Work of local NGOs involved in HIV prevention reviewed

Feb 21, 2015 News

The HIV Prevention efforts of a number of local Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) recently came under strategic evaluation with the aim of bettering the crucial services that they offer.

The recently held meeting in session.

In a statement issued yesterday, Advancing Partners and Communities (APC), a USAID-supported initiative aimed at improving prevention of HIV in populations at higher risk of infection, said that it hosted a two-day (February 12 and 13, 2015) meeting where the performances of 10 NGOs were keenly reviewed.
The NGOs that came under review were: Artistes in Direct Support, Agape Network, Comforting Hearts, the FACT Group, Hope for All, Hope Foundation, Lifeline Counselling, Linden Care, United Bricklayers and Youth Challenge Guyana.
Between October 1 and December 31 last year,  the 10 NGOs supported by APC provided prevention education to 1,933 individuals from key populations—sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgendered individuals, miners and loggers.
Moreover, at the recent meeting, training was also provided by APC for improving the quality of services offered to these groups.
Twenty-three participants from the NGOs and key population associations participated in the rigorous two-day review and training. The dialogue between service providers and the populations targeted allowed participants to leave with new knowledge of how to be more effective in prevention, according to the APC statement.
In addition to providing skills for improving service delivery, the training session also allowed participants to leave with new tools for developing quality improvement plans.
The event closed with an award ceremony acknowledging outstanding performance in areas such as – enrollment of key populations in HIV care and support services; testing clients of sex workers; integrating gender based violence screening in HIV service settings.
APC is a five-year project funded by USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health and implemented by JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc., in partnership with FHI 360. APC’s core funding covers grant management and capacity building for NGOs providing services for HIV prevention, care and support. In Guyana, APC supports NGOs across eight of the 10 administrative regions.