| |
Integrated training sessions for community-based health care workers were initiated in Kenya in 1999 under the sponsorship of the Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium and Global Strategies for HIV Prevention,and funded predominantly by the NIH Office of AIDS Research and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
The workshop-based model is designed to strengthen the response of CBOs/NGOs/FBOs and informal community groups to the HIV/AIDS pandemic at the community level.
The goal of the program is to provide a model which could readily be adaptable to the needs of any resource-poor community and utilizes locally-available resources. In addition, its purpose is to build the capacity of grassroots organizations from within the communities in areas of action planning, community mobilization, strategic programming and monitoring to promote implementation of HIV/AIDS-mitigating efforts at the grassroots level.
 | | Plenary sessions in the morning are usually designed to: - Provide information on HIV prevention and treatment, including traditional approaches
- Present relevant data from research studies
- Facilitate exchange of information among participants
- Provide a framework for local collaboration and training
- Assist participants in implementing their action plans
The morning sessions usually address these key issues: - Dissemination of relevant, research data
- Voluntary counseling and testing (VCT)
- Care and management of patients in the local clinical setting or home-based care
- Care and support of orphans
- Prevention of mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT)
- Community mobilization for HIV/AIDS control
The training workshops are highly interactive forums of between 75 to 100 community-based health-care workers who convene for a 3-5 day program that addresses issues defined by the participants themselves.
The process involves presentations by experts coupled with group discussions which culminate in individual action plan development.
Morning sessions are followed by afternoon small group discussions where people elaborate on what they’ve learned. Break-out sessions provide an intimate environment for raising questions and giving or receiving feedback from colleagues about experiences with issues discussed in the plenary sessions.
The workshops help participants critically assess their own work in their communities in order to develop action plans that are realistic and pragmatic.
We also encourage participants to find ways in which they can enhance their current activities, rather than suggest radical changes that are more difficult, if not impossible, to implement. For action plans to work, we believe that participants are most effective when they convey the information to their colleagues at home in a way that will hold their interest and win endorsement and support.
Training Workshops conducted since 1999 Twinning Program in Kenya-USA | Training break-out discussion group in Tamale, Ghana, December 2002. |  | | Visiting Traditional Birth Attendants in Kajaido. |  |
|
|
Training