203929 Advocating for the Integration of Family Planning and HIV/AIDS Services: An Online Resource

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Amanda M. Cary, BS , Physicians for Human Rights, Cambridge, MA
Jirair Ratevosian, MPH , Health Action AIDS, Physicians for Human Rights, Cambridge, MA
While advocacy around PEPFAR reauthorization had many successes in 2008, it failed to give the necessary attention to the integration of family planning and HIV services. The integration of services is a critical human rights-based intervention that addresses the underlying conditions fueling the HIV/AIDS epidemic (including physical and social barriers to health services), uses limited resources efficiently, and promotes equity by providing more services with more entry points to reach more people.

To strengthen advocacy efforts to better inform US global AIDS policies, a delegation of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) staff from the US and Kenya spent 14 days in December of 2008 in the Nairobi and Eastern provinces of Kenya interviewing health providers, clients (patients), NGOs and Ministry of Health staff regarding their experience with service integration. The insights gained through conversations in Kenya, were used to develop a human rights-based and user-friendly online resource to educate policymakers and advocates.

The online resource includes background information on the need for integrated services, highlights the experiences, successes and challenges of integration implementation in Kenya, provides tips and materials for meeting with members of Congress and offers an educational slideshow summarizing the themes found throughout the online resource. Vigilant advocacy and continued leadership is needed to build global awareness and support for the importance of integrated reproductive health care, including family planning, and HIV/AIDS services. PHR's online resource provides US health professional advocates with a tool to educate policymakers to inform their decisions regarding US strategies and funding allocations.

Learning Objectives:
Participants will learn about the integration of family planning and HIV/AIDS services for women as one example of a critical rights-based intervention needed to stem the feminization of AIDS. Participants will identify and discuss the successes, challenges and experiences of service integration from PHR colleagues in Kenya. Participants will be able to use this information to strengthen advocacy for the integration of services.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Family Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Health Action AIDS Associate at PHR, where I have been working since 2006. I coordinate aspects of HAA programming, support campaign advocacy strategies, and organize outreach events and activities. I recently returned from Kenya where I studied the integration of family planning and HIV/AIDS services as a critical intervention needed to stem the AIDS epidemic and ensure the realization of the right to health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Poster session: Reproductive Health
See more of: International Health