Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Years of mechanism: 2010 2011

Details for Mechanism ID: 11757
Country/Region: Ukraine
Year: 2010
Main Partner: U.S. Peace Corps
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: Implementing Agency
Funding Agency: enumerations.Peace Corps
Total Funding: $72,000

Peace Corps\par Ukraine supports the USG PEPFAR Strategy and the Partnership Frameworks by continuing to focus on prevention and building the capacity of NGOs providing services to MARPs, and thus contributing to Objective One of PEPFAR Partnership Frameworks ("Expand coverage of prevention activities in defined areas among targeted most-at-risk adolescents, including youth who inject drugs, are MSM or CSW, who live and / or work in the streets, and at-risk youth in impoverished areas"). Primarily focused on young people most at risk for using drugs and engaging in sex work before they initiate these behaviors (but also benefiting older populations), PC/Ukraine's HIV prevention program addresses misconceptions about HIV, risky behaviors and stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV and MARPs. Besides general youth, Volunteers and community counterparts target the following most-at-risk populations: orphans, children from single-parent homes or families experiencing alcohol abuse or domestic violence; street youth; adolescents at risk of initiating injection drugs use (non-injecting drug users); Roma communities (on-going projects in several communities in Zakarpatska Oblast)

At more than 300 Volunteers, Peace Corps/Ukraine is the agency's largest program and is poised to grow in FY10-11. Each of PC/Ukraine's three projects Youth Development, Community Development, and TEFL includes an HIV prevention component. Volunteers in all three sectors receive training in developing HIV prevention outreach and capacity building activities with their counterparts. Most Peace Corps Volunteers involved in HIV prevention activities serve in medium-sized towns and Rayon Centers that are often close to large urban areas and industrial centers; they also serve in all Oblast centers, as well as rural areas. Volunteers serve in all areas that have been impacted by HIV/AIDS most - Mykolayiv, Donetsk, Odessa, Lugansk, etc. Peace Corps partners with local organizations, such as the All-Ukrainian Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS, to conduct pre- and in-service trainings for Volunteers and their counterparts. Trainings focus on behavior change communication and appropriate ways to address risky behaviors and reach at-risk populations (such as orphans and street children) with prevention interventions.

Peace Corps Volunteers and their counterparts receive training in monitoring and evaluation and report their activities in a standardized reporting tool (called Volunteer Reporting System), as well as monitoring spreadsheets for PEPFAR-funded projects. Peace Corps/Ukraine staff provide oversight by reviewing these reports and through periodic site visits and discussions with Volunteers' counterparts and supervisors. The training in monitoring and evaluation will be re-designed to reflect the next generation indicators.

Funding for Sexual Prevention: Abstinence/Be Faithful (HVAB): $22,000

PC/Ukraine's AB activities are aimed at raising the level of information about HIV prevention and reducing major misconceptions about HIV. Most Peace Corps Volunteers involved in HIV prevention activities serve in medium-sized towns and Rayon Centers that are often close to large urban areas and industrial centers; they also serve in all Oblast centers, as well as rural areas. Volunteers serve in all areas that have been impacted by HIV/AIDS most - Mykolayiv, Donetsk, Odessa, Lugansk, etc. Reducing stigma towards PLWH is a primary component of all AB activities.AB prevention activities target at risk 15-24 year olds before they initiate risky behaviors and address various aspects of young people's life. Activities also involve a diversity of change agents, including peers, parents, teachers and school nurses, representatives of state departments for social services for youth. Volunteers integrate HIV prevention interventions into their work in the Education, Youth Development, and Community Development sectors.

Beginning in FY09, all Peace Corps/Ukraine Volunteers are trained on how to design and execute individual and/or small group level prevention interventions that are evidence-based or meet a minimum set of standards. Timely feedback is given to Volunteers by programming staff when their activities can be strengthened, their reporting is insufficient, or their activities do not align with PC/Ukraine's overall goals in each technical area.

Volunteers have used the PEPFAR-funded small grants program called VAST as an important instrument of building an HIV prevention system in local communities. The Volunteers use this system to conduct local HIV prevention trainings and provide otherwise scarce resources (e.g., brochures, lesson plans, etc). Most projects entail a Training of Trainers (e.g., for teachers/peer educators), followed by a series of trainings in schools and colleges by the newly trained trainers, and other activities in the community, such as small group interventions with young people, service providers, or other groups; and awareness events. Behavior change communication (BCC) is an important aspect of all Peace Corps/Ukraine program. BCC in HVAB includes building skills to resist peer pressure and delay sexual début, and to lead a healthy life (abstain from smoking, alcohol and other harmful habits). Volunteers and communities implementing PEPFAR-funded projects are trained to administer pre-training tests and post-training tests one month after the training. The tests include a section on behavior change, and the results are reported in project completion reports.

As part of teaching English as a foreign language, TEFL Volunteers integrate Life Skills in their work, both during in-class English language lessons and as part of extracurricular activities (introducing topics of HIV/AIDS and building life skills as part of youth clubs).To promote sustainability, most projects involve regional governments and parents. High quality printed information is also made available for distribution in local communities.

Peace Corps Volunteers catalyze community-level linkages between municipalities, education institutions and NGOs, Centers for Social Services, and health centers, thus contributing to the broad goal of improving universal access to prevention, care and treatment services.

Funding for Sexual Prevention: Other Sexual Prevention (HVOP): $50,000

PC/Ukraine's other prevention activities,aim to raise the level of awareness and reduce major misconceptions about HIV, promote behavior change among MARPs, and reduce stigma and discrimination towards at-risk populations, including PLWH. Targeted behaviors include unprotected sex, sex with IDUs, and injecting drug and alcohol use. Volunteers and community counterparts target the following most-at-risk populations: adolescents from single-parent homes or families experiencing alcohol abuse or domestic violence; street youth; adolescents at risk of initiating injection drugs use (non-injecting drug users); Roma communities.

Most Peace Corps Volunteers involved in HIV prevention activities serve in medium-sized towns and Rayon Centers that are often close to large urban areas and industrial centers; they also serve in all Oblast centers, as well as rural areas. Volunteers serve in all areas that have been impacted by HIV/AIDS most - Mykolayiv, Donetsk, Odessa, Lugansk, etc.

Volunteers integrate HIV prevention interventions into their work in the Education, Youth Development, and Community Development sectors. Beginning in FY09, all Peace Corps/Ukraine Volunteers are trained on how to design and execute individual and/or small group level prevention interventions that are evidence-based and meet a minimum set of standards. Timely feedback is given to Volunteers by programming staff when their activities can be strengthened, their reporting is insufficient, or their activities do not align with PC/Ukraine's overall goals in each technical area.

Volunteers have used the PEPFAR-funded small grants program (called VAST) as an important instrument of building an HIV prevention system in local communities. The Volunteers use this system to conduct local HIV prevention trainings and provide otherwise scarce resources (e.g., brochures, lesson plans, etc). Most projects entail a Training of Trainers (e.g., for teachers/peer educators), followed by a series of trainings in schools and colleges by the newly trained trainers, and other activities in the community, such as small group interventions with at-risk youth, service providers, or other groups; and awareness events High quality printed information is also made available for distribution in local communities.

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A critical component in HVOP programming is Behavior Change Communication (BCC) promoting messages of avoiding unprotected sexual relations, sharing needles, and engaging in sexual relations with multiple partners, resisting peer pressure, and going through periodic HIV tests. The BCC activities include interactive trainings, with role-plays, situation analysis, and peer support. Volunteers and communities implementing PEPFAR-funded projects are trained to administer pre-training tests and post-training tests one month after the training. The tests include a section on behavior change, and the results are reported in project completion reports.

To promote sustainability, most projects involve regional governments. Peace Corps Volunteers catalyze community-level linkages between municipalities, education institutions (schools, colleges, vocational schools, universities, and orphanages) and NGOs, Centers for Social Services, libraries, and health centers, thus contributing to the broad goal of improving universal access to prevention, care and treatment services. Where possible, PCVs and counterparts utilize local resources, and in some cases, they help create links between organizations working in different communities within a region or an Oblast.

Cross Cutting Budget Categories and Known Amounts Total: $72,000
Human Resources for Health $72,000