Scope of the AHAPI Project.

Building community and counterpart participation, capacity and knowledge in priority countries within the Asia-Pacific region through formal collaborations and partnerships with like-minded organisations.
h3. Partner organisations for this project are:

bq. * IGAT Hope based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
* Timor AID based in Dili, East Timor
* Asian Pacific Network of Positive People (APN+) based in Bangkok

The project aims through collaborative partnerships to build the capacity and visibility of PLWHA organisations and groups to develop and sustain HIV positive people for delivering representation and involvement within their country’s HIV/AIDS response.

Direct beneficiaries are people living with HIV/AIDS who would have enhanced representation and support to develop their own networking and governance structures. Plwha in country will be developing their own role in the national HIV/AIDS response, and increase their capacity to liaise with other stakeholders.

In addition there will be country and regional benefits from the greater involvement of plwha in the response to HIV/AIDS and across communities nationally. Australia will benefit from an expanding and deepening partnership within these respective HIV/AIDS responses.

Project Activity Schedule for 2005 – 2006 included

July – December:

Finalising agreements with counterpart organisations. Needs analysis within communities and with other stakeholders. Development of detailed workplans and development of training packages as required

January – June:

Facilitation and resourcing of plwha workshops and forums. Peer based outreach for governance training and resource development. First annual evaluation of projects.

Partnership work with IGAT Hope

Activities

There have been several pieces of in country work carried out by NAPWA staff, peer volunteers and consultants to progress activities with IGAT Hope.

• A schedule of activities for partnership work was agreed upon by the IGAT Hope Board.
• NAPWA assisted in preparing and facilitating the first annual general meeting and report to members by IGAT Hope.
• NAPWA assisted in the preparation of an annual work-plan for the IGAT Hope and facilitated discussions about the strategic direction for organisational activities.
• NAPWA conducted a two day governance training workshop with the newly elected Board and prepared a governance kit which described the operation of the organisation which was available for members and circulated amongst other NGO’s.
• NAPWA and the Aids Treatment Project of Australia conducted a two- day workshop for twenty IGAT Hope members called HIV Healthy Living Peer Workshop. The workshop was co-facilitated by four IGAT Hope Board members and focused largely on the diet and nutrition needs of PLWHA in Port Moresby.
• NAPWA has been in attendance for three IGAT Hope Board meeting and has assisted individual Board members to represent the interests of IGAT Hope in other forums. For example through the AHAPI Project the IGAT Hope President was supported to attend the Australasian Society of HIV Medicine Conference and present a paper.
• NAPWA supported nine IGAT Hope members to attend the NAPWA annual conference in Adelaide in 2005 to enhance their skills development and understanding of the advocacy capacities of PLWHA organisations.

Outcomes

After one year the profile of IGAT Hope has been consolidated within the network of organisations responding to the needs of plwha in PNG. Governance processes within the organisation have been enhanced and the notion of a cycle of annual planning for activities has taken shape. There has been progress in terms of individual skills development enabling the IGAT Hope Board to direct attention to advocacy work for plwha in PNG. IGAT Hope is a newly established group and the AHAPI project has provided support through organisational capacity building.

Partnership work with Timor Aid

Activities

There have been three in-country visits. There is regular liaison with Timor Aid and other NGOs involved in the HIV/AIDS response in East Timor.

• A memorandum of understanding was negotiated with Timor Aid which described the partnership arrangements. A significant amount of the negotiation process was an awareness raising with the local NGO Timor Aid about HIV/AIDS.
• NAPWAs first scoping exercise in East Timor was carried out in conjunction with a HIV specialist GP from Australia. Contact was made with the local hospitals and the clinic where the majority of plwha who are being treated attend. NAPWA addressed clinical staff at the Dili General Hospital on the ways of working with plwha to reduce stigma and discrimination.
• NAPWA has facilitated the meeting of a small group of positive people who meet at what is called The Wednesday Lunch Club.
• NAPWA assisted the group of positive people to prepare a declaration for the first National congress on HIV/AIDS in East Timor. This was significant step in an environment where still no positive person is prepared to publicly declare their status – reflective of the stigma and discrimination that has been experienced to date.
• NAPWA contributed to the development of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and ensured that the strategy reflected a role for plwha. NAPWA ensured the strategy included directions which would assist in developing an environment to foster positive responses and peer support for isolated plwha’s
• NAPWA supported a delegate to travel from East Timor to attend the NAPWA conference in 2005
• NAPWA has facilitated discussion amongst Australian organisations who are involved in work in HIV/AIDS in East Timor with the aim of developing a coordinated approach across different areas of work

Outcomes

Fostering positive responses and peer support in an environment where individuals are in fear of disclosing their HIV status was not going to be an easy task. Nevertheless some progress has been made in engaging with a group of HIV positive people in a ‘safe’ space. Through the AHAPI project there has been a great deal of awareness raising about the dynamics of working with positive people amongst organisations in East Timor who wish to provide support for this marginalised group.

Partnership work with Asian Pacific Network of Positive People

Activities

Positive people from Australia have a long history of supporting this Network. The AHAPI project has provided a point of strategic intervention for NAPWA, as an organisation, to engage in a supportive way with this important regional network. Links and communication processes have been consolidated across the NAPWA and APN+ Secretariats.

• An MOU was established between NAPWA and APN+ outlining areas of common work for the three-year funding period.
• With the aim of eventually securing some financial independence through core funding for APN+ NAPWA prepared a document which described the history, activities and projects of the Network. The document will be part of a marketing strategy for APN+ and circulated to potential funders.
• NAPWA provided facilitation support for the APN + annual general meeting and strategic planning days held in February in Bangkok
• NAPWA designed and conducted a full day workshop on Positive Life Skills for Advocates which was an add on to the annual general meeting and attended by over forty HIV positive advocates from across the region.
• NAPWA has provided consultant expertise to assist the APN+ Secretariat in meeting organisational reporting requirements.
• Discussions have commenced between NAPWA and APN+ about how best to support the visibility and accountability structures of the network in a large region which is only recently receiving attention for the impact that HIV/AIDS is having.
• NAPWA has offered technical assistance to APN+ to enhance treatments preparedness in the region.

Outcomes

The capacity of the Network to market itself and undertake its own work is challenged due to the complexities of regional networking and lack of core secretariat funding to enhance communication amongst members. After the first year of the project there has been some progress toward the goal of boosting the governance structure and this has been underpinned by the development of an organisational strategic plan. A key signifier of improved governance processes has been the engagement of the APN+ steering committee with NAPWA.

Challenges encountered

In work with IGAT Hope one of the challenges has been in developing the skills of individuals to work in new ways at a Board organisational level. Additionally local NGO’s have their own ways of working with this group of people and the aim of involving positive people in managing their own responses to living with HIV/AIDS is not understood in the same ways as NAPWA understands the principle of GIPA (the Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS). In East Timor there is a fragmented approach on HIV and no operational National Aids Council or government structure focusing solely on HIV/AIDS. The fact that people with HIV/AIDS are terrified about declaring their status means that the process of finding those people and engaging with them to foster positive responses and peer support complicates the work of the AHAPI Project. In all areas and especially with the work with APN+ the continuity of work due to health, illness and sometimes the death of advocates who do not have access to treatments (as are available in Australia) remains the greatest challenge.

Work plan for 2006 – 2007
July – December: Development of positive representation and public speaking training packages. Introduction of technical treatments information and education pilots for HIV positive peer identified resource people in country.

• Assisting IGAT Hope to find premises from which to operate and advertise and employ a coordinator
• Conducting two levels of training in East Timor. One with NGO’s on creating an enabling environment for PLWHA and the second with the small group of plwha on HIV/AIDS, treatments and positive life skills
• Supporting the first face to face of the APN+ steering committee for governance training and discussion of organisational representative roles and responsibilities.

January – June: Begin wider expansion of communication development. Consolidate organisational capacity and secretariat structures to begin Year Three organisational reviews and in country negotiations for ongoing funding. Continue project activities related to widening of membership and delivery of training packages.

The NAPWA AHAPI Reference Group
NAPWA has drawn together a group of skilled Australian HIV positive advocates, some with experience in International HIV/AIDS work, who provide a reference point for the AHAPI project. This reference group will continue to meet to advise on the project and develop NAPWA’s own capacity to respond to developments within the region.