USIS Washington File - November 30, 2006
Kathryn McConnell, USINFO Staff Writer

The spread of HIV/AIDS is one of the most serious threats to development. By earning trust and developing relationships within their host communities, volunteers have been successful in encouraging people to talk openly about the disease, get tested and seek counseling.

Many of the more than 7,800 current Peace Corps volunteers are working in community HIV/AIDS education and prevention, according to the Peace Corps.

Worldwide, 20 percent of all Peace Corps volunteers are assigned to health and HIV/AIDS projects, and twice that percentage of Peace Corps volunteers are involved in HIV/AIDS activities, according to the agency. Their work is supported by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Bush administration's five-year, $15 billion multifaceted approach to combating HIV/AIDS.

In 2005, Peace Corps volunteers working in HIV/AIDS-related activities helped almost 900,000 people across the globe who were affected by HIV/AIDS or at risk of becoming affected by the disease, the agency said.

Volunteer activities include working in orphanages with HIV-positive children, implementing programs for at-risk youth, collaborating with faith-based organizations on prevention messages, creating support groups for people who are HIV-positive, providing nutrition and hygiene education classes and helping to build community health centers.

Volunteers incorporate education about HIV/AIDS prevention and care into regular lesson plans, after-school programs and schoolwide activities.

They work with development banks, nongovernmental organizations and municipalities to support local development projects, such as AIDS clinics. Others may help women's groups write proposals to fund programs that teach young mothers about the effect of AIDS on children.

They also are helping schools get connected to the Internet so students can get information about preventing and treating the disease.

In addition, volunteers use their skills to improve food security in communities crippled by HIV/AIDS. For instance, they introduce improved farm methods and technologies in areas that have experienced depleted work forces because of illness.

Examples of their efforts are highlighted in the Peace Corps film Turning Hope Into Action.

Volunteer Scott Nguy says in the film that before he came to Nkange, in Botswana, HIV/AIDS seldom was discussed. "It was pretty much denied by the residents here," he said. "Since I've been here for a few months, people are more comfortable approaching people at the clinic, talking about HIV/AIDS, more comfortable coming to do the test."

Shanna Lillis, a volunteer serving in the Dominican Republic, says, "Our group of peer educators designed poster boards with different slogans that we use in AIDS prevention, and so we marched through the town saying, 'I secure my life, I protect myself from AIDS and I maintain my promise to not turn my back on AIDS, not discriminate.'"

Another volunteer, Cucharras Martin, serving in Botswana, says that the Peace Corps develops peer-to-peer education programs that will remain intact after the volunteer returns to the United States.

The film Turning Hope Into Action and more information about the Peace Corps are available on the agency's Web site.

For additional information about PEPFAR, see President Bush's HIV/AIDS Initiatives and the State Department Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Web site

For ongoing coverage, see HIV/AIDS.

(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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