By Bongiwe Zwane, PR Coordinator for PSI/Swaziland

Mbabane, Swaziland – “When two people love each other and are faithful to each other, taking an HIV test together feels right,” says Nothando, wife to Correctional Services Commissioner Mzuthini Ntshangase. She made these comments after taking a public HIV test with her husband as part of a couples testing public awareness drive.

They both agreed that although it was not an easy step to take, it was imperative that couples communicate openly on issues of HIV and further get tested together regularly. The Ntshangase family pledged to return for another test soon and also to encourage their friends, relatives, colleagues and members of the public to do the same.

“Hello, I found out online about the help and guidance you give to HIV positive people. I have been HIV positive for some months and I need your help please. How do get treatment? Thanks for any assistance you can provide.” That was the first message that Will sent through the And What Now? website’s Fan Page in Facebook.

Will is a 25-year old computer technician from Ahuachapán, El Salvador, and he has been living with HIV for six months. He has been visiting the And What Now? website which was designed by the Pan American Social Marketing Organization (PASMO) and Milk N Cookies under the USAID Combination Prevention Program for HIV to provide information and support to persons living with HIV, their families and friends.

The Global Health Fellows Alumni Business Newtwork Newsletter includes a short feature on PSI in its partner spotlight section.

Population Services International (PSI) was founded in 1970 to improve reproductive health using commercial marketing strategies. PSI is now a global health organization dedicated to improving health in the developing world by focusing on family planning, HIV/AIDs, maternal health and the biggest threats to children under five: malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition. PSI works in partnership with governments and local organizations to create sustainable health solutions.

The Pfizer Global Health Fellows Program (GHF) and PSI have been partners from the program’s inception. Over the past decade, 21 Pfizer Fellows have worked with PSI in various capacities around the globe. Mac Chatham, Global Staffing Manager at PSI in Washington, DC, and primary GHF program contact, noted the value and importance of the GHF program and the impact it has had on their organization.

Imperia Acuña is a 52-year old transgendered woman that works for the organization MANU, a local NGO that receives support and technical assistance from Proyectos en Salud Integral (PSI Costa Rica), under the USAID Combination Prevention Program for HIV in Central America. Imperia has gone through difficult life experiences. She was rejected by her father, and endured human rights violations, physical and sexual abuse. Lack of information about HIV, education and stigma made her more vulnerable to HIV. The transgendered population is one of the most vulnerable to HIV in the region; it faces the most discrimination and has the least access to health services. According to non-official estimates, the HIV prevalence among transgendered persons is around 18 – 25 % in Central America.

“Even though I never engaged in commercial sex, I did expose myself to HIV and today I am HIV positive. That is why I started to learn more about human rights and how to support my peers,” says Imperia. In contrast to other programs and based on the combination prevention approach, prevention work in Costa Rica is led by peers like Imperia and is carried out in places where at-risk populations are located. Combination prevention is a comprehensive approach that includes referrals to complementary services that address structural factors such as human rights, gender-based violence, and stigma and discrimination, in addition to behavioral interventions, access to biomedical services such as HIV testing, and diagnosis of other sexually transmitted infections.

“My story is not an easy one. To begin with, I’ve experienced a lot of pain because being a sex worker is not easy.” These are the words of Grettel Quirós, a sex worker and leader in La Sala, a local organization in Costa Rica. Grettel is one of the approximately 9,200 women who work in sex trade in the country.

Although there is no official data for the HIV prevalence rate in this population, during just the 2012 fiscal year the USAID Combination Prevention Program for HIV found a rate of 3% among female sex workers through its voluntary counseling and testing services; this is triple the prevalence rate among the general population.