US Government Supports Initiatives of Prevention with Positives Programs
Workshop Reviews Draft Ethiopian Prevention with Positives Strategic Framework

Tuesday April 21, 2009 (Addis Ababa): Participants in a one-day workshop today reviewed a draft of the Ethiopian Prevention with Positives strategic framework, with the aim of better integrating the PwP program into established programs addressing prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) and sexually transmitted infection (STI). The workshop also set a platform for the development of a plan to adopt HIV-prevention materials for use by non-health professionals.

As the result of the Ethiopian government’s and its partners’ efforts, the availability of HIV treatment and the numbers of HIV-positive persons accessing treatment in Ethiopia has increased dramatically in the last five years.  In Ethiopia, about 133,000 people currently receive treatment for HIV.  Their treatment provides an important opportunity to routinely reach a large number of HIV-infected persons with prevention messages and interventions. Therefore, the HIV care and treatment setting is a key starting point to integrate prevention programs for greater impact.

In recognition of the importance of positive prevention, the United States Government Emergency Plan (PEPFAR) has supported a special initiative to develop a comprehensive package of HIV prevention interventions, both behavioral and biomedical, to be used with HIV-infected persons in resource-limited settings. Funded by PEPFAR and with technical assistance by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Ethiopia (CDC-E), International Training and Education Center on HIV/AIDS (I-TECH) is a lead PEPFAR partner on “Prevention with Positives” in Ethiopia. I-TECH plays a central role in adopting this generic set of HIV prevention materials by organizing consultative workshops for technical experts, program managers, and service providers drawn from a wide range of institutions to review the materials.

The workshop participants included Government of Ethiopia officies, regional health bureaus and HAPCOs, PEPFAR Ethiopia, UN agencies, HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment implementing partners, associations of PLWHA and public relations and media experts.