Peace Corps Uganda has been involved with PEPFAR activities since the beginning in FY04. Over the past years, Peace Corps Uganda has patterned with a number of smaller community groups, CBOs, FBOs, Government supported facilities and NGOs both local and international through Volunteer placements to increase accessibility to and utilization of prevention, care and treatment promotion services. The overall goal of the Peace Corps HIV/AIDS program is to increase access to quality comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention care and support services through strengthening organizational service delivery systems to ensure efficiency and sustainable support. Peace Corps Uganda HIV/AIDS program ensures that Volunteer placements occur in under served areas with visible critical service gaps to ensure a meaningful coverage of in areas of need.

Peace Corps contribution in the fight against HIV in Uganda arguments the support from other USG agencies to the GOU through patterning with both USG/PEPFAR funded and non USG supported service providers to ensure that there is a coordinated approach and technical coordination in the HIV responses. Peace Corps Uganda's contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda mainly focuses on building and strengthening the capacity of individuals/groups-PLWHA, OVC, families, communities and other civil society groups to design appropriate and sustainable interventions to prevent further spread and mitigate the impact of the epidemic at the different levels.

The Peace Corps Uganda program covers almost all the regions in Uganda except the North Eastern part of the country which is still considered unsafe for Volunteer placement due to social problems. However, Peace Corps will in future consider placements in districts around this region once the GOU disarmament program in the area succeeds in stabilizing the region. Data from the 2004-2005 Uganda National HIV Sero-behavioral Survey indicates that the HIV prevalence in Northern Uganda stands at 8% a figure which is above the national average. Although HIV/AIDS services are in existence in the region, there is still a gap in strengthening local support through involving communities in designing appropriate home grown solutions. As a way of responding to these findings, Peace Corps Uganda in FY09 reintroduced Volunteer placements in the region with an aim of supporting local, national and international efforts to accelerate and support the rehabilitation program being coordinated by GOU and other development partners. The assignment of more Peace Corps Volunteers will expand the role of families, communities, and local groups in designing relevant care and support interventions and strengthen existing initiatives. Currently PCU have two Peace Corps Response Volunteers working with Local NGO's to support the resettlement initiatives under the Northern Uganda rehabilitation program. In FY09/10, plans are underway to scale up Volunteer presence in the region by placing more two year and short term Volunteers in other neighboring districts of Lira, Apac, Pader, Kitgum and West Nile districts. These Volunteers will be attached to local and international NGO's including USG supported ones and GOU institutions to support the Northern Uganda recovery program. Districts covered by the program include Wakiso, Mpigi, Rakai, Masaka, Masindi, Luwero, Nakaseke, Mbarara, Kisoro, Kabale, Rukungiri, Mbale, Pallisa, Hoima, Kabarole, Kibaale, Iganga, Kamuli, Tororo, Budaka, Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Namutumba, Sembabule, Soroti, Ntungamo, Kyenjojo, Kamwenge, Ibanda and Lyantonde. Volunteer assignments in these districts include education assignments with GOU education institutions and community health and economic development placements with civil society organizations and government units.

Cross Cutting Areas

Education - the Peace Corps Uganda education program supports the GOU education goals through placement of Volunteers with government teacher training institutions and individual schools. Volunteers support, train and mentor teachers to improve classroom delivery and school management and administration as a way of promoting efficient, effective and sustainable systems. The Primary Teacher Training project benefits from the EP by supporting the Ministry of Education and Sports efforts to effectively train teachers to deliver HIV/AIDS information in age appropriate ways. The Ministry of Education's flagship initiative for HIV prevention, PIASCY, which is currently focused on primary schools, is in the process of expanding into the first two years of secondary schools, with further plans to target out-of-school youth.

Increasing women's access to income and productive resources - all Volunteers are trained in promoting improved access to resources and income for women through such activities as Village Savings and Loans (VSLAs) and income-generating activities. Many Volunteers, whether serving under the health, economic development, or education sectors carry out such activities as primary or secondary projects.

Peace Corps Global introduced an electronic/web based monitoring and evaluation tool (Volunteer Activity Database) to capture all Volunteer field activities. This is the tool that enables Peace program to capture all Volunteer HIV/AIDS activities including people served, trained, networks and partnerships created and success stories. All the relevant PEPFAR program reporting indicators according to NGI are uploaded in the system to ensure a better alignment of Peace Corps Volunteer activities with national and PEPFAR reporting standards. Volunteers report their data on a quarterly basis and the program staff monitors Volunteer activities through site visits