Peer Counselling, Capacity Improvement and Advocacy Training Project

Duration : 5 months / January 2019 – June 2020

Budget : 58,100 TL

Sponsor : Award-winning project from Gilead Sciences / Ideas That Come to Life Support Program

Purpose and Target and Method:

“Peer Counselling, Capacity Improvement and Advocacy Training Project” aims to provide support, and meet the counselling and education needs of HIV-positive people, who have been increasing in number in our country, especially in the last five years. By increasing the knowledge around HIV’s medical, psychological, legal and social aspects, this project aims to improve the quality of life and decrease stigmatism and discrimination towards HIV-positive people by moulding those involved into people who know their rights and can exercise them.

Within this context, people who are at peace with their HIV status and can become role models for their peers were aimed to be trained to perform peer counselling and case follow-up.

The projects’ counsellor and educator team comprises experienced professionals in medicine, law, psychology, dietetics and social services who have worked and have experience in HIV activism.

In addition to the experts in Turkey, Benjamin Collins, who has been living with HIV for 40 years and has been a living witness to HIV activism worldwide, was included in the educational sessions. It was planned for 80 HIV-positive people who live within the 3 cities with the most HIV population (İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir) to take part in 4 educational sessions.

Results:

As planned, training was done in Istanbul, Ankara, Istanbul-2, and Izmir, respectively. In total, there were 63 participants.

Turkish Project Report: https://www.kisa.link/PMUH