What Works for Women and Girls

people living with HIV. 35 focus group discussions and 97 in-depth interviews wereconducted with people living with HIV, family members and community members.700 in each community were sampled at prior to the intervention and at the end ofthe project, fourteen months later. Prior to the project, people living with HIV reportednot accessing health services due to fear of disclosure of their serostatus. Exposure tomultiple activities led to greater increases in stigma reduction. However, the interventionwas less effective in reducing blame toward HIV-positive people, especially sexworkers and IDUs (Nyblade et al., 2008). (Gray III) (knowledge, stigma, Vietnam)Between 2004 and 2006, a project in Thailand that paired HIV-positive with anHIV-negative partner to receive loans to create a small business found that HIV-negativepartners reported greater willingness to participate in activities with HIV-positivepeople. Within a few months, the percent of people involved in the project who said theywould be comfortable visiting a house of an HIV-positive person increased from 20%to 90%. HIV-positive partners reported they no longer felt they had to accept discrimination.People living with HIV who participated in the project reported improvementsin quality of life, as well as in their economic, social, physical and mental well beingbetween 2004 and 2006. In addition, 91% of the loans have been repaid on time. Bothpartners needed training in basic business skills. Women comprise the majority ofthe participants. More than 42% of all participants paired two women and 39% werecomposed of one man and one woman (UNAIDS, 2007b; Wolf et al., 2008). (Gray III)(knowledge, stigma, microfinance, Thailand)An intervention from 2005 to 2007 with 2,800 school children ages 12 to 15 in ruralschools in Bosnia and Herzegovina that increased knowledge on HIV transmissionvia bodily fluids decreased the fear of socializing with HIV-positive people from 46%at baseline to under 13% by the end of project surveys. 150 pupils, aged 13 to 14, 62%girls and 38% boys were surveyed at the beginning of the project and at the end (Pancic,2008). (Gray III) (adolescents, knowledge, stigma, Bosnia, Herzegovina)2. Training for providers can reduce discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS.A study in Vietnam that provided training to 975 hospital workers who received a oneand a half day training on HIV and universal precautions, along with testimonials frompeople living with HIV and training to 617 hospital workers who received the sametraining with an additional half day training on social stigma co-facilitated by peopleliving with HIV found that both interventions were successful in reducing discriminatorybehaviors and hospital practices, with the additional half day training on stigmaresulting in a greater impact on reducing discrimination and stigma. For example,hospital workers who felt that HIV/AIDS is a punishment for bad behavior declinedin one hospital form 44% before the intervention to 19%. The hospital workers whohad additional stigma training were 2.3 times less likely to report placing signs on bedsindicating HIV status than hospital workers without the stigma training. Training also332 CHAPTER 11 STRENGTHENING THE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT