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Pan American Social Marketing Organization (PASMO)
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Program
Focus: |
HIV/AIDS, reproductive health |
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Target
Countries: |
Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. |
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Target
Population: |
Commercial sex workers (CSW), men who have sex with men (MSM),
migrants, truckers, men in uniform, Garifuna, people living with
AIDS, low income youth and Caribbean populations |
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| 2006 Estimated Health Impact: |
Unintended pregnancies averted: 88,000
(explained) |
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Products:
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VIVE water-based lubricant since 2005
VIVE condoms in Costa Rica since 1997; in El Salvador,
Nicaragua and Guatemala since 1998; in Panama and Honduras since
2000, and Belize since 2004. |
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Local
Collaboration: |
PASMO maintains productive
relationships with more than 50 non-governmental and faith-based
organizations
(NGOs and FBOs), Ministries of Health, National AIDS Programs,
wholesale and retail distributors, advertising agencies, research
organizations, donor agencies and
international organizations. |
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Current
Donors: |
The Bergstrom Foundation
The Federal Republic of Germany through
KfW Entwicklungsbank (the German development bank)
The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Royal Embassy of the Netherlands, Managua
The Summit Foundation
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
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| Year Program Began: |
1997 |
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Project Activities and Highlights
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PASMO |
| PASMO is a network of locally-registered
social marketing entities in the seven countries of Central America,
with headquarters in Guatemala. PASMO implements
a comprehensive social marketing program for HIVprevention.
PASMO has developed significant capacity in the
region to design, implement and evaluate integrated prevention
activities, including behavior change communications (BCC), condom
distribution, media promotion and related
functions such as monitoring and evaluation, management information
systems (MIS) and financial management.
PASMO operates an unprecedented regional infrastructure
in Central America for delivering the information, social support
and condoms necessary for high-risk populations to practice HIV
preventive behaviors. |
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HIV/AIDS |
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Carried out nearly 40,065 BCC activities, achieving
approximately 744,785 individual contacts with members of priority
target populations and high risk groups; |
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Introduced three new behavior change modules "El Reto," "Espacio
P" and "1-2-3 Saludable" to motivate at-risk populations to say
no to sex, reduce partners and practice correct and consistent
condom use; |
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Recruited 10 new NGO partners, 3 new community or
faith-based organization (C/FBO) partners, 15 new independent
consultants and 14 new PASMO educators
to expand
behavior change coverage; |
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Initiated behavior change activities in 20 new geographic
sites, and expanded activities in 37 additional geographic sites; |
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Sold more than 18,478,004 high quality affordable condoms through
high-risk outlets (e.g brothels, motels, nightclubs), pharmacies
and non-traditional commercial outlets such as grocery stores and
supermarkets; |
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Sponsored a regional training and consultation workshop
for more than 25 C/FBO,
attended by the First Lady of Guatemala; |
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Completed a high-profile celebrity tour in Guatemala,
Nicaragua and Honduras featuring Mexican actress Salma Hayek, Colombian
rock star Juanes and US actress and YouthAIDS Ambassador Ashley
Judd. The tour resulted in a one-hour documentary broadcast globally
on the Discovery Network; |
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Worked with the Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) to hire
VCT/STI service coordinators, complete 25 key informant interviews,
complete a VCT needs assessment and develop VCT quality standards
in three countries; |
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Piloted a mobile VCT strategy for high-risk groups in El Salvador
reaching more than 700 CSW and MSM, in collaboration with the Ministry
of Health. The strategy will be expanded to Guatemala and Nicaragua
in 2007; |
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Aired a multi-media campaign for both unbranded (generic) and
branded promotion. The campaign was supported with significant
free airtime from local outlets in support of PASMO's public health
objectives; |
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Launched an innovative live radio program for youth in Honduras.
PASMO also operates six youth-clubs in low income neighborhoods
of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, which use interactive
methods to train youth educators to spread health and prevention
messages in their communities. Clubs include cyber-cafes and activity
centers that serve as an incentive for peer educators to remain
involved in the program. |
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Future Plans |
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Expand mobile voluntary counseling and testing. |
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Launch comprehensive, multi-year media campaign to
overcome gender barriers to HIV prevention. |
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Design and develop media campaign to address stigmas
and stereotypes and build social support for healthy behavior. |
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 |
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USAID Assistant Administrator for Latin
America and the Caribbean Adolfo A. Franco, the First
Lady of Guatemala Wendy de Berger, and Vice-Minister of
Health in Guatemala Dr. Salvador López at the launch
of PASMO's new initiative to increase the role of faith-based
organizations in HIV/AIDS prevention. |
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