
	home \|	site map \|	search \|	contacts \|

AFEW:

About AFEW

Projects

Publications

Press centre

Donate now

AFEW: Annual Report 2001/2002 >> The organisation and its people

Annual Report 2001/2002

The organisation and its people

Founding

AFEW is an international, non-governmental, humanitarian, public health organisation, whose mission is to make a major contribution to the reduction of the impact of HIV/AIDS in the NIS. AFEW was set up to continue and substantially expand a range of HIV/AIDS programmes developed and implemented by MSF-H in the RF, Ukraine and Mongolia between 1996 and 2001. With institutional support from MSF-H, OSI, and the Dutch government, AFEW was founded in The Netherlands on 4 January 2001 by four core MSF-H staff members who had been involved in its HIV/AIDS programming in the NIS from the start. Nearly all of the MSF-H staff (around 60) were transferred to the new organisation.

AFEW's mission

Taking an innovative and pro-active approach to developing, implementing and promoting tools for effective HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support, designed for and appropriate to the specific conditions of the NIS;
Targeting the younger generation of the NIS countries, in particular those engaging in risky behaviour;
Co-operating closely with national governmental and non-governmental structures to boost local coping capacities and to advocate for appropriate action; and,
Strengthening East-West engagement by exchanging knowledge and people via programme activities and stimulating a committed response.

AFEW Organogram

AFEW's core values and principles:

Learning organisation
Sustainability and capacity building
Humanitarian approach
Comprehensive programming
Balanced mix of national and international staff
Balanced and independent funding portfolio
Accountability and transparency

AFEW's core competencies:

Physical presence
Hands-on and results oriented programmes
Enterprising and open-minded approach
Innovation management
Expansion through replication
Catalyst for change
Effective exit strategies
Committed national and international staff

Balanced mix of staff

AFEW employs a balanced mix of staff from the East and the West, reflecting the concept of East-West engagement through an in-house exchange of knowledge and skills. Working with AFEW means contributing to a common cause and sharing the core values of the organisation. All staff members have the additional responsibility of raising awareness of the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the NIS and advocating for a better understanding in the East and the West. During its first year of existence, AFEW's staff grew from 63 to 87 members.

Staff is AFEW's most valuable strategic asset. Therefore, it is important to create a work environment that encourages commitment and provides possibilities for career development. For AFEW, training staff is a key component.

Overview of Training Courses for AFEW Staff in 2002:

Internal Training Course on general management issues for 36 staff in key management positions
Epidemiology course at the Moscow Medical Academy for 2 staff members of AFEW's epidemiology department
Internal four-level Train-the-Trainers course for 15 AFEW trainers
Internal training on counselling for 15 programme staff members
Social work and prevention of social diseases at the People's Friendship
University for 20 AFEW trainers
Training course on using the Internet as a fundraising tool for 1 fundraiser
Internal training course on how to talk with the media for 45 staff members
Internal introduction to and history of AFEW for 20 new staff members
Internal workshop on grant writing for 10 staff members
English language courses for 18 staff members
Russian language courses for 5 staff members
Computer courses for 1 staff member