Objective: FCI is aims to increase advocacy work to promote HIV prevention programs targeted towards women – particularly mothers – as there is an urgent need to build bridges between efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and those focused on women’s reproductive health.

Commitment: This coming fiscal year (Jan. 1, 2006 – Dec. 31, 2006), FCI will commit no less than $500,000 of its budget towards HIV prevention projects targeted towards women and mothers.

Background: In both our global and our country-level programs, we focus on preventing the spread of HIV and advocating for greater integration of HIV/AIDS prevention, and testing and treatment services with other sexual and reproductive health programs.

Most recently, FCI has been a partner in several activities to improve coordination and understanding between HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health programs. In May and June 2004, FCI and UNFPA organized two international meetings which brought together researchers analysts, and other key figures from the worlds of both reproductive health and HIV/AIDS to:

1. Highlight the linkages between HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health and the critical importance of sexual and reproductive health services in the fight against HIV/AIDS and in scaling up access to HIV treatment.

2. Urge appropriate and balanced investment in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care.

At the June meeting, participants also developed a consensus statement that called for a range of inputs, including greater attention to addressing gender issues, ending discrimination, and respecting rights, and ensuring a good supply of commodities, including condoms and drugs. This statement has been distributed widely at international forums, such as the International AIDS meeting in Bangkok in July 2004, where an informal working group was established to pursue linkages between HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health from the perspectives of program design, research, and advocacy.

In 2005, we successfully advocated for greater recognition of the linkages between sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS at the annual session of the UN’s Commission on Population and Development. We also prepared a statement on these issues that was delivered during the session, and widely disseminated among government delegates, NGOs, and representatives of UN Agencies. Two of our staff presented at the ICASA conference in 2005.

In 2006, we plan to increase the emphasis on our international HIV advocacy work, focusing on two major events -- the AIDS UNGASS in July and the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, where FCI plans to:

1. Generate a series of possible indicators for assessing “linkages”, for example: a) whether family planning and antenatal care services are providing voluntary counseling and testing for HIV, and referrals for treatment as appropriate; b) whether HIV/AIDS treatment and care programs are addressing other reproductive health needs; and c) whether HIV/AIDS is being addressed through sexuality education curricula in schools.

2. Produce “shadow reports” with colleagues in selected countries focusing on the issue of Sexual Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS linkages, using the indicators outlined above to fill gaps in official government statements about meeting the goals stated in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS.

3. Facilitate a series of national and regional workshops to share the information from the international meetings, the shadow reports, news from the UNGASS, and the indicators. These workshops would bring together a range of local groups and policy makers to discuss the issues around linkages in the context of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS.

Update:
May 2006:
Bolivia:
Family Care International and its project partners, including the Central Indigena de Pueblos Originarios de la Amazonia de Pando (CIPOAP), held a series of consultations and information sharing meetings with key Bolivian partners at the national and local levels to solicit their input on project strategies and to create opportunities for inter-institutional collaboration and leveraging or resources for fighting the AIDS pandemic.

Mali:
FCI began implementing an HIV prevention project for youth in the informal sector in Bamako Mali, January 2006. Activities included recruiting youth leaders to mentor and supervise peer educators from the informal sector.

Dominican Republic:
1. Working with partner organizations in the Dominican Republic to advocate for the implementation of public policies and the allocation of funds at the local municipal level in the Dominican Republic, that integrate HIV/AIDS in sexual and reproductive health and rights promotion and services for youth.
2. FCI is also providing technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of 8 Municipal Youth Offices and more than 60 municipal youth leaders and their networks to promote local youth policies and programs that incorporate HIV/AIDS in youth health-promotion activities and services.