Problem:

In Kazakhstan, people living with HIV and key populations face serious difficulties in obtaining resource assistance from the state. A number of regulations in the country provide access to healthcare guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is difficult to hold face-to-face meetings to train future human rights professionals, although the need remains urgent.

Solution:

We created an online course “Human Rights in the Context of HIV”, which provides a basic understanding of human rights protection for people living with HIV. It was developed for PLHIV, NGO employees, it can be useful for human rights defenders, social workers and employees of government agencies, teachers, participants of the National Preventive Mechanism and other interested citizens involved in the protection of human rights.

The aim of the course is to build the capacity of key communities in Kazakhstan in the widespread use of human rights protection instruments. The 3 modules, each with different subtopics, were developed by HIV experts from Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Online training consists of video lectures, assignments, discussions and zoom meetings.

Result:

The total number of people who took part in the online school was 29. The number of people who completed the pilot course was 10. As a result of the training, 1 graduate of the pilot course became a member of the National Preventive Mechanism. Online training we covered: Karaganda region, East Kazakhstan, West Kazakhstan, Kyzyl-Orda, Pavlodar and Akmola regions.

To date, more than 110 people have completed the course “Human Rights in the Context of HIV” on the Stepik online learning platform. It is fully accessible to absolutely everyone! Link to the course – https://stepik.org/course/84152/info