The Canadian HIV/AIDS Black, African and Caribbean (CHABAC) Network has been listed as a good practice model to help mobilize African, Caribbean and Black communities (ACB) in other countries to consider developing a similar regional hub model to engage ACB communities for country-level impacts funded by their national governments.
The 2018 NGO Report to the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board is intended to help renew and focus the dialogue around people on the move so that the 2030 target of ending AIDS as a public health threat can be achieved. It represents the NGO Delegation’s contribution to support Member States to ensure that mobile populations are covered for services across their origin, transit and destination countries.
The report highlights several avenues of good practice which, if implemented and scaled up, could give us a better chance of achieving the 2030 targets. These good practices include: the meaningful involvement of people on the move; legal and/or regulatory reforms; capacity building for people on the move and related service providers; development of national health systems and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) that are sensitive to and inclusive of people on the move; ensuring continuity of care; addressing stigma and discrimination; protecting against economic exploitation; and effective responses to the needs of undocumented migrants.
Kwaku Adomako, CHABAC Steering Committee member and managing director for the African Black Diaspora Global Network (ABDGN) says the report provides “a lot of strong evidence to support prioritization of migrant key populations”.
The CHABAC is a national network of organizations, individuals and other stakeholders who are dedicated to responding to issues related to HIV in Canada’s African, Caribbean and Black communities. Formed in 2010, the network aims to complement activities related to the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada, specifically among people from countries where HIV is endemic in Africa and the Caribbean.
Since 2018, the network has been funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada under the HIV and Hep C Community Action Fund for a project titled “Canadian HIV/AIDS Black African Caribbean Network (CHABAC): Mobilizing across regions to build an effective HIV response in ACB communities”. Through this project, the network is developing a programme science model for HIV prevention services which has been systematically evaluated, is grounded in scientific evidence, and is specifically designed for African, Caribbean and Black communities.
This good practice (which is described on page 32 of the report) illustrates the importance of meaningfully involving and building the capacities of people on the move and civil society organizations, and of addressing stigma and discrimination through public education.
For more information about CHABAC contact Kataisee Richardson, program coordinator at krichardson@icad-cisd.com
