At AIHA, we’re proud of what we do to achieve our vision of a world with access to quality healthcare for everyone, everywhere. Our work to strengthen health systems and train health and social service workers in low-income countries brings us closer to that vision. Your support on #GivingTuesday will bring us closer still. Every act of generosity counts, and each means even more when we give together.

#GivingTuesday is a reminder of the “reason for the season.” It’s become a global movement to make the world a better place, with millions of people of all ethnicities, religions, and backgrounds demonstrating our our common capacity to give.

You can also support us while shopping for your holiday gifts through Amazon Smile. Here’s how it works:

1. Shop smile.amazon.com using your Amazon account
2. Select American International Health Alliance as your charity of choice
3. Shop!

Amazon will remember your selection and will make a donation to AIHA with every eligible purchase you make – at no cost to you.

Wednesday is also World AIDS Day. While the world has made enormous progress in fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has setback progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment after years of improvement. ​We at AIHA are doing what we can to address HIV/AIDS given these trying times, but we can and need to do more. You can help.

To make an electronic contribution DONATE HERE or send a check to:

According to a UNAIDS report from 2020, more than half of new HIV infections occur among key populations and their partners.  The rate of HIV infection is more than 20 times higher among men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, commercial sex workers, prisoners, and transgender people than in the general population. Without reducing these rates significantly, it will not be possible to stem the tide of HIV/AIDS among these vulnerable and often marginalized populations nor reach epidemic control in a country.  

AIHA’s Project Director, Inna Jurkevich, remarked that “most projects that work with KP, vulnerable groups and CSOs focus on technical interventions, program and service delivery.  While important, this project instead prioritized the often neglected yet critical need to strengthen the capacity of KP-led organizations so that so that they can deliver project results in a sustainable, effective and accountable way.”  

After an initial intensive organizational capacity assessment, the priority capacity strengthening areas selected for this project were governance, strategic planning, program management, finance management, human resources, social enterprise and revenue generation.  AIHA, KP peer mentors, consultants, and AVAC, a US-based NGO, delivered trainings and conducted one-on-one mentorships.  In all, more than 120 CSOs participated in organizational strengthening capacity initiatives in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia.  In addition, AIHA helped several CSOs obtain official registration in their countries.  

Two very successful components of this project were the 1) Organizational Capacity Strengthening Grants and 2) Social Enterprise Initiatives. 

After a process of training, mentorship and intensive one-on-one sessions and exchanges, AIHA provided 27 capacity strengthening grants to CSOs in Zambia, Kenya and Nigeria.  In Kenya, for example, AIHA provided a mini grant to the KP Consortium that not only served to upgrade their organization’s manuals but also enhanced the organizational structures and governance of the 13 KP-led CSOs within their network. Commenting on this initiative, Sibusiso Malunga, from the Zambian organization The Lotus Identity (TLI), said “the capacity building project strengthened TLI’s capacity in responding to the mental health needs of not only its staff but also the community it serves as this is a glaring gap in the LGBTQ programming in Zambia.” 

The social enterprise initiative was also a critical part of this program as it focused on revenue generation, organizational resilience and sustainability.  Once again, through a series of training sessions, mentorship and exchanges, more than 30 CSOs from 6 countries developed business plans. 

After a vetting process, 16 CSOs from these countries were provided seed funding to implement social enterprise projects.  This enabled them to raise critical capital to strengthen their organizations’ capacity and long-term financial sustainability, and, consequently, deliver much needed program services to communities the KP-led organizations serve.  In Guatemala, with the revenue it was able to generate, the Association for the Prevention and Study of HIV / AIDS, APEVIHS established medical and nutritional clinics in rural areas to provide much needed services to children, women and people living with HIV for free or at no cost, in addition to providing food and medicine.

While much was accomplished through this project, a lot remains to be done.  AIHA’s President and CEO David Greeley said “It is just as critical that support be provided to strengthen organizational capacity as program service delivery.  In fact, they must go hand and hand.  If they are, then we can continue to make progress in stemming the tide of HIV/AIDS through locally empowered, locally capable civil society organizations.”   

Week-long trainings conducted by experienced professionals are taking place with great success. One participant, Solomon Wambua, the National Coordinator of the Key Population Consortium of Kenya, said of the training “This is a bold step in ensuring the sustainability of our work. We look forward to having Kenyan Key Populations add to the overall pool of funds for programming especially in the health sector, facilitated by empowered and trained local experts and faculty in the area of social enterprise capacity building”. AIHA’s Board Member Richard Berman, who teaches Social Entrepreneurship at the MUMA College of Business, University of Florida, volunteered alongside a team of local experts to conduct the training. Professor Berman added, “I am honored to be part of a program that captures the passion and creativity of local entrepreneurs to solve significant social problems in a sustainable way. Most of all, I am so excited to collaborate with a few local entrepreneurs and local leaders who will be able to continue and grow this program.”

The work on Social Entrepreneurship is but one activity to build capacity of Key Population (KP) led organizations in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean undertaken by AIHA through its five-year cooperative agreement supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To date, the project has held 36 training sessions of various lengths and has provided technical assistance and ongoing mentorship for 74 organizations in 7 countries on topics ranging from Strategic Planning and Monitoring & Evaluation Frameworks to Advocacy and Communications Planning and Human Resources Administration. 

Building the technical, financial and organizational capacity of KP-led organizations is critical to HIV prevention and treatment given that HIV transmission is higher and treatment levels are lower among KPs than the general population. AIHA’s work under the CDC supported project not only strengthens the capacity of CSOs and NGOs, but also supports many other priority interventions under PEPFAR, the US Government’s flagship global HIV program that began in 2003.  

“It’s an honor to welcome Ms. Stevinson and Ms. Barrett to AIHA’s Board,” said Mr. Charlie Evans, AIHA’s Board Chair. “As we enter 2021 facing global health challenges from COVID-19 to HIV/AIDS, the important work that AIHA does globally to improve the capacity of health workforces and strengthen health systems is needed more than ever. These outstanding appointments to AIHA’s Board could not have come at a better time.”

AIHA’s President and CEO David Greeley added, “AIHA is so fortunate to have Ms. Stevinson and Barrett join our Board. Their extensive experience and varied expertise will contribute considerably to AIHA’s growth and continued excellence in delivering quality public health interventions and improving health outcomes.”

Maye Kathryn “Sissy” Stevinson recently retired from HCA Healthcare, after serving 33 years as a Human Resources Executive and Officer of the company. Ms. Stevinson’s leadership was instrumental in the advancement of Human Resources strategies that propelled workforce development and support of 28 lines of business spanning 43 markets across the United States. Upon joining AIHA’s Board, Ms. Stevinson remarked “Workforce development and strengthening healthcare infrastructure are areas of passion for me and I am honored to serve AIHA in support of its amazing mission.”

Patricia “Tricia” Barrett is a senior healthcare executive, with a particular focus on quality and strategy. She currently holds the position of Executive Director of Quality & Population Health Strategy as part of the Market Access team within the US division of the Bayer pharmaceutical company. She has spent more than 20 years developing innovative solutions to measure and improve healthcare performance, with a passion for addressing needs of underserved populations.

Previously, Ms. Barrett dedicated 10 years working on improving quality control with the non-profit accreditation organization National Committee For Quality Assurance (NCQA) developing a broad portfolio of programs to drive improvement in quality and value in health care. Commenting on her AIHA Board appointment, Ms. Barrett said “I have devoted my career to improving health care quality in the US, where significant health equity issues remain. I look forward to contributing my experience to AIHA’s work with disadvantaged populations around the globe and I am excited to support AIHA’s vision of a world with access to quality health care for everyone, everywhere.”

AIHA is a nonprofit organization working to advance global health by helping countries with limited resources build sustainable institutional and health workforce capacity.

Click here for full bios of Sissy Stevinson and Tricia Barrett, and other members of AIHA’s Board of Directors.

The IIfPHC-E was established by the Ministry of Health – Ethiopia to strengthen Ethiopia’s Primary Health Care (PHC) system in the context of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for health. It does this by serving as a global resource for PHC, building capacity through training and information sharing, carrying out health systems implementation research, and contributing to the global advocacy for UHC through PHC. It is expected that the Institute will be transformed into a Center of Excellence in PHC Training, Advocacy, and Evidence Generation, and ultimately serve as the first WHO Collaborative Center on the African continent. Dr. Frehiwot Nigatu, the Acting Executive Director of the IIfPHC-E commented “Through leveraging the existing capabilities and expertise of the Institute coupled with additional twinning partnerships brought by AIHA, the project will create a tremendous opportunity to advance our vision.” 

In signing the agreement, David Greeley, AIHA’s President & CEO said “AIHA will leverage our vast experience over the past almost 30 years globally and 15 years in Ethiopia in establishing twinning partnerships to strengthen IIfPHC’s capacity.” Kidest Hailu, AIHA’s Country Director in Ethiopia added “AIHA will also work on developing core trainers who will take the program forward and support the establishment of regional hubs to replicate the PHC training in their respective regions.”

AIHA has partnered with the Gates Foundation in Ethiopia on a number of projects since 2016. In addition to this award, the BMGF also increased its funding to AIHA to support the FMOH for a fifth year in a project whose goal is to support efforts to strengthen the capacity of the Ethiopia Federal Ministry of Health to implement its country’s Health Sector Transformation Plan. 

About AIHA

Since AIHA was founded in 1992, it has engaged about 220 leading academic institutions, hospitals, clinical centers of excellence, professional societies and associations, and a broad and diverse range of health professionals in the global health sector. We have established more than 175 partnerships in sub-Saharan Africa, Central, and Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean to strengthen health systems and improve human resources for health using the WHO multi-pillar approach. AIHA has operated in 42 countries since its inception. AIHA has also helped strengthen host country institutions in many countries, including assisting them on the path towards becoming independent and self-sufficient entities. AIHA established numerous twinning partnerships around the world on a wide range of public health initiatives, including in the area of primary health care.

One of the goals of CDC1950 is to increase the capacity of key population led civil society organizations, representing men who have sex with men, transgender women and female sex workers, to deliver needed HIV prevention, care, and treatment services in their communities. One of the first activities to be undertaken in Haiti and the Dominican Republic is to conduct an Organizational Capacity Assessment that will guide and tailor specific organizational capacity building program initiatives to strengthen these key population civil society organizations.

AIHA’s President & CEO David Greeley said “AIHA is thrilled to be able to continue to support PEPFAR’s efforts to address HIV in these critical areas. This award builds on AIHA’s successes and collaboration with the CDC, other US government agencies, and other partners over the past 15 years in fighting the HIV epidemic.”

Inna Jurkevich, AIHA’s Project Director and Principal Investigator on this project, added “We are excited at the prospects of leveraging our experience in many PEPFAR supported countries to improve capacity and to show measurable results in addressing key issues in HIV prevention, care and treatment.”

This comprehensive and detailed 69-page Index Testing Guidelines document encompasses: (1) Defining Index Testing; (2) Implementing Safe and Ethical Index Testing; (3) Implementation Requirements; and (4) Quality Improvement to Monitoring and Reporting elements of Index Testing. This milestone document provides a comprehensive, evidence-based, approach to HIV-testing and HIV prevention with a focus on vulnerable and marginalized populations. These Key Populations (KPs) are driving the HIV pandemic both in Laos and in the Asia region more generally. Lessons can also be learned from this and applied to testing in other areas, including in the response to COVID. 

Index Case Testing is a key component in stemming the transmission of HIV/AIDS, particularly among KPs. Without adequate index testing, it will not be possible to achieve the UNAIDS and U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) 95-95-95 goals.  In Asia, it is estimated that 78% of the new HIV infections occur among KPs. 

AIHA helped develop these guidelines as part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded AIHA managed Targeted Programmatic Support Across Countries Project under the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and PEPFAR.

The National Guidelines on Index Testing integrates the World Health Organization’s principles of 5 C’s, LIVES approach, and UNAIDS and PEPFAR 2030 goals of 95-95-95 (95% of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 95% of people who know their status are on treatment, and 95% of people on treatment have suppressed viral loads).

The Center for HIV/AIDS/STI (CHAS), part of the Lao Ministry of Public Health, expressed an urgent need to develop Index Testing Guidelines and related training based on feedback from health care providers and officials at government facilities and non-governmental organizations who provide HIV/AIDS services. AIHA and other experts concluded that despite many Laos hospitals having HIV testing, access to testing for KP remains a particular challenge in HIV delivery, care, and services in Laos.

The National Guidelines for Index Testing for the Lao PDR was developed in an inclusive and consultative process under the direction of CHAS and the MOH and with technical assistance from the CDC and AIHA. The National Guidelines have been formally endorsed by the Lao Ministry of Health through the organization of a Technical Working Group that guided the preparation and development of this document.

Reflecting on this incredible one-year achievement, Dr. Inna Jurkevich, AIHA Program Director, commented “AIHA is proud not only that we were able to assist in developing a very practical and comprehensive guideline document for Laos, but also, that it is already serving as a guide for other countries. And we were able to achieve this in less than six months, and under COVID conditions.” Deeptha Umpathy, a Global Development Expert who AIHA engaged in this activity added, “There was an urgent need for a concise national guideline that is based on the latest evidence-based information. Now PRL has it and will share with additional countries for adaptation.” 

The new guideline document was introduced nationally at an event on September 21 in Vientiane to Lao officials and to global stakeholders. Printed copies in both English and Laotian were distributed to the ART sites. Along with the guidelines, AIHA printed sets of eight posters to be use as information dissemination job aids at the ART clinical sites.

The new guideline was shared at the Asia Regional Learning Summit on September 22-24 and was highly recognized; at least four countries indicated interest in its adaptation. At the national level, there were 49 participants from 15 global stakeholder groups who received the CHAS MOH launch of the guidelines during the Asia Regional Learning Summit. 

Reflecting on the summit, Ketmala Banchongphanith, MD, MPH, Management of HIV/AIDS/STI Unit, CHAS, Ministry of Public Health, Vientiane capital, Lao PDR said, “Congratulations for convoking a successful learning submit. We learned a lot from all those attending the summit…we are so proud that representatives from other countries are interested in adapting Lao Index Testing guidelines and posters”.

Country experts and community-based organizations, including KP-led and KP-friendly, were included in the Technical Working Group and throughout the duration of these activities. Going forward, the largest challenge for CHAS will be to ensure the effective roll out of the guidelines and monitoring once in use. Additionally, it will be important that the new indicators are incorporated into the National Data Systems, and that the necessary data practices and infrastructure are put in place.

Our gratitude and special thanks go to the following Technical Group Members for their continued engagement, support and valuable advice: Dr. Khanthanouvieng Sayabounthavong, Dr. Ketmala Banchongphanith, Dr. Buathong, Dr. Lattanavanh Sadettanh, Dr. Manichanh Souphanthong, Dr. Phengphet and Dr. Khanthi from CHAS at the Ministry of Public Health of the Lao PDR , and experts from the  World Health Organization (WHO), Civil Society Organizations (CSO): Lao Positive Health Alliance (LaoPHA), APL+, Family Health International (FHI360) and donors: PEPFAR through the CDC.