AIDS Community Action Program in Alberta

Description

The AIDS Community Action Program (ACAP) has been in existence since 1989. ACAP is a component of the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada, the federal government's framework to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Canada.

This Strategy has four overall goals:

1. Prevent the acquisition and transmission of new infections;
2. Slow the progression of the disease and improve quality of life;
3. Reduce the social and economic impact of HIV/AIDS;
4. Contribute to the global effort to reduce the spread of HIV and mitigate the impact of the disease.
   

ACAP helps to achieve these goals by addressing 1, 2 and 3 above.

ACAP provides funding to community-based organizations addressing HIV issues to:

1. Increase the abilities of organizations to better serve the needs of those most at risk of becoming infected; and
2. Sustain the organizations in their role as a direct link to rapidly changing local conditions.

ACAP Funding Approaches	ACAP Principles
Creating Supportive Environments Health Promotion for People Living with HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiatives Strengthening Community-based Organizations	Community Development Health Promotion Partnerships/Collaboration Population Health Evaluation

National ACAP Funding

1. Operational funding provided to support the continuing local, provincial and territorial community-based response to the existing and emerging issues associated with HIV. Only available to community-based organizations whose principal mandate is HIV.
2. Project funding to support time-limited, specific activities that address unmet HIV needs and priorities as identified by the project's target community. Available to voluntary, non-profit, non-governmental organizations who are working with HIV issues.

For more General Information on HIV/AIDS click here.

HIV Funding in Alberta

In 1999/2000 a new funding model was implemented entitled the "Alberta Community HIV Fund (ACHF)"

Background

For several years, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Alberta Health and Wellness provided HIV funding to community groups to support HIV prevention, care and support activities. In 1998, Alberta Health and Wellness made a commitment to divest stewardship of the grants in accordance with the HIV in Alberta 1998/99 - 2002 Alberta Health's Strategy. This presented a unique opportunity to explore integrating the AIDS Community Action Program (ACAP) funds into a parallel divestment.

The result was the development of the Alberta Community HIV Fund, a joint federal/provincial/community initiative developed through consultation with representatives from community-based AIDS organizations, persons living with HIV, the regional health authorities, and provincial and federal health departments.

The plan for divestment is based on utilizing a population health approach in the development of the fund disbursement model and guidelines. This includes:

1. transferring responsibility for stewardship of the funding to a community-based organization, the Alberta Community Council on HIV (ACCH)
2. the establishment of a Provincial Population Health Consortium responsible for ensuring ACHF funds are allocated appropriately;
3. establishing local Community Planning Committees and/or building on existing local committees reflecting a multi-agency community-based approach responsible for reviewing and recommending proposals; and
4. continued support from the Public Health Agency of Canada and Alberta Health and Wellness to maintain the funds.

The development of this coordinated funding process for Alberta will also have several programming and funding management benefits, such as:

• a more simplified and transparent process reflecting the communities' needs;
• improved coordination among HIV programs and services;
• increased involvement of community and improved use of community resources;
• limited service/program duplication; and
• increased opportunities to access additional funds through health and other sectors.

Alberta Program Funding

Community-based AIDS Organizations Operational Funding is available to fund programming, key positions within an organization, and overhead and administrative costs. Voluntary, non-profit, non-governmental organizations whose principal mandate is community-based HIV programming are eligible for funding.

NOTE: ALL ACHF OPERATIONAL FUNDING HAS BEEN ALLOCATED FOR 2007-2008

Application Process

All ACHF applications for funding must follow the application and review process. After completing the ACHF Funding Application, applications must be reviewed by a local Community Planning Committee to be eligible to apply to ACHF. Applications are then forwarded to the ACHF Steward for internal review to ensure program criteria have been met. All eligible applications are then forwarded to the ACHF Provincial Population Health Consortium for final review and approval.

Review Process

• Need identified by community
• Submit application to Community Planning Committees for review
• Submit proposals to ACHF for internal review
• Proposals sent to ACHF Provincial Population Health Consortium for review and final approval
• Approved budget sent to sponsor with contribution agreement
• Programming begins and monitoring/reporting process put in place

Additional Links:

• Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada
• Community-Based Research for HIV/AIDS
• Alberta Community Council on HIV (ACCH)