GCIV recently hosted NGO officials from Poland who came to the U.S. to look at HIV/AIDS relief programs as part of the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. Ms. Daniluk-Kula, Ms. Gajewska, and Mr. Minalto represented two Polish organizations, the National AIDS Center and the AIDS Committee Training Center. They were in Atlanta October 8th to the 11th, and also had the chance to visit Washington, DC, Chicago, and San Diego.

While in Atlanta, they began their first day of appointments at the Centers for Disease Control and were fortunate enough to visit with representatives from the Division of HIV/AIDS in the National Center for Infectious Diseases.

Afterwards they had some free time which they spent at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. In the late afternoon, they met with representatives of the HIV/AIDS Section of the Georgia Division of Public Health where they discussed the implementation of state and local vaccination programs, especially those that target low-income children.

The next day of professional appointments began at the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition to learn about their needle exchange program. Afterwards they were hosted at one of our Global Lunch Forums that was held at AID Atlanta, where they were able to speak about their work in Poland and the current situation of HIV/AIDS. After the Global Lunch Forum they had the chance to meet one on one with a representative from AID Atlanta to discuss their AIDS education and prevention programs. Finally, they ended their day with an appointment with the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta to learn about their Home but Not Alone Program which is a unique, nationally award-winning housing program that provides compatible homeowners and tenants, one or both of whom are HIV+, with shared living arrangements.

GCIV was honored to have these distinguished visitors come to Atlanta and meet with our many valuable professional resources. Their experiences here in gave them a first-hand view of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment efforts in the United States as well as some new ideas to take with them back to Poland.