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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Sofia Gruskin, JD, MIA¹, Shahira Ahmed, MPH¹, Laura Ferguson, MS¹, Susana Fried, PhD MCRP², and Mindy Jane Roseman, JD, PhD³. (1) Program on International Health and Human Rights, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, 651 Huntington Ave, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02115, 1-617-432-4313, lferguso@hsph.harvard.edu, (2) Consultant, 170 15th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215, (3) Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School, Pound Hall 401, Cambridge, MA 02138

While there is increasing attention at policy level to the links between gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV, few programmatic examples exist of how organizations working in these fields can collaborate to address these issues synergistically.

With technical support from the Program on International Health and Human Rights, Harvard School of Public Health, this project brings together organizations in each program country: one HIV-focused and one GBV-focused. The objective is to enable organizations to work together at the nexus where sexuality, health and human rights coincide and thereby advance gender equality and women's empowerment through the creation of joint work agendas, capacity building, and research.

Projects are tailored to the local environment including the political and legal situation, the extent of work implemented to date, and the mandate and experience of the partner organizations. Linking organizations enables them to address common challenges and draw on one another's experiences. Sufficient time for initial networking and capacity building is necessary for effective collaboration. Within each organization the personnel engaged in the project must be of a sufficiently high level that this work is internally valued.

Successfully working together requires that this is a priority of each organization involved and that appropriate technical support is provided. All partners must see how they fit into the regional project so that staff can appreciate being part of a larger initiative. Lessons learned can be framed nationally or extrapolated to the regional level by applying similar frameworks and monitoring mechanisms to highlight commonalities and differences.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe some of the challenges and opportunities faced in bringing together organizations for collaboration
• Articulate some important considerations for ensuing successful collaboration with partner organizations
• Describe how lessons can be learned from national and regional collaborations

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Gender

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation