AIDS Education and Prevention, 26(5), 398–410, 2014 © 2014 The Guilford Press 398 Marcela Arrivillaga, PhD, and Mauricio Pérez, MSc, are affiliated with the Department of Public Health & Epidemiology, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Seccional Cali, Colombia. Juan Pablo Salcedo, MBA, is affiliated with the Universidad de San Buenaventura, Cali, Colombia, and CEO “CESAP”, Cali, Co- lombia. This article is published in memory of Juan Pablo Salcedo, inspiration and co-principal investigator of the IMEA project, who sadly passed away on April 6 at the age of 43, after suffering from painful pancreatic cancer. He deserves our full recognition as a great human being and as an expert in the field of finances, with strong social sense and commitment. The authors also acknowledge the financial support of the Pon- tificia Universidad Javeriana, Cali, Colombia, and the University of San Buenaventura, Cali, Colombia, as well as the technical support of the Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo de la Salud Pública (CESAP) in Cali, Colombia to conduct this study. In addition, the authors acknowledge IMEA project partners and women participants. Address correspondence to Marcela Arrivillaga, PhD, Department of Public Health & Epidemiology, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Seccional Cali, Colombia. E-mail: marceq@javerianacali.edu.co THE IMEA PROJECT ARRIVILLAGA ET AL. THE IMEA PROJECT: AN INTERVENTION BASED ON MICROFINANCE, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND ADHERENCE TO TREATMENT FOR WOMEN WITH HIV/AIDS LIVING IN POVERTY Marcela Arrivillaga, Juan Pablo Salcedo, and Mauricio Pérez A number of issues affect adherence to treatment and quality of life among women living with HIV/AIDS. In particular, women living in poverty have a higher risk of mortality due to their vulnerable conditions and socioeco- nomic exclusion. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effective- ness of an intervention that combines microfinance, entrepreneurship and adherence to treatment (IMEA) for women with HIV/AIDS and living in poverty in Cali, Colombia. A pre-post research design without a control was utilized, and 48 women were included in the study. The evaluation showed effectiveness of the program in the majority of the results (knowl- edge of HIV and treatment, adherence to treatment, self-efficacy, and the formation of a microenterprise) (p < 0.001); the global indicator increased from 28.3% to 85.5% (p < 0.001). The findings of this study demonstrate that the intervention was partially effective; the health outcomes showed beneficial effects. However, at the end of the study and throughout the follow-up phase, only one third of the participants were able to develop and maintain a legal operating business. It is concluded that the IMEA project should be tested in other contexts and that its consequent results should be analyzed; so it could be converted into a large scale public health program.