The rapid spread of HIV in Lithuania has been an issue for more than a decade, but limited resources have prevented health and social workers from building a network of HIV care providers. To address the situation, Johnson & Johnson partnered with Project HOPE and the Lithuanian AIDS Center to launch the HIV/AIDS Education Lithuania Program (HELP). The three-year program was designed to build the capacity of local health institutions to provide care and support for individuals living with HIV.

“The training addressed many topics that health professionals had never discussed before, such as the stigma and discrimination that HIV patients often face and the importance of a case management approach,” says Andrius Losakevicius, a psychologist and social worker who served as a trainer during the program.

The HELP training modules included information about prevention, transmission and care of HIV/AIDS patients; stigma reduction; and program implementation and policy development. More than 230 Lithuanian health workers completed 80 hours of training. During that time, participants were required to work on projects that addressed a specific need in their workplace. As a result, 39 group projects were developed, including HIV testing and follow-up of patients with tuberculosis; low-threshold care and treatment for injection drug users; care and support of sex workers; and HIV prevention education for school children in summer camp. In addition, 17 participants volunteered to train their Lithuanian colleagues.

Ultimately, the program resulted in a country-wide multidisciplinary case management network designed to stem the spread of HIV and provide accessible prevention, care and treatment services to marginalized populations living in Lithuania.

“Health workers were highly motivated by this program, because they knew the content would help them provide better care for their clients,” says Losakevicius. “Now, they’re sharing what they learned with their colleagues.”