DOMEs and CBO reach consensus on key references on code of conduct and rights and work ethnics of community outreach workers

DOMEs and CBO reach consensus on key references on code of conduct and rights and work ethnics of community outreach workers

Community-based organizations and social enterprises led by key populations have significant advantages in their capacity to reach, recruit, and support those most-at-risk of HIV. Last month, a series of 5 training workshops were successfully organized to reinforce understanding and practice of work ethics and code of conduct among community outreach workers delivered by Dr Nguyen Thanh Liem and Dr Nguyen Tan Thu. The participants were guided through the core characteristics of professionalism, work ethics and code of conduct to understand the morals and core values of their work as well as the significance of complying with procedures, respecting regulations, exercising their rights and affirming their clients’ rights. In addition, all participants took the opportunities to identify, list out and endorse the most significant traits of work ethics, prominent terms of rights for an OW and a client as well as essential qualifications of a community worker to revise existing documents and consent for consistent practice and compliance. The finalized content has been materialized into thoughtful designs of posters for DOME/CBO interior décor so that they are visible to all visitors including staff, collaborators, clients and associates for reference and practice. These posters are being disseminated to all community organizations supported by LADDERS. These reminders are a meaningful tool for OWs to relate and find their part in them. These reference tools play a significant part in improving the quality of services and enhancing the client experience. 

The code of conduct and work ethics are essential qualifications that all CBO staff should master and practice on a daily basis. These practices, particularly among vulnerable populations, aim to protect the trust and confidentiality of clients as well as strengthen the reputation of the participating CBOs. These capacities for community outreach workers are parts of USAID’s commitment to investing in sustainable and responsible systems that can provide good quality services that are respectful and reputable.

 

Figure 1. The major work ethics traits: respect, honesty, confidentiality, responsibility, accountability and transparency  are defined as essential for community outreach worker success and are listed short and sweet in the document for reference.

Figure 2. The poster speaks precisely and comprehensively of prominent rights of both client and community outreach worker in the hope that all parties strictly comply to maximize the service quality and impact.

Figure 3. The poster offers CBO and DOME workers/staff  guidance and reference to conduct their outreach and community work better. This is also the tool for the leaders to assess the performances of employees/collaboratives on regular basis.

USAID/LADDER supports social contracting pilot in Dong Nai province as a key strategy to community sustainable development

USAID/LADDER supports social contracting pilot in Dong Nai province as a key strategy to community sustainable development

After six months of implementing the pilot social contracting in Dong Nai province, LADDERS in partnership with Dong Nai Center of Disease Control (CDC) and  EpiC/FHI360 convened a meeting to review progress of the program in 2022 and plan for the year 2023. For the first social contract, Dong Nai CDC has engaged Hung Vu Social Enterprise which was grown from Full House Dong Nai CBO.

At this meeting, Hung Vu shared how they performed the contracted tasks as well as overcame the challenges in close collaboration with Long Thanh District Health Center and with strong support from Dong Nai CDC. The challenges, as cited, included the low cost norm as compared with the sub-contract norm and also the volume of financial acquittal work. At the end of the meeting, Dong Nai CDC presented their 2023 social contracting plan with specific targets and deliverables, calling for local CBOs’ engagement, adoption and proposal.

Without community-led complementarity to the national response, epidemic control in Vietnam would not be possible. Sustainable solutions including social contracting help ensure that local resources can and will sustain efforts beyond the life of donor assistance. Social contracting is one of the key solutions for sustainable financing to sustain the role of community organizations in the HIV/AIDS response. Through technical support, LADDERS helps build capacities and readiness for social contracting towards contributing to a resilient and timely response to surge public health needs where government funding is available to support community service delivery.

Figrue 1. Dr Nguyen Xuan Quang, Head of HIV/AIDS Unit, Dong Nai CDC, presented the 2023 social contracting plan

Figure 2. USAID LADDERS staff, Ms Nhung Truong, presented the TA plan to enhance community capacities for CBO participating in social contracting pilot

 

USAID/LADDERS supports the SAFE-ZONE initiative focusing on factory workers in industrial zones.

USAID/LADDERS supports the SAFE-ZONE initiative focusing on factory workers in industrial zones.

HCMC – 1.12.2022

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is increasing rapidly among young people, particularly men who have sex with men. Among those who are diagnosed with HIV, people under 29 years of age account for almost 50%. Concerningly, these young people have limited information and knowledge related to HIV prevention, treatment, and services, leading to low utilization and up-take of health care services. Upon reviewing the data, it was recognized that current programming has not focused on reaching young factory workers who seemed to be disproportionately affected. The SAFE-ZONE campaign, initiated under the LADDERS project, has been working to address this gap in coverage among this at-risk group. On December 1st, LADDERS, implemented by Life Centre, convened a workshop introducing the SAFE –ZONE campaign.

The campaign uses tailored HIV prevention messages and materials specifically for workers in factories/industrial zones focusing on improving knowledge, attitudes and practices related to sexual health, including safe sex practices and HIV/AIDS prevention. This intervention also enhances access to community-based HIV services such as counseling, testing, referral, PrEP, PEP and ARV. This novel intervention was piloted in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai provinces in late 2022, with promising initial results. Stakeholders and representatives of factories and multinational companies recognized the tangible impact of SAFE-ZONE in the common goal of improving and protecting workers’ health.

In order to achieve the goal of ending AIDS by 2030, it’s critical for a broad and collective effort with partners in both industry as well as health work together to mobilize the available resources/expertise to reduce HIV transmission among the key populations – particularly young MSM in factory/industrial zones.

Figure 1. A featured talk show during the workshop discussed the impact of SAFE-ZONE and its potential for expansion. Participants included a representative from the VAAC, two representatives from industry, a representative from a CBO working in the SAFE-ZONE campaign and the Director for LIFE Centre overseeing the implementation of LADDERS.

Figure 2. Dr Minh Tam Thi Nguyen, Leader of the Vietnam Authority of HIV/AIDS Control, emphasized the urgency and necessity of deploying innovative intervention models on HIV/AIDS for young factory workers.

Figure 3. Dr Randolph Augustin, Director of the Office of Health at USAID Vietnam, also affirmed USAID’s commitment to strengthening community capacities, enhancing community engagement through strategic partnerships (e.g. C2P+).

 

 

USAID/LADDERS engages thousands of factory workers in a series of SAFE-ZONE campaigns, delivered by CBO/SEs through the DOME model, in a strategic collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Labor Federation.

USAID/LADDERS engages thousands of factory workers in a series of SAFE-ZONE campaigns, delivered by CBO/SEs through the DOME model, in a strategic collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Labor Federation.

HCMC, Jan-March

LADDERS, through the SAFE Zone campaign, has worked to enhance the knowledge of workers in industrial zones and factories/companies, particularly among young people, on HIV prevention and safe sex practices. The campaign does this by providing them with information and practices for their protection to ensure their well-being. In 2023, a strategic partnership with the HCMC Labor Federation allowed LADDERS to bring HIV services to the workplace to address access barriers. The Federation’s effort to coordinate and liaise with a number of companies/enterprises around the city has paved the way for 10 SAFE-ZONE campaigns to reach out to roughly 3,000 workers in various settings.

Four DOMEs, community one-stop shop models established under LADDERS, which includes M for M, Alo Boy, G3VN and Glink, have been conducting communications activities that engaged workers at the factory with these matured community groups. The outreach workers who are members of those organizations created activities that provided more detailed information according to the needs of each factory worker they engaged with, answering their  questions and supporting them to utilize available and beneficial services from their respective DOME to help meet these employees specific health needs.

Through this activity, these newly engaged workers are more familiar with the types of services provided by a DOME and building a relationship/trust with a particular DOME to further engage them to discuss various sexual health needs or issues. The DOME(s) assigned to specific employers continue to maintain their relationship with them in order to support ongoing activities and needs in which the DOME can help support newly diagnosed workers transition as clients to support on treatment or PrEP which are part of the strategic work to controlling HIV spread.

The sustained SAFE-ZONE campaign helps various workers in factory settings see the importance of health protection, especially sexual health. Bringing these services to the workplace also helps to address barriers of access which makes it more convenient for workers to utilize these health services, as well as providing information and connection to foster the utilization of these services among those who are most likely to benefit. This multi-stakeholder collaboration for convenient and effective SAFE-ZONE activities targeting factory workers should be considered for further documentation and institutionalization in the hope of building a healthy workforce for a sustainable and prosperous business and realizing the national policy of “Health for all”.

Figure 1,2,3. Shy as they might appear, these young workers quickly found themselves engaging in the interactive sessions delivered by charismatic MCs and guest speakers.

Figure 4,5. This SAFE ZONE event took place at venues where 75% of workers are young men. Each DOME managed to provide more than 200 participants with critical information about HIV, STIs, safe sex and PrEP, as well as services and key messages about health-seeking habits.

USAID/LADDERS takes collective effort to systemize community health information and data in Hanoi for a more effective HIV response in Vietnam.

USAID/LADDERS takes collective effort to systemize community health information and data in Hanoi for a more effective HIV response in Vietnam.

Hà Nội, Oct 13-14

For years, HIV outreach and testing activities have been tracked through separate health information systems, making it difficult to track individual clients across these various systems. In response, LADDERS updated its existing HIV testing and counseling health information system, based on excel templates and a mobile application, to enable community outreach workers to manage their respective data digitally and systematically. The newly branded D.Health application, used by CBOs in HCMC and Dong Nai province since 2020, is now available and accessible on both iOS and Android enabled devices. Last week, CBOs in Hanoi were introduced to the multi-purposed application in a 2-day training workshop. More than 30 lay testers were instructed through the use of the D.Health application with its features and interfaces which differ for clients, outreach workers, and CBO administrators.

Participants took the opportunity to practice with virtual accounts and get inquiries answered under mentorship and supervision of the SI team from LADDERS. Recognizing the change, moving from a paper to digital base, may seem hard at first, but with time and their familiarization this tool will prove to help optimize data collection, management, and use. CBO members who participated in the training are expected to utilize D.Health for ongoing data entry, reporting and use for their informed decision-making as well as the technical assistance to be provided by LADDERS.

With the use of D.Health among all CBOs under the LADDERS project, the goal is to streamline data collection processes and empower various HIV stakeholders to understand and respond to the changing needs of the epidemic, while managing reporting burden and facilitating its use to inform program improvements.

Figure 1. Life staff took turns to present and guide community participants through the technical use of the D.Health app.

Figure 2, 3. Through interactive games and simulation practices, community outreach workers got a better idea of how to use the app for themselves and their clients.