• Overview
• Approach
• Projects

HIV/AIDS Programs

Transforming lives through support and prevention

HIV/AIDS represents one of the greatest challenges to development in the modern era. HIV/AIDS not only cuts short the lives of individuals, it impacts communities and nations as a whole, orphaning and making vulnerable millions of children, and stretching the already insufficient resources of many countries. More than 30 million people are currently living with HIV, and every year more than 2 million people will lose the fight and die from AIDS-related illnesses. 

World Learning recognized early on the devastating potential of HIV/AIDS, helping to establish the first USAID-funded NGO capacity-building HIV program in Uganda in the mid-to-late 1980’s. The disease requires a multi-angled approach, working with communities to develop programs that support those infected, affected and at risk.

Among our program participants are some of the traditionally least served populations of the world, including orphans and at-risk women. Our interventions are designed to not only provide livelihood support and alternatives to risky behaviors but also to counter social stigma and provide care and support to those already infected.

World Learning’s work over the years has led to collaborative efforts with some of the world’s leading funders and sponsors including The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Health Council. Such joint ventures can ultimately help transform the HIV/AIDS landscape by ensuring proper care and prevention for the most vulnerable of populations.

Featured HIV/AIDS Project – Ethiopia: HIV Prevention in High Risk Groups

By working with local organizations, World Learning creates training and technical assistance opportunities to strengthen their ability to address the epidemic via high-quality HIV/AIDS prevention programs.

HIV/AIDS – Our Approach

HIV/AIDS not only cuts short the lives of individuals; it devastates communities and nations as a whole. Sub-Saharan Africa, with just over 10 percent of the world’s population, is home to 64 percent of all people living with HIV. Two million of them are younger than 15 years of age. In some countries in southern Africa prevalence rates are known to exceed 30 percent.

World Learning is committed to continuing its leadership role in the global campaign to combat HIV/AIDS. We support a developmental approach rooted in a commitment to human rights and evidence gained from experience in communities. Adhering to a rights-based approach entails addressing not only the disease itself, but also the affected community as a whole. Beneficiaries of our services, often among the most vulnerable in society, are entitled to be treated with dignity and compassion.

World Learning supports building the capacity of local leadership to contribute to policy decisions and create critical and lasting social change. By fostering meaningful engagement among diverse groups, our programs seek to address the compound problems of HIV/AIDS and optimize intervention effectiveness.

Our work involves implementing comprehensive programs in the field as well as advocating for resources and implementing innovative ways to reach those affected, infected and at risk. Our advocacy efforts include leading task forces and working groups, and building strategic partnerships to enhance the impact of policies and programs that assist individuals, communities, and countries in their struggle against HIV/AIDS.

Featured HIV/AIDS Project – Ethiopia: HIV Prevention in High Risk Groups

By working with local organizations, World Learning creates training and technical assistance opportunities to strengthen their ability to address the epidemic via high-quality HIV/AIDS prevention programs.

HIV/AIDS Projects

Twenty-five years into the epidemic, HIV/AIDS continues to devastate families, communities and countries. National HIV prevalence rates remain in double digits in many countries. However, successes do exist and the fight must continue. World Learning knows from experience that prevention interventions among at-risk populations can work, change behavior, and reduce risk.
  
World Learning, in partnership with local NGOs, works with vulnerable communities to promote behavior change and risk-reduction activities to decrease transmission rates and encourage healthy lifestyles.

HIV/AIDS is a multidimensional problem. In addition to the physical, HIV/AIDS affects the psychological, social, economic, and spiritual aspects of individuals, communities, and nations. World Learning projects reflect this dynamic by addressing the disease from numerous angles, paying attention to issues of poverty, lifestyle, education and environment. World Learning supports not only infected persons, but those affected and at risk as well.

Having reached its 75-year milestone, World Learning remains deeply committed to developing the next generation of global leaders to help curb the HIV/AIDS pandemic. We are determined to help communities make sound choices and take concrete steps while following a clear plan of action. 

Featured Projects

Ethiopia – Providing Educational Opportunities for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children

• Communities and Schools for Children Affected by HIV/AIDS (CASCAID) Project
• Positive Change: Communities, Children and Care Program of Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (PC3) Project (Sub-recipient to Save the Children/US)

Donor – USAID/Ethiopia 

World Learning, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and its local offices, Regional State Education Bureaus, Zonal Education Divisions and Woreda Education Offices, provides support to schools and communities to enroll and retain HIV/AIDS-affected orphans and other vulnerable through the end of primary school.

Current and Recent Projects

Ethiopia – Health Grants Solicitation and Management/Ethiopia (HGSM)

Angola – Capacity Building for Local NGOs

Completed Projects

Malawi – Services for Health, Agriculture, Rural and Enterprise Development (SHARED) Project

Malawi – Support to AIDS and Family Health (STAFH) Project

Uganda – AIDS/HIV Integrated Model (AIM) District Program

Uganda – AIDS Prevention and Control Project