HIV Prevention Among Prisoners, Professional Challenges...Lessons of Life
February 1st, 2010
Until a few years ago, the situation of the HIV and hepatitis B and C infections in the penitentiary system was considered taboo. Starting with 2004 however, the National Administration of Penitentiaries (NAP) demonstrated opening towards the idea of developing projects for HIV prevention among inmates.
Thus, between 2004 and 2007, with financial support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) Round 2, NAP carried out for the first time activities for providing information about HIV/AIDS and training of peer educators among inmates.
Since 2008, these activities are financed by the Global Fund Round 6 and implemented by a consortium of non-governmental organizations in partnership with NAP under the name of "Initiative 38". The consortium is made of 5 organizations: Romanian Harm Reduction Network (RHRN), Close to You Foundation (ADV), Alliance for the Fight against Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (ALIAT), Romanian Association Against AIDS (ARAS) and Integration Association.
With 19 penitentiaries in the north and east of the country to cover, Close to You Foundation (ADV) contributes significantly to the efforts of HIV prevention in the penitentiary system.
"Curiosity… Concern… Challenge. Three words that express my feelings the first day I went to a penitentiary. I was curious as to how a day in the life of inmates is … I was worried about the echoes of their actions… It was a professional challenge for me to work in such a new and different environment.
Now, after more than 2 years of carrying out health education activities for inmates, I understood that those behind the grey gates of the penitentiaries are ordinary people, with needs and wishes, regrets and dreams…"
Thus begins Madalina Hritcu, health educator within Close to You Foundation, National Center in Iasi, her testimony about the project that she works on currently. Her work takes her in penitentiaries in northern and eastern Romania, bringing new challenges every day and satisfactions correspondingly.
We asked Madalina Hritcu what working with inmates means: "Working with these people was a step forward in my professional progress but also a personal development. I gained new abilities and improved my knowledge, learned to adapt to new situations, to cope with the unexpected and to fight prejudice.
It's a great satisfaction to know that at least one person out of the hundreds that took part in the health education activities that I carried out will think twice before getting a tattoo, borrowing the razor from their roommates or exposing themselves to other situation with potential health risk".
Close to You Foundation can take pride in having very good results after the first 18 months of project: 7.300 inmates had access to information sessions focused on HIV, Hepatitis B and C infections while other 518 were trained as peer educators in the field of HIV/AIDS. The role of the peer educators is to convey to other inmates information that can contribute to reducing the transmission risk and to have a safe behavior.
As far as training peer educators is concerned - process that requires both professionalism and commitment - we talked to Simona Butu, health educator at ADV Center in Mures County: "In spite of the fact that the environment is not one you'd want to stay in, the time spent there makes you understand that there's something good in every person, that giving the inmates responsibilities as peer educators will help increase their self esteem, make them aware of strengths that they can use. Having people's confidence helps inmates believe in their future and thus the involvement that we expect from them as peer educators will be higher."
Is it easy, is it difficult, to coordinate such a project at a national level? Here's what Manuela Iftimoaie, national project coordinator with ADV Romania told us: "When we started our activities in penitentiaries, in September 2008, we were faced with the perspective of a new professional challenge and a new life experience - direct work with inmates. The positive feedback received from them after the sessions, their receptiveness to messages related to HIV infection, drug abuse and other sexually transmitted infections gave us hope that, both inside and outside of the penitentiary system, they will avoid risky behaviors and will stay aware of the risks they can face in various situations of life."
By June 30th 2010, when the project "Initiative 38" will end, the Close to You Foundation plans to include 5.000 more inmates into the HIV/AIDS information sessions. The goal is ambitious but the foundation proved that such a target is reachable with the help of well trained staff and an efficient organization and coordination.
What's impressive about the activities developed by Close to You Foundation is the seriousness, the dedication, but mostly the quality of the interventions. All these can result in a high quality of the activities.
