Date : 21st Sep 2022
Location : MPG sub office, Lashio.
HIV/TB Agency, Information and Service Activity (AIS) organized an advocacy meeting with a religious leader in Lashio with one of its project implementing partners, the Myanmar Positive Group. There are 22 participants of religious leaders from the Myanmar Interfaith Network on AIDS and community members of the National Drug User Network in Myanmar The objective of the meeting is as follows:
Objective:
- To reduce community resistance to PWID
- To increase the awareness on understanding the behaviors of drugs user and their challenges to access the health care services
- To develop of Advocacy Action Plan with Religious leader (MINA) and community leader (PWID, PLHIV of NDNM)
Myanmar Positive Group organized the National Drug User Myanmar- NDNM to conduct the Advocacy meeting with religious leaders in Lashio, North- Shan state with the purpose to Increase the engagement and involvement of religious leaders and local community leaders not limiting the youth leaders to reduce community resistance toward Harm Reduction activities and reduce stigma & discrimination towards PWID. This meeting was held in strong collaboration with PLHIV and KP community networks of the Community Networks Consortium (CNC) for the implementation of community-led advocacy.
SoWhat: The advocacy meeting was conducted with the collaboration of religious leaders and PWID of NDNM and PLHIV emerged the collaborative advocacy actions. All the participants have discussed the aspects to provide more caring and loving of family members by the support of religious to get the right decision for behavior change, a turning point (back life). And most of the participants (IDUs) discussed improving the trust-building of family members to them because of their behaviors are discriminated to IDUs.To promote the role of religion to reduce stigma and discrimination to Drug
user as integration activities of awareness raising in religious events. And explored the collaborative activities with members of NDNM and MINA.
| # | Action |
| 1 | Shared the messages of reducing the Stigma & Discrimination toward IDUs in religious events by Buddhism |
| 2 | To prepare the proper testimony messages to share with the community by MINA and NDNM |
| 3 | To organize the youth leaders from all religions to promote awareness raising related IDUs |
| 4 | To share the IEC and messages related to reducing Stigma & Discrimination in IDUs to a family member |
| 5 | Shared the messages of reducing the Stigma & Discrimination toward IDUs in Women’s gatherings by Muslim. |
| 6 | To conduct the capacity building for IDU to improve the participation in HIV response (presentation skills, ….) |
| 7 | To conduct the Events related with IDU by the leading of NDNM (Lashio) |
| 8 | advocate to the respective organization or authority for an effective program for the rehabilitation of IDUs based on their needs. |
Participants form religious leaders of Myanmar Interfaith Network on AIDS – MINA (N- Shan), Leaders and Members of National Drugs User Network Myanmar- NDNM and MPG.
Sharing the information of NDNM by Chairperson of NDNM
Testimony of one participant( PWID) from Lashio.
Actively discussed the one religious leader of MINA (Lashio) .
