS issues leads to
stigma and discrimination
directed at people living with
the virus, he said.
“The lack of NGOs dealing
with HIV/AIDS issues
contributes to making the situation
of people living with
HIV as it is: they do not enjoy
their rights, medical and
health services, prevention
and consultation, and qualification,”
he said.
Al-Ward's association is the
only local association in Yemen
that is fully dedicated to deal
with HIV/AIDS issues. People
living with HIV make up 90 of
the association's administrative
board.
This year in May, the
Government of Yemen and UN
Development Programme office
in Sanaa agreed a three-year
programme to develop national
capacities to address
HIV/AIDS.
Funded by the Global Fund to
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and
Malaria, the programme will
cost US$10.6 million. The
programme also aims to build
national capacity in the health
and non-health sectors to
address HIV/AIDS through
increasing awareness activities
in the community.
According to the latest statistics
of the National Programme
for Combating AIDS, there are
2,431 registered cases of
HIV/AIDS in Yemen.
Date
of upload: 16th November 2008
