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March 6, 2025AIDS Care Communities, Portrait of Community Participation in HIV and AIDS Issues
Community participation is one of the primary keys to the success of HIV and AIDS control programs. The government’s programs still face many challenges due to limited resources to reach the community to the lowest level. It takes the community’s active role to contribute to expanding program coverage. AIDS Care Community is a forum for community participation and is significant in HIV and AIDS control programs. What support can the AIDS Care Community provide to continue to exist in its role?
AIDS Care Community is a community group that has concerns about HIV and AIDS issues. Its members consist of various elements in the community and can be formed at the Village level, Hamlet, Block, and similar levels in the neighborhood where people live. AIDS Care Community has the role of mobilising the community to participate directly in HIV and AIDS prevention and response attempts. Establishing the AIDS Care Community is intended to accelerate HIV and AIDS response in an integrated manner with the Community Empowerment Programme. It is expected that the community will know, be able, and be willing to participate in HIV and AIDS response in their neighbourhood.
AIDS Care Community Cadre of Pringgokusuman Village Provides HIV and AIDS Education to the People
AIDS Care Community was formed to educate the community about HIV and AIDS, identify risk groups in the neighbourhood, and maintain a conducive situation if PLHIV is found in the community. The role is essential because the problems of HIV and AIDS are not only in the medical field but also involve social factors, including the values that develop in the community. Moreover, activities related to HIV transmission have been in the community.
CD Bethesda YAKKUM, through the HIV and AIDS Integrated Control Programme in Belu District and Yogyakarta City, is consistently committed to building capacity for the AIDS Care Community. Sixteen AIDS Care Communities are partners of CD Bethesda YAKKUM, eight in Yogyakarta City and eight in Belu District. The AIDS Care Community in Yogyakarta City has been formed in each village. Still, not all have played an active role in organising, preventing, and responding to HIV and AIDS. In addition, there are limitations in the local budget, so it has not been able to accommodate the work formed at the sub-district level. In the Belu District, the WPAs that have been formed do not all have a Decree stipulated by the Village Government, so implementing activities through AIDS Care Communities is only based on agreement.
Making Massage Oil by Sosromenduran AIDS Care Communities Cadres
CD Bethesda YAKKUM conducted a mentoring process for AIDS Care Communities through several activities, namely HIV and AIDS training, facilitation technique training using the Interpersonal Communication (KAP) method, herbal training, massage training, local food processing training, advocacy training, and several other capacity-building activities. The capacity-building is expected to support the AIDS Care Community’s work in the community.
HIV and AIDS training for the AIDS Care Community in Yogyakarta City was conducted in November 2019, and Belu District in December 2019. Health cadres appointed by the Head of the Village participated in the activities to build capacity related to HIV and AIDS. Five cadres from each village represented the first training participants, who were appointed as AIDS Care Community administrators.
The mentoring process continues to be carried out to cadres who have been trained so that they are more confident in providing HIV and AIDS education to the community and referring people who are at risk to take HIV tests to the health centre. In addition to providing capacity building, assistance from CD Bethesda YAKKUM was also carried out to strengthen the legality of the AIDS Care Community position in the village structure. Advocacy continues to be carried out so that the village head can issue a decree forming AIDS Care Community as a form of policy support for their existence.
HIV and AIDS Education in Leosama Village
Currently, more and more AIDS Care Community cadres already have the knowledge and skills that support their participation in the HIV and AIDS response. Some villages have even trained the AIDS Care Community at the Neighbourhood level so that their roles can be more easily implemented in the community and have a wider reach. In addition to knowledge related to HIV and AIDS, AIDS Care Communities are also provided with improved skills related to traditional health care to support the improvement of the health of PLHIV they assist.
AIDS Care Community Cadre of Tulamalae Village Provides HIV and AIDS Education to the Community
Some of the traditional health skills training that have been provided include acupressure, herbal, and traditional massage training to increase stamina and overcome ARV side effects, and local food processing training to improve nutrition for PLHIV. In fact, some of the skills related to traditional health care are also used as an entry point for HIV and AIDS education in the community. The entry point through traditional health skills training allows HIV and AIDS education to be carried out to the lowest level of the community.
(Ghanis Kristia)
