• Civil Society and Governance
  • Civil Society and Governance Overview
  • Institutional Capacity Building
  • Civic Education
  • Citizen Participation
  • Advocacy
  • Democratic Governance
  • Grants Solicitation and Management Capacity
  • Women's and Minority Rights
  • Disenfranchised Groups
• Education
  • Education Overview
  • Basic Education
  • Higher Education
  • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
  • Education for Vulnerable Groups
• HIV/AIDS
  • HIV/AIDS Overview
  • HIV/AIDS Prevention
  • Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)
  • Grants Solicitation and Management Capacity
  • Institutional Capacity Building
• International Visitors Exchanges
  • International Professional, Academic, and Cultural Exchanges Overview
  • Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Exchanges
  • Professional Exchanges
  • Youth Exchanges
• Capacity Development and Training
  • Capacity Development and Training Overview
  • Participant Training
  • Institutional Capacity Building
  • Undergraduate and Graduate Academic Exchanges
  • Grant Solicitation and Management Capacity
  • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

HIV/AIDS

Overview

The impact of the AIDS epidemic extends well beyond health and collides with almost every sector of society. Despite stronger global commitment, considerable increase in financing and even in the light of progress made with treatment, finding the cure seems unlikely to happen in the near future. While most of new HIV infections are attributable to sexual transmission, many people still remain without adequate access to complete prevention information, resources and services to protect themselves. Furthermore research by UNAIDS shows that gender inequality, stigma and discrimination increase vulnerability— a serious impediment to global prevention efforts.

World Learning recognizes that preventing new HIV infections is of vital importance in curbing the spread of the AIDS epidemic and therefore focuses considerable attention on prevention efforts. These efforts range from information, education and communication (IEC) activities to more complex behavioral interventions that support individuals and communities to adopt and maintain healthy behavior. World Learning invests its expertise and resources into structural prevention activities that are necessary to reduce socio-economic vulnerability, address diverse needs of most-at-risk populations and create the necessary enabling environment for the desired change to take place.

As the epidemic already distresses millions of lives, providing support to children, their families and communities is indispensable for strengthening coping mechanisms and mitigating impact. World Learning understands the importance of collaboration with government, private and civil society sectors in order to develop policies, create referral networks, and strengthen community support systems that facilitate access to care and treatment when required.

Scope of the Problem
Estimates of the number of people currently living with HIV far exceed 30 million, with more than 7000 becoming infected every day. In countries most severely affected by HIV/AIDS, life expectancy has decreased by 20 years. More than 20 million persons have died, while an additional 2 million lose their lives to AIDS-related illness each year. Nearly 12 million children under the age of 18 have lost one or both parents due to AIDS and an estimated six million additional households are likely to become severely impoverished in the next five years as a result of HIV/AIDS.

Contributing factors include:

• Gender inequality and rigid social norms
• Human rights violations
• Lack of access to health care including sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls
• Lack of basic education
• Lack of economic opportunities
• Inferior socioeconomic status
• Ignorance, stigma, and discrimination
• Lack of access to complete and accurate prevention information
• Unfavorable policies

The World Learning Approach
Effectively dealing with the impact of HIV/AIDS requires multi-sectoral interventions. World Learning supports a developmental approach rooted in a commitment to human rights and a belief in building the capacity of local leadership to contribute to policy decisions and create lasting social change. Programs foster meaningful engagement among diverse groups through advocacy efforts that 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.