Basic info (in Serbian) about HIV/AIDS:

(click on a picture)

WESTERN BALKANS PROGRAM TO FIGHT HIV/AIDS

Red Ribbon in an international symbol of HIV / AIDS awareness. It sends a message of support and solidarity with people who live with HIV/AIDS, and also a message of commitment and care in figth against the infection.

HPVPI Network

Public Health Institute, Novi Sad

Public Health Depart-ments from Subotica, Sombor, Sremska Mit-rovica, Kikinda, Zrenja-nin and Pancevo

Department for Stu-dents' Health Novi Sad

Red Cross of Vojvodina

Ecumenical Humanita-rian Organization - The Red Line Center

Emprona

The Youht of JAZAS from Novi Sad, Pancevo and Subotica

CFSOC Philantropy

Pro Vitae

Motivational Center

Eureka

Rromanokher

Novi Sad Humanitarian Center

During the last twenty years, the epidemic of AIDS has become one of the most destructive epidemics which the mankind has ever been faced with. The epidemics has taken the largest number of victims in the African countries, while the Central and Eastern Europe, considering the present social and economical factors, are under the rising risk of having the rapid spread of disease. According to the latest reports of the UNAIDS and the World Health Organization, 39.4 million people in the world has been infected. Throughout the world, but also in our country, women have been, more and more, affected by this infection, therefore the risk of carrying over the HIV from a mother to a child has become greater.

From July 2004 to June 2005 NSHC has been conducting the 'Educational program about HIV/AIDS for marginalized groups' in Novi Sad and 27 other municipalities. This was a part of a wider Western Balkans Program to Fight HIV/AIDS which, with the donations of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), has been conducted by the NGO Partnerships in Health (ex Project HOPE). A total of 180 educative workshops were held in 28 municipalities during this project. A total number of participants in these workshops was 2.122,  48% men and  52% women. Most of the participants were Roma (55%), and others were refugees (30%), socially vulnerable domestic population (12%), and internally displaced persons from Kosovo (3%). Average age of these participants was 27 years. (Photo: A workshop in Backa Topola)

A total of 19,000 pamphlets, 5,000 post-cards and 500 posters were printed during the course of the project. Information pamphlet on HIV/AIDS was prepared and printed in languages of national minority groups living in Vojvodina - Hungarian, Romanian and Roma, and printed in 3,000 copies each, along with HIV/AIDS educa-tive posters and postcards. This was con-ducted as part of the ''It's Important to Know!'' initiative.

From March 2006, NSHC continues to implement the second phase of the project in 15 municipalities in Vojvodina. Advocacy, lobbying and edu-cational activities will be imple-mented by 14 field associates and 30 peer educators from the target groups, as well as local community representatives.

National Strategy for the Prevention of HIV/AIDS

• Introduction of the voluntary and routine HIV testing of pregnant women on the territory of the Republic of Serbia,

• Further development of the Guidance Centre for voluntary and confidential counseling and testing on HIV,

• The creation of the prerequisites for the treatment of the sick on the clinics for infectious diseases,

• The increasing of the influence of the surgeries in providing services of health protection to those who are infected with HIV,

• The improvement of the system for collecting and analyzing the data on HIV epidemic,

• The establishing of the effective programs for prevention and also the development of the institutional frame for coordination of activities for prevention of HIV/AIDS.

The HIV Network of Voivodina was founded in the middle of 2004, on the initiative of the Public Health Institute  Novi Sad, the Department of IEpidemilogy, in order to bring together all the organizations from Vojvodina dealing with the problems related to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In the first phase, non-governmental organizations and governmental institutions on the territory of Novi Sad entered the network and later, in the middle of the 2005, the organizations from all over Voivodina joined them.

The vision of the HIV Network of Vojvodina is a society in which the human rights of the people living with HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases or hepatitis, have been respected entirely. The society in which the network of prevention has developed and in which there is a full cooperation between all organizations concerned with these topics.

The goals of the network are:

 ·        Improvement of the prevention of HIV / AIDS, other STIs and hepatitis,

·         Early diagnostics of the infection,

·         Improvement of the quality of life of the people living with HIV/AIDS, STIs or hepatitis,

·         Capacity building of the member organizations.

The activities of the network contribute to the respect of human dignity, to the raising of the level of self-respect among people who live with AIDS/HIV, STIs or hepatitis, and to the development of the cooperation between the organizations. All those activities are conducted together or individually, in which case the other members are informed about those activities. Institutions involved in the activities of the Voivodina HIV network are:

NOVI SAD HUMANITARIAN CENTER 2004 - 2006