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The Accessible AIDS Materials for Persons with Disabilities Project Further Development and Dissemination of a Curriculum to Address Issues related to People with Disabilities and HIV and AIDS in an African Context Goli Hashemi 1, Lynn Cockburn 1,2, Samuel Nyincho 3, Ezekiel Benuh 4, Julius Wango 5, Penny Parnes 1 1 International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation (ICDR), University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 2 Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 3 Coordinating Unit of Associations of Persons with Disability (CUAPWD), Bamenda, North West Region, Cameroon, 4 Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Board (CBCHB), Bamenda, North West Region, Cameroon, 5 Bamenda Coordinating Centre for Studies in Disability and Rehabilitation (BCCSDR), Bamenda, North West Region, Cameroon, Funded by Global Engagement Grants Program of Health Canada Background According to the World report on disability, produced jointly by WHO and the World Bank, approximately 15% of the world population live with some form of disability. Of these, 80% live in low-income countries, are poor, and have limited or no access to basic services including rehabilitation. Evidence indicates that people with disabilities (PWD) are found within the populations with higher risks for exposure to HIV. There are misconceptions about sexuality and other risk factors associated with being a person with a disability. Even with the increase in global recognition of the interrelationship between HIV, AIDS and disability, PWD are often left out of HIV prevention and AIDS outreach programs, and continue to lack access to HIV prevention information, treatment, and support services. Cameroon has a population of about 18.9 million people of which only 56% live in urban areas. Project Summary In 2009, a team of Canadians and 3 local agencies in the North West Region of Cameroon (CBCHB, BCCSDR, and CUAPWD) coordinated an initiative, built on a previous project, to develop communication tools to provide education and thereby reduce the prevalence of HIV and AIDS amongst PWD. The Accessible AIDS Materials for PWD Project along with a campaign to develop HIV and AIDS information posters involved the development and dissemination of accessible educational material about the links between disability, rehabilitation, HIV and AIDS for community groups and lay people in the North West Region. Support for the project came from Health Canada and cbm. Project Objectives The project objectives included: Increase awareness of HIV and AIDS among highly vulnerable groups, specifically PWD with the aim of reducing rates of infection Increase willingness for testing Increase awareness of the need to include people with disabilities and disabled peoples’ organizations in mainstream AIDS efforts. Improve access and help seeking behaviour for people living with HIV/AIDS, PWDs, and care providers Provide an example of a strategy to address quality of life and rehabilitation services to people living with HIV and AIDS in other areas of Cameroon and Africa. To develop the capacities of disabled peoples organizations and rehabilitation providers in Cameroon and Canada to provide HIV and AIDS related education, support and programming to their members Deliverables HIV/AIDS educational materials in accessible formats including Braille, American Sign Language DVDs, audio and print copies in English and a local dialect (Pidgin English). Topics covered in each format: HIV testing; Living and coping with HIV/AIDS and Disability; Healthy living with HIV/AIDS and Disability; Local Allusions. Development of a facilitators guide for hosting workshops and seminars on Disability and HIV/AIDS. Target Population People with disabilities and/or HIV/AIDS and their caregivers, their respective organizations, health care providers/institutions, related ministries such as Ministry of Public Health and Social Affairs. Challenges There were also a number of challenges: Differences in understandings of disability, rehabilitation, and disease process. Differences in beliefs about disability between local residents and international rehabilitation providers (western perspectives) Communication challenges Differences in communication and language use Limited resources to perform an impact evaluation Limited resources to sustain ongoing development & dissemination of materials Key Activities : Meetings with various partners (PWD, DPOs, Community workers, Community leaders, Focus groups with PWD and disability organizations pre and post development of materials to identify and review content to ensure relevance and applicability to the region. Coordination with BCCSDR regarding similar projects/initiatives to avoid duplication of materials. Development of accessible educational materials about the links between disability, rehabilitation, HIV and AIDS. Dissemination of materials to Disability organizations, rehabilitation facilities and educational centers in the North West Region and radio announcements. Workshops and training sessions with community workers and community leaders regarding use of materials. www.icdr.utoronto.ca/ Recommendations Increase local access to audio and video players to enable smaller communities’ access to the various formats of educational materials. Establish partnerships with traditional healers to further reach out. Translate materials into French for use in other regions of Cameroon. Develop partnerships with international NGOs, such as VSO (Volunteer Services Overseas), who are also working in the areas of HIV & AIDS. Provide greater opportunities for community group discussions on the subject of Disability, Rehabilitation, and HIV &AIDS (ie: Opportunities to include nursing and rehabilitation worker trainees). Project outcomes It has been estimated that during the project period over 3000 people were reached directly through the project and over 20,000 were reached through other mechanisms including radio programs. The projects received significant support from local Disabled Peoples Organizations (DPO), including anecdotal reports that it had a significant impact on many people in the region, as no such initiatives had been taken before. Reports included: Members of the community living with disability becoming more receptive to going for HIV/AIDS testing. Bamenda Coordinating Centre for Studies in Disability and Rehabilitation