About Us
The AIDS Resource Center (ARC) in Addis Ababa serves as Ethiopia's premier
source of HIV and AIDS information. The ARC is a central library and clearinghouse
for the most up-to-date and accurate multimedia materials on HIV and AIDS,
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and tuberculosis (TB). These resources
provide a broad range of health, policy professionals and the general
public with crucial information to fight the battle against HIV and AIDS.
The ARC was created in December 2002 through a multi-dimensional partnership
and was launched as the first center of its kind in Ethiopia to support
the Ethiopian Government's HIV and AIDS Programs. The ARC is supported
by United States through President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC-Ethiopia,
www.cdc.gov) with technical assistance
from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication
Programs (CCP, www.jhuccp.org).
Objectives
The ARC serves as a hub for a host of resources and services, such as
a comprehensive multimedia reference collection, high-speed computer terminals
with Internet access, audiovisual equipment, and databases on HIV and
AIDS. The ARC hosts a wide and local area network (WAN/LAN) of over 300
computers, currently connecting Oromia Tigray, Dire Dawa and Amhara regional
HAPCO offices and resouce centers to the ARC network. This provides HAPCO
staff and the general public with immediate access to HIV and AIDS information.
The ARC website and databases enables stakeholders to respond to the government
of Ethiopia's HIV and AIDS information needs more efficiently and effectively.
The ARC also provides technical assistance in all behavior change communication
(BCC) materials development and strategy formation. For example, the ARC
has taken the lead in producing a national PMTCT and ART communication
strategy for Ethiopia and encourages networking and coordination of HIV/AIDS
communication players in Ethiopia.
The ARC is a remarkable project in many respects. The key partners, CCP,
CDC and HAPCO have provided expertise and support that has ensured that
the ARC's services are of an exceptional standard. Currently, the ARC
is focusing on scaling up its services so that more regions can benefit
from these valuable resources and services.
The overall goals of the ARC are to:
1. Provide Ethiopians with up-to-date
and accurate HIV and AIDS and related information by developing and maintaining
a clearinghouse on all HIV and AIDS, voluntary counseling and testing
(VCT), sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and Tuberculosis (TB) materials
(print, electronic and audiovisual).
The ARC's library offers a variety of materials, services, and equipment
free of charge. These include periodicals, official guidelines, general
and scientific books, brochures, videos, CD-ROMs, DVDs, audiocassettes,
novelty items, etc...
It houses over 3,050 titles on HIV and AIDS, VCT, STD and TB and titles
that span a huge range of topics from medical/scientific research to BCC.
The ARC library is regularly stocked via shipments of books and resources
from CCP, purchasing of books and journals, solicitation of resources
free of charge from relevant local and international organizations and
publishers, and downloading new and relevant publications from the Internet.
The ARC library has also established a good network with researchers and
organizations working on HIV and AIDS in Ethiopia. This network enables
the ARC to collect material from these organizations and researchers to
add to the library's collection. All the titles are catalogued and entered
into the materials database to facilitate quick searches by users both
at the ARC and through the website. Although the library does not have
a lending service at this time, the library does offer a photocopy or
printing service for specific articles or chapters of books, free of charge.
The ARC provides at least 12 computer terminals that allow users to browse
multimedia collections, conduct Internet research, and run CD-ROMs for
an average of 90 visitors per day. This service is one of the most popular
and utilized services available because the ARC has one of the fastest
and most reliable Internet connections in Ethiopia. Users not only use
the Internet for accessing the ARC website, but for writing proposals
and research papers and accessing other HIV and AIDS web sources.
2. Develop a materials and networking database
and a website with international links and email list-servers.
The website, www.etharc.org,
is user-friendly, interactive, database-driven, and knowledge-based. It
provides stakeholders, policy makers, university students, teachers and
the basic public with the latest HIV prevention news, events, resources
and information, including over 3,330 online journals.
The website also provides access to the ARC's database for organizations,
funding, materials, conference calendar, news, and vacancies. These databases,
in particular the organizational and conference calendar ones, provide
a useful means through which to coordinate and network the different HIV
and AIDS organizations and activities in the country. There are currently
around 190 records in the organizations database.
The AIDS in Ethiopia Online Database, www.etharc.org/aidsineth,
is one of the most popular interactive online database application with
useful information on AIDS epidemic in Ethiopia. This online database
presents the trend of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia from 1982-2008 with charts,
indicators and publications. The PLWHA website, www.etharc.org/plwha,
is also a very useful resource for people living with HIV/AIDS with resources
for living positively and testimonies of HIV positive people.
3. Oversee the development of high-quality
Ethiopian print and audio-visual HIV and AIDS BCC materials.
Since December 2002, the Center has produced high-quality culturally-appropriate
posters, pamphlets, billboards, press information kits and job aides on the
following HIV and AIDS issues: VCT, anti-retroviral treatment (ART), prevention
of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and TB. For example, two VCT brochures
and posters were produced to encourage men and women to know their HIV status
by seeking VCT. A 30-minute docu-drama on VCT was also developed in collaboration
with a local film production house. A living positively booklet for people
living with HIV (PLWHA) was also developed. Additionally, a client brochure
and job aid for health workers was produced to help prevent mother-to-child
transmission of HIV among health center clients. Other materials developed
include a press ARC information kit and an ART information kit for the launch
of the national ART program. More than 90% of these materials were produced
in Amharic to ensure maximum reach and effectiveness.
Large individualized print runs of materials have been completed and distributed
widely throughout Ethiopia using the ARC's distribution mechanism. For example
to date, at least 15,000 of the VCT posters and brochures have been distributed
due to public demand. Main receivers of the materials include HAPCO regional
offices, Regional Health Bureaus, hospitals, clinics, health centers, NGOs
and faith-based organizations.
However, large requests for materials from the library are difficult to fill.
For example, the Orthodox Church in Ethiopia uses the ARC materials to sensitize
and educate their members to HIV and AIDS issues. However, meeting this kind
of demand will be critical because the Orthodox Church has a following of
about 40 million people and the impact on this group is bound to translate
into national impact. Similarly, anti-AIDS clubs in schools request bulk materials
for their programs and activities.
4. Develop a strong relationship with the
Ethiopian media by training print, radio, and television journalists and
editors in HIV and AIDS reporting and serving as an ongoing source of
information for these journalists.
The ARC has become a valuable resource for journalists who use the ARC
to access diverse, accurate, and current HIV and AIDS and related information.
In January 2004, the ARC conducted its first journalist training via a
sensitization workshop on ART for 150 media professionals. In May 2004,
the ARC, in collaboration with Internews, conducted Local Voices: A
Seminar on HIV/AIDS Reporting for radio and print journalists. The
purpose of this workshop was to build journalists' skills in script/story
writing, recording, editing, and reporting sensitively on HIV and AIDS.
The workshop was cited by HAPCO as the beginning of an impact on HIV and
AIDS reporting in Ethiopia. It also served as a catalyst to an ongoing
productive relationship between the ARC and the trained journalists.
In March 2005, the ARC conducted an HIV and AIDS reporting workshop for
Ethiopia television media professionals. The workshop aimed to enhance
journalists' skills in reporting, interviewing techniques, identifying
potential sources, writing and editing scripts, and how to combine these
skills with visual techniques for television.
5. Establish and maintain an AIDS Hotline
to ensure that Ethiopians have an additional resource to access free and
anonymous HIV and AIDS information, counseling and referrals.
ARC established a new state-of-the-art HIV and AIDS hotline system that
provides callers with quality HIV and AIDS information, counseling and
referrals on everything from PMTCT to ART to care and support for PLWHA.
The hotline was setup in late 2004 and hotline staff were trained in collaboration
with the International HIV and AIDS Alliance in counseling, setup, promotion
and monitoring. The ARC hotline - named the 'Wegen AIDS Talkline' - currently
receives an average of between 3,000-4,000 phone calls per day. The talkline,
which can be reached free-of-charge from any landline or mobile telephone
in Ethiopia by dialing 952, was launched nationwide in March 2005. Currently
Wegen AIDS Talkline is giving service Monday through Saturday 8:00
am - 12 midnight. Click here for
more information about the talkline.
6. Establish eleven regional AIDS Resource
Center sites at regional HAPCO offices that will serve as information
centers and be linked electronically to the main ARC in Addis Ababa.
One of the mandates of the ARC is to engender capacity building and sustainability
of HIV and AIDS information and resources provision by expanding its services
to other Ethiopian regions by establishing regional AIDS Resource Centers
in each of Ethiopia's 11 regions. The regional sites will replicate the
activities and services of the national ARC at the regional level. HAPCO,
the ARC, CDC, and CCP opened the first regional center in Oromia Region
in late March 2005.
As with future regional ARCs, the Oromia Regional ARC (www.etharc.org/oromia),
serves as a regional hub for a host of resources and services, such as
a comprehensive multimedia reference collection, high-speed computer terminals
with internet access, audiovisual equipment, and access to the databases
of local and international HIV and AIDS organizations and funding opportunities.
The Oromia Regional ARC is fully integrated with the Oromia HAPCO office
and both the Oromia ARC and Oromia HAPCO offices operate on the same IT
network, which connects with the national ARC network. This provides Oromia
HAPCO staff with immediate access to the national ARC website and databases
and enables the Oromia HAPCO office to respond more efficiently and effectively
to the HIV and AIDS information needs of local government activities.
Currently Amhara(www.etharc.org/amhara),
Tigray (www.etharc.org/tigray),
Dire Dawa, Harari and Oromia (www.etharc.org/oromia)
regional resource centers are established.
7. Encourage networking and coordination
of HIV and AIDS players.
The ARC naturally encourages networking and coordination of HIV and AIDS role
players and activities through its website and databases. Its proximity to
HAPCO also ensures that the ARC knows what HIV/AIDS activities are taking
place at a national level and communicates this to the other role players.
One of the most significant outcomes of local interaction with the ARC is
a network of PLWHA that was created by an HIV positive ARC customer who formed
a network of eleven people living with HIV. This group of PLHWA meets once
a month to work on strategies to support others through dissemination of information
obtained from ARC materials and services. Each of these individuals has in
turn formed their own networks.
Other networking and coordination include the formation of an ART Communication
Committee of local and international organizations working in promotion and
service of ART in Ethiopia and a collaborative relationship with Internews
to train journalists and form HIV/AIDS journalists' networks.
|