DUSHANBE, May 6, 2010, Asia-Plus — United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded a workshop to improve HIV and TB educational materials.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, the three-day workshop, held May 3-5 at the Kayon Hotel in Dushanbe, provided “hands on” experience for 16 participants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. 9 of the 16 participants were from Tajikistan. The United States Government contributed $6,750 for the workshop.
The USAID-funded Health Outreach Program organized this regional workshop for members of the Country Working Groups on advocacy, communication, and social mobilization for HIV and TB. Participants represented National TB institutions, AIDS Centers, Healthy Life Style Centers and local NGOs working with the populations most at risk for HIV and TB.
Participants and designers drafted TB and HIV materials tailored for the Health Outreach Program’s target. The materials were then pre-tested with the target populations. The workshop showed the participants, designers, and TB and HIV specialists that collaboration between the main stakeholders and target audiences is a critical and often overlooked aspect for developing effective prevention materials.
The Health Outreach Program is implemented by a consortium of non-governmental organizations led by Population Services International (PSI) and includes Project HOPE, the AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW) and the Kazakh Association for People Living with HIV/AIDS. It is one of the many assistance projects in Tajikistan funded by the United States government on behalf of the American people.
Since 1992, the American people through the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe have provided approximately $900 million in assistance programs that support Tajikistan’s democratic institutions, health care, education, and economic growth.
