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Harare Cluster Office

UNESCO / Japanese Funds-in-Trust Projects


1. Development of Leadership Skills in the Management of HIV and AIDS in Secondary Schools in Botswana

Botswana, like all other Sub-Saharan countries, has been greatly affected by the HIV and AIDS pandemic. According to the 2002 Sentinel Surveillance, it is estimated that over 35.4% of sexually active population aged from 15 – 49 years in Botswana are HIV positive. Consequently, the President of the Republic of Botswana, declared HIV and AIDS a national emergency in 1997 so that the whole nation and the international community join efforts to fight the pandemic. During National Development Plan 8, two studies on impact of HIV and AIDS on the education sector showed that enrolments were adversely affected and that productivity of teachers was also affected by increased morbidity, absenteeism and mortality

The pandemic therefore impacts negatively on curriculum delivery and the desired quality education for all. Against this background, the education system is challenged to provide an enabling environment for its target population, hence the need for a committed leadership to lead, guide and support implementation of responsive HIV and AIDS programmes in a changed teaching and learning environment. . Therefore a competent leadership is required if the national vision of no new infections by 2009 is to be realised.

Currently the Ministry of Education has a series of HIV and AIDS programmes aimed at the schools’ system. Many of these programmes have as their target groups learners and teachers. However, there are no programmes that target secondary schools management personnel. Therefore this project is build on the existing programmes targeting the management in order to strengthen school level responses.

The project aims at schools management teams which include School heads, Heads of Departments (Pastoral Care) Senior Teachers Grade 1 (Guidance & Counselling) HIV and AIDS Coordinators and Staff Development Coordinators.

Since the first reported case of HIV and AIDS in 1985, Botswana Government has put in place HIV and AIDS coordinating and management structures. The National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA) is the lead agency. Botswana receives international assistance in the fight against HIV and AIDS. In this regard, United Nations Agencies like UNAIDS play a critical role.

The project has received a grant of USD226,000 from the UNESCO/Japanese Funds in Trust. It is executed through the Department of Secondary Education’s Division of Management and Training of the Ministry of Education of Botswana under the overall supervision of UNESCO Harare Cluster Office. An amount of US$26,000 will be used by Harare Cluster Office for missions to observe, evaluate and assess agreed actions undertaken in Botswana ; for technical and administrative backstopping necessary for the successful implementation of the project and for preparation of contractual arrangements for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the project

The Objectives of the project include the following:

  • To develop capacity in the management of HIV and AIDS in the secondary schools;

  • To enable secondary school to develop monitoring tools and mechanisms which, will provide a comprehensive and more systematic feedback from schools; and

  • To institutionalised self-monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.

These objectives will be achieved through a series of activities, including the following activities:

  • Training of Core Management Team;

  • Baseline Surveys;

  • Production of Training Materials;

  • Training Workshops for school personnel; and

  • Monitoring and Evaluation

The following results are expected to be achieved at the end of the project in December 2006

  • Enhanced HIV and AIDS strategic management skills by core management team;

  • Enhanced HIV/AIDS monitoring techniques at national and school level;

  • Capacity developed in the design and adaptation of training manuals;

  • Enhanced leadership skills by school management; and

  • Enhanced project implementation through Monitoring and Evaluation.

2. Training of Trainers in HIV/AIDS for Africa


The overall purpose of this project is to establish under the leadership of Harare Cluster Office, a plan of action, which aims to promote, coordinate and support individual and collective efforts of member states to mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa through Education and Training. Principally the project seeks to address the issue of HIV/AIDS and the needs of Francophone and Lusophone countries.

This project also takes into consideration the support already provided by the Japanese Funds in Trust project for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries for an initiative related to training on HIV/AIDS, which focuses entirely on Anglophone countries in the region.

The value added of the proposed project therefore is in its focus largely on the role of UNESCO to continue to undertake training for trainers for Francophone and Lusophone countries on HIV/AIDS, enabling them to provide guidance and counselling to youth and thus preventing the spread of HIV infection across Africa.

Furthermore the project seeks to establish a collective response and capitalises on the investments already made by UNESCO.

Synergies and collaboration with the SADC initiative managed by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational planning will be established in order to draw on the outcomes of a number of objectives which can be usefully incorporated within this project and learning applied and transferred elsewhere. Cooperation linkages will also be established with the UNESCO Division for Basic education, UNESCO Division for the promotion of Education Quality and UNESCO Field offices in Africa.

The main objective of the project is:

  • To strengthen the capacity of Francophone and Lusophone countries to develop national training programmes so as to enhance their technical capacity and responsiveness of their strategies to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS.

Expected outcomes include the following:

  • Assessment of core competencies of the trainers already trained in a number of key areas and follow up on the number of training’s undertaken at country level.

  • Identification of areas of training needs in all sectors ( Education, Health, Youth etc) and at all level of personnel, both governmental and non governmental.

  • Training workshops for trainers in each participating country in order to strengthen the existing nucleus of national teams for the purposes of acquiring new knowledge, developing teaching skills in attitudinal work, basic skills in adult learning methods especially experiential learning, sexuality and safer sex, death and dying, planning for the epidemic and management and provision of education and treatment services.

  • Increased number and quality of HIV/AIDS trainers with reinforced knowledge and skills to prepare, organise, conduct manage and evaluate national and regional training programmes and courses.

  • Review of training materials and initiatives undertaken nationally to establish what works and lessons learned.

  • The creation of a database of trainers and related areas of expertise and competency in the field of HIV/AIDS.

  • Development of an interagency collaboration with relevant Ministries (National AIDS Control Programmes) and UN agencies such as UNAIDS, WHO and UNICEF for the purposes of co-ordinating all actions.

Some of the main activities of the project are:

a) Reinforce training and professional development of Francophone and Lusophone trainers in HIV/AIDS through:

  • Consolidating and enriching the knowledge and skills already acquired by trainers so as to enhance their capabilities to organise and undertake national training courses for HIV/AIDS planning, education and prevention and treatment, based on assessments of the level and competency of trainers and assuring responsiveness to localised and regional training needs.

  • Strengthening the existing pool of trainers in the participating countries by further provision of intensive and specific training in HIV/AIDS.

b) Support the further development and dissemination of suitable training materials for use in national HIV/AIDS training programmes through:

  • Collating and reviewing training initiatives within Francophone and Lusophone, lessons learned and identifying best practices.

  • Conceptualise, design, develop and evaluate training materials and resources.

  • Development of an electronic network and web site to facilitate cooperation between countries and assuring transfer of the above know how more widely.

Linkages and partnerships:


The proposed project will build upon an existing regional and national initiatives transferring know how and experience. At the international level, cooperation will be sought from UNAIDS, WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF among others for the successful implementation of the project assuring synergy with other actions being currently implemented.

A the country level, UNESCO will ensure that appropriate mechanisms are set up to enable a network to be established as part of any steering committees involving the relevant agencies e.g. education health, information, media, industry as well as NGO's working in the same field.

Budget


The project has received a grant of USD 200,000.96. for implementation of the project activities, recruitment of a project coordinator and monitoring and evaluation of the project.

An amount of US$15,400 will be used for missions to observe, evaluate and assess agreed actions undertaken within the participating countries and the overall project.  Top