HIV/AIDS Awareness & Education Activities

Over the years, this organization has performed a variety of Awareness and Educational activities, but it seems as if there is never enough. Gradually the activities have also moved from merely an educational focus towards support and care for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).

Activities:
The following is a summarized overview of the different activities over the past 12 years:
- Regular Epidemiology surveys including statistics of both Dutch and French St. Maarten. In fact, the AIDS Foundation to date is the only organization that has been able to gather dependable epidemiological information from both sides of the island and compiled them into reports that were offered to the government and CAREC. This has helped to provide a better understanding of the epidemic on St. Maarten.

- Workshops on HIV/AIDS/STD to train Health Care and Social workers, counselors, Junior AIDS Foundation members, Help-line/Health Information Center volunteers.

- Sensitization of all Ministers of Health, Commissioners of Health, Lt. Governors, the Governor of the Ned. Antilles and even the Queen during her visit to St. Maarten, on the importance of HIV/AIDS prevention and Government involvement/responsibilities.

- Program and Budget Proposals to PAHO/WHO and EEC/Depos. To date no funds where received from these organizations. The only organization that has substantially assisted the AIDS Foundation is the AIDS FONDS from Holland, which has paid for the salary of the HIV/AIDS Program Manager since the implementation of the HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan for St. Maarten since April 2002.

- Opening and maintenance of Health Information Center and AIDS Help-line.

This Center supplied free confidential testing for HIV, counseling, general information on HIV/AIDS/STD's and many other medical subjects, library for schools with videos and audios on HIV/AIDS. Due to financial constraints, it eventually had to be closed after 5 years.

- Assistance in the writing of a "Beleids Plan" on HIV/AIDS. The St. Maarten AIDS Foundation was one of the key initiative takers and stakeholders in the development of St. Maarten’s

HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan.

- Participation within the National AIDS Program, and liaison with several regional organizations (French St. Martin, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Dom. Republic, Anguilla)

- Setting up of a Junior AIDS Committee for peer education/activities among the youths.

- Discussions/advice on improvement of the Laboratory facilities of Landslaboratorium.

(ElIZA test was finally introduced, Western-Blot not financially feasible, CD4 testing and Viral Load testing only possible through French Private Laboratories). The foundation is in regular contact with the laboratory facilities to improve testing facilities in terms of both confidentiality and technical terms.

- Since 1992, planning and discussion to introduce a school curriculum on "Healthy Lifestyles" which would include HIV/AIDS/STD/Drugs. Unfortunately, this curriculum has not been implemented until now due to tremendous difficulties on getting such curriculum implemented in the different school systems that are available on the island.

- Printing/distribution of locally adapted folders, posters, bumper stickers and other paraphernalia.

- Multitude of newspaper articles press releases, and sensitizing ads in all media (newspapers, radio, TV).

- Multitude of Radio and Television appearances, live call-in programs, including four TV programs in which a PLWHA came forward to highlight the effects on his/her life.

- Broadcasting of videos and films on HIV/AIDS on the local TV stations. Production and broadcasting of Radio jingles.

- Recently a member of H.O.P.E. (Helping Ourselves in a Positive Environment) the local support group for persons living with HIV/AIDS, has publicly disclosed his status on TV and during the annual International Candlelight Memorial celebrations. This proved a major step forward in awareness among the public. H.O.P.E. is a group facilitated and organized by the Foundation.

- A survey on knowledge, awareness, and (sexual) practices among all secondary school youths (in 1993 the first, which was repeated on a larger and more scientific scale with assistance from Loma Linda and Andrews Universities of the USA in 2002).

- Yearly World AIDS Day activities, including Red Ribbon Day (distribution of thousands of Red Ribbons on the island, and the production/wearing of Red Ribbons by the youth at schools). Production of T-shirts, caps and buttons, cultural manifestations, youth-rallies, lectures, workshops, mass-media support, and library exhibits. The introduction of a Quilt-project (which never really came off the ground). Red Ribbon Celebrity Culinary Contest (which had the local politicians and celebrities compete with their culinary expertise to raise funds for HIV/AIDS awareness), etc. etc.

- Multitude of lectures for the general public, youths, church-groups, womens-organizations, businesses/workplace interventions, men having sex with men, immigrant groups (including Haitian, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Jamaica), Red Cross, etc.

- Introduction and seeking Government's approval for the appointment of a Full-time AIDS-Coordinator (civil servant). Eventually this has lead to not only the appointment of an AIDS-Coordinator (Sept. 1995) but in 2002 the appointment of a Program Management Team, which overseas and coordinates the implementation of the HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan.

- Mobile HIV/AIDS information stand, which traveled to many public gatherings/fairs.

- Condom distribution whole year round and especially during Carnival.

- Five successive years of Grand Parade Carnival participation with yearly awareness messages and condom distribution. Every year the Foundation won prizes for originality and for its educational messages.

- Information kits for Churches.

- Staging of two different plays on HIV/AIDS (Godfrey Sealy (‘One of our Sons is missing’, and a play by local playwright Louis Laveist), all with local casting.

- Setting up of an AIDS Steering Committee with participation of Local Government, French St. Martin officials, Turning Point members, and AIDS Foundation ('92,'93).

- Installation of several sensitizing billboards along the roads. Unfortunately, hurricanes keep on damaging these public awareness messages.

- Radio HIV/AIDS Quiz with prizes by local fast food franchises.

- Advice and implementation to abolish the HIV testing of immigrants and food handlers.

- Education and advice to employers that intend to fire employees based on their HIV status. To date all persons that contacted the AIDS Foundation, and had the organization assist were able to keep their jobs. On several workplaces, this led to additional education workshops for the entire staff.

- Assistance with clothing/bedding and food for PLWHA that where living on the streets after being evicted from their homes. Fortunately this has not been necessary in the past few years, possibly because a higher level of tolerance and awareness among the population.

- With financial support of the Althea Turner Scholarship program and the AIDS Committee, a total of seven PLWHA were able to travel to the USA to participate in AIDS Medicine and Miracle Conferences. Many other PLWHA have been able to travel to workshops/conferences organized by CRN+ (Caribbean Regional Network for PLWHA), expenses and tickets paid for by the AIDS Foundation. It has assisted several PLWHA to become more empowered, and has helped to make them more active within the foundation and within the HIV/AIDS support group (H.O.P.E.)

- In 1995, Elton Jones passed away from AIDS. He was the first person to have openly disclosed his HIV status to the public in his death announcement. During his life, he visited schools and taught students about the dangers of HIV infection.

After his death, with money donated by a local entrepreneur a fund was set up to assist PLWHA. (Elton Jones Fund) This fund is not sufficient to help in treatment, but has assisted many PLWHA with payment for CD4 counts, Viral Loads, and other smaller medical assistances.

- Setting up of a local HIV/AIDS support-group called HOPE (Helping Ourselves in a Positive Environment).

- Assistance in setting up of Nursing protocols for local hospital.

- Writing and introduction of protocols for Post Exposure Prophylaxis (both professional and criminal/rape), and a protocol to reduce HIV transmission from mother to child.

- Advise/assistance to the local blood bank in the earlier days to make local blood supplies for blood transfusion as safe as possible. No cases of medical blood borne HIV transmission have been reported since the beginning of the epidemic (First case reported 1985).

- Counseling for PLWHA by local M.D. and persons living with HIV/AIDS.

- Improvement/advice and acquisition of up to date Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment on St. Maarten. Medications are fully covered by SVB, Government and some (not all!) private medical insurances. Only very few (illegal) persons have to pay for their medications themselves, till now however the local M.D. treating PLWHA has almost always been able to accommodate persons in need of treatment and living on the island, by helping them to become eligible for social insurance or through contacts on French St. Martin, USA and Holland.

- The AIDS Foundation assisted in the placement of a total of three HIV-orphans that where living in the local hospital.

- KABP-study was performed among hard to reach populations on the island (MSM, CSW, Immigrant groups, etc.) This KABP study was financed with moneys from CEDE-Antia and the AIDS Foundation.

- St. Maarten participated since the year 2000 in the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial.

- Since 2001, the AIDS Foundation has yearly rewarded the “Elton Jones Memorial Award” to a person on the island that has showed dedication and exemplary work in the field of HIV/AIDS on St. Maarten.

- All these above-mentioned activities have been done with money raised locally. This means the foundation has done numerous fundraisings over the years.