14 th Meeting of the Regional Coordinating Mechanism of PANCAP; Christ Church, Barbados 25 th - 26 th of March, 2010 To provide creative and dynamic services to PANCAP to enhance the regional response to HIV and AIDS Report on the Status of Implementation of the PANCAP Regional Stigma & Discrimination Unit

To provide creative and dynamic services to PANCAP to enhance the regional response to HIV and AIDS Background Project Title:Reducing Stigma and Discrimination in Response to HIV and AIDS Funded by:United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID) £1,500,000. Duration : Jan 2009 – Jan (2 phases - Inception phase & Implementation phase) Start date:January 14, 2009 Beneficiary Countries: Belize, Guyana, Jamaica & the OECS Implemented by:PANCAP Regional Stigma & Discrimination unit Managed by:AID Inc. Location:Barbados

To provide creative and dynamic services to PANCAP to enhance the regional response to HIV and AIDS Output 1:CARICOM/PANCAP Unit set up to tackle HIV related Stigma and Discrimination; Output 2:Baseline, operational research and evaluation work with strong gender focus, that supports and informs the development of effective programmes at national level Output 3:Effective Stigma and Discrimination programmes designed and implemented in selected countries Output 4:Best practices and tested methodologies disseminated by PANCAP and other groups in the region, Latin America and internationally Mandate & Broad Outputs Project Mandate: Priority Area 1 of the CRSF ( ) - “promote an enabling environment that fosters universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.” Strategic Objective: To reduce stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and vulnerable groups Goal:Stigma and discrimination against PLHIV, their families, and other vulnerable groups, steadily and measurably decreases in the Caribbean region

To provide creative and dynamic services to PANCAP to enhance the regional response to HIV and AIDS Inception Phase MilestonesAchievements 1. Staffing & establishment of office  Unit staffed  Current Location: AID Inc. office in Barbados 2. Development and finalisation of annual work-plans and budgets for approval  Implementation phase work plans and budgets produced 3. Project Advisory Group  Stigma Unit Advisory Group (SUAG) constituted & met twice (November 2009 and January 2010)  SUAG include CRN+, UWIHARP, CBMP, CHRC, and CVC 4. Work-plan & budget for the Inception Phase Indicative work-plan & budget for yrs 2& 3  Detailed work plans and budgets for the Inception phase produced  Inception phase technical and financial report submitted  Indicative budget and work plans for the Implementation phase prepared

To provide creative and dynamic services to PANCAP to enhance the regional response to HIV and AIDS Inception Phase cont’d MilestonesAchievements 5. Technical support and operations research  Partnership planning has been initiated with UWI major S & D programmes piloted  4 programmes were initiated in Jamaica, Guyana, St. Lucia and Dominica 7. Agree with stakeholders the details of the technical support and programme funding requirements etc.  Stigma assessments and a literature review conducted to identify the context of S & D  Subproject design workshops were held to disseminate the findings of the assessments and to agree on and prioritize country level S & D activities  Skills transfer and local capacity building begun  Building on the regional champions for change initiative 8. Seek agreement from stakeholders re: final plans and budgets for implementation.  Agreement reached with key partners and the SUAG on the work plans  DfID has approved the budget for the implementation phase.

To provide creative and dynamic services to PANCAP to enhance the regional response to HIV and AIDS Implementation Phase Proposed Activities OutputBroad Activities Output 1: CARICOM/PANCAP Unit fully staffed, established and functioning. Undertake RSDU project management operations (locations, staffing, SUAG) OUTPUT 2: Baseline Operational Research: Decision support and information sharing programme OR, CORE and PEER for planning, programming and scale –up Operational Research (baseline, mid term and end of project evaluations) Assessments (6 countries additional countries) CORE approach to empower core groups to lead the HIV response (e.g. informing & designing and developing targeted strategies) Utilise PEER approach - training members of a community (peer researchers) to do research within their own social network Conduct sub project monitoring [1] Operational Research [2] Participatory Ethnographic Evaluation and Research

To provide creative and dynamic services to PANCAP to enhance the regional response to HIV and AIDS Implementation Phase cont’d OUTPUT 3: Effective stigma and discrimination programmes designed and implemented in the selected countries. Building capacity around working in the anti-stigma and discrimination response Advocacy skills building project or support sub - grantee organizations to develop harmonised advocacy action: Launch Caribbean Human Rights Watch Initiative – support human rights desks Building on Champions for Change (CfC youth forums in 3 countries) Conduct training and application of Edu-drama, street theatre and production for key populations and pivotal community actors Anti-Stigma and discrimination peer education training for youth, FBO, health workers and institutional leaders Script writing skills and media writing workshops: Pilot Implementation of BCC materials (e.g. Alliance toolkits) Edu-drama pieces, anti- stigma videos and media campaigns and posters OUTPUT 4: Disseminate information on an ongoing basis through various mechanisms and media forums Develop communications plan to launch the project Launch project through local mechanisms (One day national events) Launch project launch through regional communications mechanisms Develop web portal, intranet, resource centre and best practice materials (pamphlets, posters, press releases, academic / nonacademic papers)

To provide creative and dynamic services to PANCAP to enhance the regional response to HIV and AIDS M & E Project Oversight and Evaluation Mechanisms include: Stigma Unit Advisory Group PCU Strategy & Resourcing Division Quarterly financial and technical reports are submitted to PANCAP & DfID. Mid – term evaluation(May 2011) Final evaluation Annual audit

To provide creative and dynamic services to PANCAP to enhance the regional response to HIV and AIDS ISSUES & CHALLENGES Reduction of project financial resources Late start of the project and resultant delay of planned activities Difficulty in recruiting regional stigma consultants Sustainability Strategies for ensuring the long term sustainability of the work on Stigma & Discrimination

To provide creative and dynamic services to PANCAP to enhance the regional response to HIV and AIDS ACTION REQUIRED THE MEETING is invited to: Note the progress of implementation Provide any guidance deemed necessary for effective programme implementation.