ARAS (Romanian Anti-AIDS Association)
One of the most active and representative non - governmental organizations from Romania, ARAS was founded in 1992, by a group of young volunteers.
ARAS proposed as a mission: the information and education of all categories of population regarding the danger represented by AIDS and the means of prevention of the HIV infection; the promotion of the support attitude in relation with the persons already infected or sick; the defense of the persons' rights and interests, who live with the HIV infection; offering services of material, moral and psychological assistance for the persons infected or sick and for their families.
Having a rich activity, ARAS created the first services of Helpline AIDS in Romania and of social assistance for the adults with HIV/AIDS. It's one of the promoters of the pre and post - testing HIV counseling and of the professional training in this domain. Also, ARAS is the initiator of many and diverse activities of information for vulnerable groups, hard to access by other means, even in the place they live or develop their activity. Nowadays, it has branches in: Constanta, Neamt, Iasi, Bacau, Dolj, Timis, Cluj, Brasov and a work group in Arad.
In the 6th Round, ARAS will develop programs of increasing the access of vulnerable groups at services of prevention and support.
Beneficiaries: consumers of injecting drugs (4 counties + Bucharest), persons involved in the commercial sex (10 counties + Bucharest), gipsy population (idem), persons without home (idem).
Activities:
- research regarding the behavior of the persons involved in the commercial sex from 11 counties;
- services for the prevention of the HIV/AIDS, offered in the environments they live in / the beneficiaries develop the activity: information, education, distribution of condoms, exchange of syringes, basic medical and social services, reference to other services, counseling and volunteer HIV testing;
- development in Bucharest of a pilot - clinic easy to access; primary medical assistance, psychological counseling, volunteer counseling and HIV testing;
- advocacy for durab;e national policies for the access of vulnerable groups to services.
By these activities, over 15,000 persons of the vulnerable groups will receive services adapted to their needs. The services will may be continued and extended after the conclusion of the projects, thanks to the premises offered by the research and activities of advocacy.
You can find out more about the activities and the results obtained by ARAS on the http://www.arasnet.ro/ !
