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Successful Community-Driven Efforts Against HIV/AIDS Highlighted in Conference Panel

Posted on: Tuesday, 27 May 2008, 15:00 CDT

WASHINGTON, May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- "'Only the People can Liberate Themselves from AIDS' -- this is what reality has taught us and it represents the building block of our model to fight HIV & AIDS," says Marie Lichtenberg, Director of International Partnerships, of the Federation Humana People to People.

It also is the overarching message Ms. Lichtenberg conveys in her presentation of why the struggle against HIV/AIDS must be community-driven and how a systematic, targeted and comprehensive response, building on individuals, is extremely effective in turning the tide against HIV/AIDS.

Ms. Lichtenberg will present achievements and findings at a panel presentation at the Global Health Council's 35th Annual International Conference. The presentation takes place during the session entitled "Neighbor Helping Neighbor: Community-Owned Approaches" on Wednesday, May 28th.

"Ms. Lichtenberg will share the organization's experiences to forge partnerships with national governments and major corporations in the struggle against AIDS in Africa and Asia," said Ester Neltrup, President of Planet Aid, a member of Humana People to People which will also be exhibiting at the conference. "The 'Total Control of the Epidemic' approach has created a proven track record over the past eight years, where more than 10 million one-on-one counseling sessions have taken place in people's homes. The interventions are carried out by locally employed TCE Field Officers with the aim to move each person from the state of being "out of control" to be "in control" of HIV & AIDS in their own life.

The TCE approach combines community mobilization and one-on-one counseling to create risk-reduction plans with individuals, Lichtenberg says. The program provides crucial linkages to available testing, treatment and care while also facilitating complimentary activities like support groups and income-generating projects supporting orphans.

"By creating a systematic, comprehensive program where the key actors are community members themselves, TCE has significantly increased the capacity of communities to control HIV/AIDS and to reduce the epidemic's debilitating effects in beneficiary areas," Ms. Lichtenberg says. "Additionally, the program's standardized, detailed methodology and structure make it ideal and ready for replication in any HIV-affected community worldwide."

The TCE presentation will take place on Wednesday, May 28th at 1:45 pm in the Capital Room.

The Global Health Council is the world's largest membership alliance dedicated to saving lives by improving health throughout the world. The headline of this year's conference is Community Health. The Global Health Council Conference takes place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. from May 27th-May 31st, 2008.

The Council works to ensure that all who strive for improvement and equity in global health have the information and resources they need to succeed.

The Global Health Council has from the inception of TCE, been instrumental in promoting and highlighting the TCE Model as a people's system to control HIV & AIDS.

Founded in Boston in 1997, Planet Aid recycles donated clothes and uses the proceeds for a variety of international development programs. In 2007, Planet Aid, which operates in 19 states and the District of Columbia, provided more than $12 million for international development programs worldwide. More information can be found at http://www.planetaid.org/.

Planet Aid

CONTACT: Doug Bailey, +1-617-332-0700 or +1-617-335-8136, for PlanetAid

Web site: http://www.planetaid.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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