National HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Fund: Projects Funded for 2003-2004

To sustain and strengthen the national response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Health Canada launched the National HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Fund under the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS on September 4, 2002 through a public request for proposals (RFP). Proposals were invited from community organizations, health and educational institutions and professional organizations across Canada.

The goal of the National HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Fund is to strengthen the capacity of staff and volunteers working in areas related to HIV/AIDS across Canada. To be funded, projects had to prove that their initiatives were national in scope and that they would have national availability. By supporting staff and volunteers working in areas related to HIV/AIDS we can build the capacity of communities across Canada to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Projects Funded for 2003-2004

Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada - "Finding Our Way: Connecting Aboriginal Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS" (Ottawa, ON)

The Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, will develop and deliver a series of one day training workshops in regions across Canada to enhance the capacity of local community service providers who work with Aboriginal clients (ie. First Nations, Inuit and Métis) to integrate HIV/AIDS into their programs and services. The training workshops will be designed in modules to facilitate customized workshops for different audiences.

Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation - "Rehabilitation in the Context of HIV: A Multi-Sector Capacity Building Forum" (Toronto, ON)

The Canadian Working Group on HIV Rehabilitation will develop and implement a national forum on HIV and rehabilitation. This forum will provide an opportunity to develop and share expertise among people living with HIV, health care providers, government policy makers and other stakeholders in rehabilitation. This project will promote a greater understanding of the issues and skills involved in an integrated approach to HIV rehabilitation programs and policies by developing, exploring and disseminating new knowledge from research, education and other capacity building activities.

Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada - "Sexual and Reproductive Health Counselling and HIV: Making Integration Work" (Ottawa, ON)

Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada will develop bilingual Sexual and Reproductive Health Counselling Guidelines. The Guidelines will serve as a resource to improve the content, quality and effectiveness of sexual and reproductive health counselling in Canada. The goal of the project is to increase the capacity of Canadian sexual/reproductive health counsellors to provide high-quality sexual/reproductive health counselling that integrates HIV/AIDS.

Stella - "Promouvoir et Diffuser le Guide XXX a l'echelle Nationale Phase II" (Montreal, QC)

Stella will complete the national distribution of two guides made for and by sextrade workers. The guides are entitled "Guide XXX" and "ConStellation Special Striptease" and will be distributed to organizations that work with sextrade workers across Canada. In addition, Stella will provide training to 12 organizations on the use of the two guides and on intervention strategies for social workers working with this population. ConStellation and the Guide XXX are easy-to-use manuals created to inform sextrade workers on a variety of social and health topics (including HIV/AIDS) and to provide them with a list of organizations and resources available to them within their own communities.

St. Michael's Hospital - "Adding Life to Years: Building the Community's Capacity to Identify and Treat Depression in People Living with HIV/AIDS" (Toronto, ON)

St. Michael's Hospital, in collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care AIDS Bureau and the Ontario AIDS Network, will develop and deliver training sessions, tools and resources that will increase the capacity of community-based organizations across Canada that serve people living with HIV/AIDS to identify clients who are depressed and to provide appropriate depression related interventions and referrals.

The Canadian AIDS Society - "HIV/AIDS Transmission Guidelines for Assessing Risk" (Ottawa, ON)

The Canadian AIDS Society will revise, print and distribute the HIV/AIDS Transmission Guidelines and also create a compact disc version of The Guidelines and a pocket-sized service-user pamphlet which highlights essential information on HIV and Hepatitis C prevention. This new edition of The Guidelines will be updated according to changes in HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention and care, new information regarding sexually transmitted diseases and HIV and Hepatitis C co-infections.

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network - "Community Mobilization Against HIV/AIDS Related Stigma and Discrimination" (Montreal, QC)

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network will work collaboratively with community-based organizations: (1) to identify priorities for action at the local level to prevent, reduce or redress HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination as experienced by specific populations; (2) to identify interventions that will address these priorities; and (3) to develop plans to implement these interventions in communities across Canada.

The Teresa Group - "Let's Talk: A Conference on Children, Youth and Families Affected by HIV/AIDS" (Toronto, ON)

The Teresa Group will conduct a two and a half day national skills building conference that will bring together people and organizations involved in the care of HIV/AIDS affected children and families. The goal of this project is to strengthen the capacity of staff, volunteers, organizations, health professionals and HIV positive individuals who work with HIV/AIDS affected children, youth and families.

Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users - "Creating Vectors of Disease Prevention by Utilizing and Enhancing Networks Among People who Use Illicit Drugs" (Vancouver, BC)

The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) will use skilled peer educators from its membership to visit other communities across Canada with large injection drug user (IDU) populations to teach IDUs in these communities strategies to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and the necessary steps to begin the creation of local networks of injection drug users to address their specific health needs. In addition, VANDU will work with local AIDS service organizations and needle exchanges to build their capacity to more effectively reach IDUs in their communities.