Photo: Anita Clare

Nassau, Bahamas – Four New Providence based non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Bahamas AIDS Foundation, Bahamas Red Cross, Bahamas United Initiatives and the Bahamas Urban Youth Development Center, have been carrying out HIV/AIDS prevention programs for the past year and a half with assistance from international non-profit organization World Learning.

The program, which began in 2012, has significantly contributed over US$250,000 towards HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, and marked its second year of partnership with local NGOs at its Year in Review Event on Monday, February 3, 2014 at the British Colonial Hilton.

In her opening remarks, Ruth Jankee, Project Director of World Learning noted that with funding from PEPFAR through USAID, World Learning provides a grant-funding program to help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region. Their work also focuses on improving the institutional capacity of the grantees and other partner NGOs by offering financial, technical and capacity building support. Some of the interventions completed to date include workshops and mentoring in resource mobilization, grant writing, and financial management.

During their presentations, grantees highlighted the successes and challenges of the interventions, and the impact of the programmes within the national development context.

Through its Men’s Health Initiative, the Bahamas AIDS Foundation implemented behavior change interventions reaching more than 150 people with outreach education and testing in Nassau. The Bahamas Urban Development Center opted to focus their efforts on reaching women between the ages of 17-35 offering a wide range of interventions ranging from condom negotiation skills and increased HIV/AIDS knowledge to money management.

The Bahamas Red Cross Society and Bahamas United Initiative both used the technology and social media to promote healthy sex practices by digitizing their messages and making them more attractive to a younger audience. Through their online presence both organizations allowed for candid and targeted discussions which resulted in over 900 site visits recorded on the Bahamas Red Cross project’s website: www.watusayin.com and over 400 video views on Bahamas United Initiatives project’s website www.protectyaself.com.

William Conn, the PEPFAR Regional Coordinator who is based in Barbados, praised World Learning for working with the grantees and enhancing possibilities for greater collaboration between the Ministry of Health and civil society in the fight against AIDS and HIV. “Working alongside the Ministry of Health and the National AIDS Program to fulfill the objectives of the national strategic plan and to build those relationships with civil society, I believe, is very important to sustainable development,” Mr. Conn said.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer within the Ministry of Health, Dr. Delon Brennen reiterated the importance of partnership for sustainable development, and lauded the World Learning initiative for its focus on capacity building and institutional strengthening. “The great thing about this [World Learning project] is equipping groups with the knowledge to do the work. They already have the passion to do it. It’s just a matter of teaching them so that they will be better at what they do,” said Dr Brennen.

World Learning is a nonprofit organization advancing leadership through education, exchange, and development programs in more than 60 countries. www.worldlearning.org