The aim of Concern’s HIV and AIDS work ongoing is to help reduce new HIV infection and to minimise the impact of HIV and AIDS among people living in extreme poverty, through mainstreaming and integrated responses in all sector programmes, and in support of national government efforts within host countries.
In Chad, the focus is on sensitization and education on HIV.
During mobile clinics, free and voluntary testing for HIV is offered, especially to pregnant women who come for antenatal consultations. Main topics discussed with target communities were on hygiene awareness, exclusive breastfeeding, food diversity, sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV prevention and on gender-based violence topics.
In Democratic Republic of Congo, Ebola outbreaks lead to increased morbidity and mortality in vulnerable populations including children, women, people living with HIV and AIDS and other chronic conditions, populations living in rural areas and isolated areas with poor access to health care, and those living in areas affected by population movement. Concern continues to support Ebola and HIV outbreak responses in DRC.
The Ethiopia emergency nutrition response for displaced people includes all vulnerable refugees with special nutritional needs such as those living with HIV and/or TB. Women living with HIV and AIDS and other disabilities are prioritised during targeting and beneficiaries selection in all of the emergency response programmes.
In the Malawi graduation programme, the findings from the annual outcome survey positively showed that women consultation in key areas of household decision-making has improved by 11% from baseline to 48% (Year 4) for graduation households. Messaging on HIV and AIDS are disseminated to target household and communities during activities including trainings and at coordination meetings.
Concern Pakistan with partner organisations in 2020 marked all international days of equality (e.g. International Women’s Day, 16 Days of Activism, International Boys and Men’s Day, International Day of People With Disabilities, HIV and AIDS etc.). As part of the 16 days of activism, a webinar session was conducted with Concern and partner staff on “Preventing Gender Based Violence.”
In Bangladesh, dissemination of awareness raising and education messages on HIV and AIDS by a trained group of volunteers and Change Makers targeting women especially was conducted.
In Cibitoke and Kirundo provinces in Burundi, trained Care Group Volunteers raised awareness in the community on prevention measures against HIV and AIDS, and the project encouraged pregnant women to take early antenatal care consultations to be tested for HIV, so as to intervene with prevention of mother-to-child transmission as necessary.
In Haiti, the need to emphasize on sexual education was identified during the first year of the ‘Strong children today are a strong society tomorrow’ project and more focus on sexual education, including on STIs, HIV was included in the training package for adolescents, targeting adolescent girls and boys.
Prevention of HIV and AIDS among adolescents is a core topic in life skills and mentorship approaches being rolled by the Concern Kenya education programme, targeting especially adolescent girls, those in and out-of-school in urban informal settlements of Nairobi. A Comic Book was developed by the project, with the adolescents, entitled - Better Lives: Life skills in maturation, drug abuse and HIV.