DEMIS stakeholders meeting in Malawi

Malawi hosted a meeting to discuss the implementation of the District Education Management and Information Systems (DEMIS) on 10 April 2007. Participants comprised officials from the Ministry of Education, the National Statistics Office, the Ministry of Local Government, education institutions, and representatives from UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and the Malawi National Commission for UNESCO.

The objectives of the meeting were to:

• Share experiences with stakeholders on the DEMIS pilot;

• Review and re-design the project concept taking into account stakeholders view points and their interventions on similar initiatives for replication in other districts;

• Mobilize national support for the expansion of the DEMIS; and

• Develop recommendations to strengthen ownership and for sustainability of the DEMIS.

Officially opening the meeting, the Deputy Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Honourable Roy Comsy, underscored the importance of strengthening district level data management and monitoring systems within the context of the Government decentralisation programme. Mr. Comsy acknowledged the importance of DEMIS in empowering schools, primary education advisors, district education managers and head teachers to make informed decisions about schools, zones and districts. In his speech, the Minister also highlighted other initiatives such as USAIDS supported Decentralised-EMIS project in 12 education districts among the other initiatives.

Participants agreed there was need to the scale up the DEMIS in Malawi. DEMIS has a positive impact and has a potential of improving the teaching and learning practices in schools. The forum concurred that Malawi should harmonise all data collection initiatives to lessen the burden on teachers by reducing the number of forms to fill and ensure uniformity in the results and data management structures and practices.

Following the discussions, the participants recommended:

• the roll out of DEMIS throughout the country;

• sensitisation of cabinet of the Cabinet in Malawi on DEMIS and its link to monitoring and evaluation programmes of the Ministry of Local Government to ensure more government support;

• encouragement of schools and communities in the use of data in decision-making;

• integration of DEMIS/Education Management and Information Systems (EMIS) into other government data systems such as budgeting and payroll; and

• inclusion of DEMIS/EMIS into teacher training institutions curricular courses to make teachers value the essence of data and train additional experts in EMIS to address the problem presented by high staff turnover in the field.

DEMIS is a pilot project supported by UNESCO IIEP and the Harare Cluster Office aimed at developing local information bases that are useful in improving education management, monitoring education quality at district and school level and sensitivity to HIV and AIDS impact on staff and pupils. The project involves computerisation of data collected at school levels for analysis and decision making at district levels. Data collected includes the number of teachers (and pupils) present, on sick leave or have died. Attrition maybe recorded under specific categories: death, retirement on medical grounds, desertion and dismal. Data collected through DEMIS is critical as it provides guidance on various issues such as teacher deployment.

For more information, email: mnatcom@malawi.net . Top

UNESCO deepens strategic action on education and HIV and AIDS response

"UNESCO should play a critical role in supporting strategies aimed at encouraging voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and involving people living with HIV and AIDS in programmes. It should also attach United Nations Volunteers to civil society programmes to provide technical support in relation to proposal writing and general capacity building in response to HIV and AIDS."

This was a key recommendation from the sub-regional Anglo-phone workshop held in Lusaka, Zambia from 23 – 27 April 2007. Held against the backdrop of the broad approach of implementing a series of workshops as steps in continuing and deepening strategic action on education and HIV & AIDS, the workshop drew participants from:

• UNESCO’s Regional Bureau for Education in Africa (BREDA);

• The UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA);

• The Regional Office for Science and Technology in Africa (ROSTA); and

• The UNESCO cluster and national offices (Harare, Dar es Salaam, Maputo, Windhoek, Bamako) and the Swaziland National Commission for UNESCO.

Civil society organisations, government representatives and United Nations agencies also attended.

UNESCO aims to support Member States to move towards universal access to comprehensive HIV prevention programmes, treatment, care and support in line with the UNAIDS division of labour in the context of Education for All (EFA) and the newly revised UNESCO strategy on HIV and AIDS.

The Global Initiative on Education and HIV & AIDS (EDUCAIDS) is a means to support comprehensive education sector responses to HIV and AIDS and to ensure that the education sector is engaged in and contributing to national HIV and AIDS responses.

The Africa sub-regional HIV and AIDS workshops – organised jointly by the Section on HIV and AIDS in UNESCO Headquarters, the Harare Cluster Office (Zimbabwe) and BREDA – provide a platform to strengthen the capacity of UNESCO and education sector partners in implementing EDUCAIDS.

Using the Harare Cluster Office’s HIV and AIDS Education Training Module and publications from the UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Education (Quality Education and HIV and AIDS and Treatment Education), the workshop achieved its objectives, which were:

• improving the capacity, skills and teamwork among UNESCO and its partners in response to HIV and AIDS;

• reviewing and further developing analyses of comprehensive national education sector responses to HIV and AIDS;

• identifying and prioritising follow-up actions to address needs;

• refreshing and further developing participants’ skills in particular thematic areas relevant to universal access, including prevention education and treatment education.

Participants exchanged information, experiences, lessons learnt, updates on EDUCAIDS and other relevant thematic work such as the Teacher Training Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa (TTISSA), the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) and the Focusing Resources on Effective School Health (FRESH), the joint initiative on life skills for Eastern and Southern Africa and links to other UNESCO sectors such as culture and social and human sciences.

The workshop shared good practices from Swaziland where the HIV and AIDS policy has a costed plan. The forum presented an opportunity to identify country specific follow-up actions. There was a generally improved understanding of the EDUCAIDS initiative and the desire to use in various contexts.

The workshop also noted that there were challenges in accessing funds and less-than-adequate involvement in the response action by civil society and government. They agreed that within the EDUCAIDS framework, it was imperative to identify needs at country level, assist in building a common understanding on EDUCAIDS and draw a needs/gap analysis to establish the status of countries in building consensus with government and civil society around the framework.

For more information, email: f.manenji@unesco.org.  Top

Implementing the United Nations Learning Strategy on HIV and AIDS: 16 Cases Studies 

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) has released a report, comprising 16 case studies, on implementing the UN Learning Strategy on HIV and AIDS. Adopted in April 2003 by the Committee of Cosponsoring Organisations of UNAIDS, the goals of the Learning Strategy include enabling the UN, through the development of knowledge and competence, to effectively support the national response to HIV and AIDS. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) has released a report comprising, 16 case studies, on implementing the United Nations Learning Strategy on HIV and AIDS. Adopted in April 2003 by the Committee of Cosponsoring Organisations of UNAIDS, the goals of the Learning Strategy include enabling the UN, through the development of knowledge and competence, to effectively support the national response to HIV and AIDS.


It further aims to ensure that UN staff members are equipped to make informed decisions to protect themselves from HIV. It also ensures that staff are aware of places that provide the best possible care and treatment for those infected or affected by HIV. This includes ensuring that staff members fully understand the UN's HIV and AIDS workplace policies and how they are implemented.

The Strategy promotes learning approaches that contribute to building a UN that is knowledgeable and competent to:

• help prevent and control the spread of HIV;

• ensure effective care, support and treatment for those infected or affected by HIV and AIDS;

• eliminate stigma and discrimination against those infected and affected; and

• mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

Key achievements include the launch of the UN Botswana Cares 2006 event which introduced all forthcoming HIV and AIDS events to staff and provided a briefing on basic information and components of the Strategy and the UN Personnel Policy on HIV and AIDS. The team also organised two learning sessions and the UN Family Day, among other events. Some of the activities covered were demonstrations on proper use of the male and female condoms, role-plays on different AIDS topics, quizzes on basic facts on HIV and AIDS and distribution of relevant information on the pandemic to staff and their family members.

Implementing the Strategy in Botswana indicated that the use of dramatic role-plays was an effective and an unguarded approach to addressing sensitive and controversial issues about HIV and AIDS.

Other case studies covered include Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, India, Indonesia, Macedonia, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, the Pan American Health Organization headquarters (United States), Pakistan, Paraguay, Vienna (Austria), Viet Nam, and Yemen.

The case studies make the following recommendations:

• Support and leadership from senior management is critical to the success in all stages of planning and implementation of the Strategy.

• Presence of a committed and functional interagency Learning Team, fully supported by the UN Country Teams (UNCT), is essential in implementing the Strategy.

• UNCT should engage all stakeholders (government, local non-governmental organisations, religious groups and people living with HIV and AIDS) to extend the scope of learning to include supporting national responses.

For more information, visit: http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2007/jc1311-un-learning-strat07_en.pdf.  Top

Zambia’s Ministry of Education establishes a National HIV and AIDS Committee

To counter the negative impact of the HIV and AIDS pandemic and improve the quality of life for education sector staff, the Ministry of Education in Zambia has set up a National HIV and AIDS Committee. The aim of this committee is to strengthen the Ministry’s institutional capacity to implement the HIV and AIDS programme. It also seeks to assist staff to take responsible and active roles in the programme.

The committee comprises Ministry of Education officials, representatives from the Curriculum Development Centre, the Directorate of Distance Learning, Education Broadcasting Services and the Human Resources Planning department in the Ministry of Education. Recently, the Ministry’s HIV and AIDS Unit hosted a training of trainers’ workshop for the national committee members. The training centred on equipping national committee members with knowledge and competence to enable them train other ministry of education staff in all departments, workplaces and the nine provinces of Zambia.

The Curriculum Development Centre, Directorate of Distance Education, Education Broadcasting Services, Human Resources Planning and the Zambian National Commission for UNESCO attended the training. Miss Yvonne Chuulu, the Ministry of Education Assistant Director (Administration) and HIV & AIDS National Coordinator officiated at the workshop. In her opening remarks, Ms Chuulu emphasised the expected outcomes from the formation of the committee. Since the participants played a crucial role in the response to HIV and AIDS, she also encouraged them to participate fully and acquire the relevant knowledge and proficiency essential in dealing with the pandemic and its related components.

The workshop provided participants with general information on HIV and AIDS and other components such orphans and vulnerable children, apart from skills in monitoring and evaluating HIV and AIDS training sessions. Participants also got exposed to management, facilitation and counselling skills.

The workshop recommended the following, among others:

• Active involvement in HIV and AIDS workplace activities.

• Improvement in staff’s quality of life.

• Development of HIV and AIDS management skills.

• Enhancement of HIV and AIDS workplace committees.

HIV and AIDS is the most serious threat to the development agenda in Zambia. Most Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including the Education for All (EFA) goals, will not be achieved in Zambia unless the country scales up its response. According to the Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT), the country is losing 800 teachers every year to AIDS-related illnesses. Thus, the critical shortage of teachers is worsened by the pandemic.

For more information, email: nondomubanga@yahoo.com. Top

Database of HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis research papers established in Namibia

In March 2007, the University of Namibia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Polytechnic of Namibia, launched a database of HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis research documents that can be freely accessed on the Internet. Supported by the European Union and the Netherlands Government, the “Namibian HIV and AIDS Literature Database” provides a unique space where all published research material related to HIV and AIDS in Namibia is found.

It thus aims to provide information on HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis to all stakeholders involved in the pandemic’s response within the region; and identify research gaps in available literature and information.

Available information includes statistics and epidemiology in Namibia and the entire African region. Users can search using titles, subject terms, keywords, author's names, organisations and journals to locate publications related to their interests. For some publications, the link is provided to the actual document and in cases where the document can not be accessed due to copyright restrictions, the user is linked to a physical library where the document can be accessed.

Future plans for the database include linking it to an HIV and AIDS training repository that will show all training material available on HIV and AIDS in Namibia. Development of the database benefited from the technical input of a joint working group comprising the University of Namibia, the Multi-country Support Program on Social Science Research and HIV and AIDS (MCPS), Polytechnic of Namibia, Ministry of Health and Social Services, Nawa Life, Haader Group (Pty) Ltd., UNICEF, the Ministry of Education and the Royal Tropical Institute.

Built on UNESCO’s CDS/ISIS for Windows library software, the database is a step in promoting further support towards social science research in all spheres of health. HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis form a lethal combination that has killed vast numbers of people in Sub-Saharan Africa. The region is the world's HIV and AIDS worst-affected region with 70% of the people infected, even though the region is home to only 11% of the world's overall population.

90% of the 300 million malaria deaths occur in Africa, south of the Sahara, especially in children under the age of five. Many children who survive an episode of severe malaria may suffer from learning impairments or brain damage. Tuberculosis claims more than 1.5 million lives in Sub-Saharan Africa each year. This number is rising rapidly, largely due to the high prevalence of HIV.

For more information, visit:

http://wwwisis.unam.na/wwwisis/hiv.01/hivaids.html. Top

A profile of the Girl Child Network in Zimbabwe

The Girl Child Network of Zimbabwe is an organisation born out of the need to highlight the plight of the girl child in the country. Founded by a teacher, Betty Makoni, in Zengeza 1 High School in 1998, the Network is a tool to be used by the girl child in her quest for emancipation.

Appalled by the stories of rape, sexual and other kinds of abuse inflicted on girls in schools, Betty formed a “girls club” to support and encourage abused girls. These stories were a grim reality of the unknown suffering of the girl child in the communities. Based on the premise of building a new breed of future women who are victors in all social, political and economic sphere of life, the number of “girls clubs” grew in many schools in the area.

Today, the Network has over 300 “girl clubs” in its network. It is a true grassroots organisation that provides a voice for the voiceless young girls (0-16 years) by bringing to the fore sensitive issues that affect them (rape, forced marriages, pre-marital sex and HIV and AIDS).

The Network also:

• empowers girl children to openly challenge violations of their rights;

• advocates for the prioritisation of the issues affecting girls in all spheres of life;

• trains girls in income-generating activities; and

• supports people living with HIV and AIDS.

With support from the Global Fund for Women, Firelight Foundation, Idex, other teachers and girl students, the organisation has grown to cover more than 32 out of the 58 districts in Zimbabwe. It has set up Girl Empowerment Villages for girls to provide safe transitional homes for girls who have been raped or abused. These villages help diminish the risk of HIV infection and long-term emotional trauma (which in itself can lead to risk-taking sexual behaviour later in life) for abused girls.

Other achievements include the following:

• Keeping girls in schools and facilitating the reinstatement of thousands of school dropouts. Evidence has shown that the mere fact of being in school reduces the chances of girls being infected with HIV.

• Successful campaigns to keep girls safe from sexual harassment, abuse and violence at the hands of teachers or fellow pupils (one march against child sexual abuse evoked girls to come out massively to unearth rape cases).

• Creating synergies with traditional leaders and churches to respond to stigma and harmful cultural notions that fuel the spread of HIV and AIDS.

• Participating in the development of Zimbabwe’s Domestic Violence Bill.

The Girl Child Network has received numerous accolades for its work in protecting women and girls. Recently, its founder was awarded the World’s Children’s Prize for Rights of the Child and the Global Friend's Award 2007 for her work to help Zimbabwean girls escape trafficking, sexual abuse, child labour and other assaults. In 2007, the organisation received the Red Ribbon Award for its outstanding contribution to HIV and AIDS awareness in Zimbabwe.

Statistics show that girls in Zimbabwe are two times more likely to be HIV positive than boys, and many women and girls are becoming infected by HIV due to high-risk behaviour of others. One of the key drivers of the pandemic in Zimbabwe is sexual abuse and violence against women and girls.

For more information, visit: www.gcn.co.zw.  Top

Zambia launches a new five-year AIDS strategy

The Government of the Republic of Zambia has launched a new five-year HIV and AIDS strategy at the Partnership Forum Agenda. The National HIV and AIDS Strategic Framework (NASF) 2006-2010 aims to put in place a multi-sectoral response, coordinated by the National AIDS Council (NAC), that is committed to controlling HIV and AIDS by integrating the pandemic into both the work of every partner and the development agenda. The vision for the new framework is a nation that is free from the threat of HIV.

The new framework outlines six key intervention areas for enhancing the response in local communities. Within each theme, the framework outlines the strategic objective, rationale, challenges and a detailed approach for achieving set targets. The six areas are:

• intensifying prevention of HIV transmission;

• expanding treatment, care and support for people living with, and affected by, HIV;

• mitigating the socio-economic impact of HIV;

• strengthening the decentralised response by mainstreaming HIV;

• improving the capacity for monitoring by all partners; and

• integrating advocacy and coordination of the multi-sectoral response.

NASF includes a review of progress made from 2002-2005 against current response targets and indicators. It also provides a summary of the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological factors that underpin the pandemic and the response in the country. In addition, the UN Theme Group on HIV and AIDS outlined the work plan of the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) for 2007-2010. The plan outlines the overall UN support to the national AIDS response, strategically prioritising the tasks of NASF in line with the respective strengths of the 13 UN organisations present in the country.

Under the same six thematic areas outlined in the framework, the UNCT expects the following outcomes from their combined support:

• An effective National AIDS Council that is able to achieve its mandate.

• Increased access to an effective and comprehensive package of HIV prevention.

• Services, based on approaches that address the underlying drivers of the epidemic.

• An increase in access to treatment, care and support services.

• A strengthened institutional capacity to mitigate the socio-economic impact for people infected and affected by HIV.

Representatives from the government, UN agencies, donor organisations and the civil society attended the meeting.

Zambia is experiencing a generalised HIV and AIDS pandemic with a national HIV prevalence rate of 17 percent among adults aged between 15 and 49 years. Primary modes of HIV transmission are through heterosexual sex and mother-to-child transmission. HIV prevalence rates vary considerably within the country, with highest infection rates in cities and towns along major transportation routes. Though the Zambian government has stepped up her response to the pandemic, several challenges remain. Some of these include:

• limited capacity and resources to carryout core response functions by the National AIDS Council, leading to inequitable service delivery;

• a weak implementation of the Behavioural Change Communication strategy; and

• slow scaling up of decentralised response.

The strategy and the Joint UN Programme of Support should enable Zambia to overcome some of its challenges.

For more information, visit: http://www.healthdev.org/sendmail.aspx?id=caaeba76-7622-4211-a39a-dd07b51b2fec. Top

1 700 people tested in Zebras-For-Life-Test-Life Campaign in Botswana 

Nearly 1 700 people in Botswana have tested for HIV through the Zebras-For-Life-Test-Life campaign in more than 30 places countrywide. The initiative is a partnership between the American Embassy in Gaborone and the Botswana national soccer team, the Zebras. Other stakeholders involved include the Tebelopele, the National AIDS Coordinating Agency, BOTUSA, US Peace Corps, Orange, Botswana Football Association, the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs and the Department of Sports and Recreation.

Launched in November 2006, the initiative uses soccer players to encourage people, especially young men, to test for HIV. Players spearhead the campaign as spokespersons and convince people who come to meet them to visit the voluntary counselling and testing centres. The players share information on HIV and AIDS, which includes the importance of knowing one’s status, with the public. The involvement of players has worked well for the campaign, bringing in more people to be tested each day. The large numbers of people that come is a major challenge and programme coordinators lament that sometimes they are unable to cope.

Botswana is one of the worst affected countries by the HIV and AIDS pandemic. The national HIV prevalence rate among adults aged from 15 to 49 is 24.1 percent, which is among the highest in sub-Saharan region. The primary mode of transmission is heterosexual contact, with the military and young women at a higher risk of infection than other populations. Young men aged between 15 and 24 years experience an HIV prevalence rate of 5.7 percent, compared to 15.3 percent of young women in the same age group. The Government of Botswana has mounted a multi-sectoral response guided by clear national priorities and strategies to fight HIV and AIDS.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200704251119.html.  Top

UNESCO Chair on Education and HIV & AIDS Steering Committee established

The University of Zimbabwe has established a steering committee for the UNESCO Chair on Education and HIV & AIDS, with membership drawn from the University, UNESCO Harare Cluster Office, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Zimbabwe), the ministries of Health and Child Welfare and Higher and Tertiary Education, the World Health Organisation and the National AIDS Council.

Some of the key responsibilities of the committee include:

• identification of priority areas for HIV and AIDS education to be addressed through the Chair;

• facilitating the establishment of certificate and diploma courses on HIV and AIDS education through distance learning;

• assisting with the development of a life skills and behavioural change course for entry level students in institutions of higher learning;

• overseeing the implementation of the University’s HIV and AIDS Policy; and

• reviewing and providing guidance on strengthening the operational policies and procedures on HIV and AIDS at tertiary level institutions.

In addition to the steering committee, the Chair has developed a five-year work plan for implementing the University’s HIV and AIDS policy. The policy will act as a guideline for all other institutions of learning in the country. A website has been established to assist in disseminating information about the Chair’s activities nationally and regionally. In the near future, the Chair will launch a virtual library to consolidate the information dissemination process.

The Chair is currently operating the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Support (HAPS) Centre, which offers Voluntary Counselling and HIV Testing (VCT) services. Since its inception, close to 150 students are being tested for HIV over a three-day period. Staff are being trained to provide the Provider Initiated HIV Testing and Counselling (PITC) services at the students’ health services centre.

Other activities:

• The HIV and AIDS Quality of Care Initiative (HAQOCI) has seconded medical staff, including counsellors, to provide technical support for the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Support Centre.

• Review of the University of Zimbabwe’s HIV and AIDS Policy document, which is currently underway.

• Formation of strategic partnerships with various stakeholders (the World Health Organisation, SHAPE Zimbabwe, the Centre for Disease Control in Zimbabwe).

• The University of Zimbabwe is supporting nurses and clerical staff from the Ministry of Health for the national Opportunistic Infections and Antiretroviral therapy training and HIV record keeping workshops in preparation for the introduction of HIV support, care and treatment services at the university campus.

The UNESCO Chair on Education and HIV and AIDS is a project aimed at reducing the prevalence of HIV infection and its impact through the integration of HIV into teaching, research and services.

Established in 2006, its main objectives are based on the premise that to reach children and young people with education and HIV and AIDS, one must take a life cycle perspective, socially embedding efforts to limit risk and vulnerability wherever young people are found. Specifically, the Chair aims to bring about reduction of HIV infection in the most vulnerable age group (15-24) found mostly in higher education institutions.

For more information, email: m.zulu@unesco.org.Top

Establishment of the Joint United Nations Team on HIV and AIDS in Zambia

In 2005, the United Nations Secretary General directed all UN Resident Coordinators to establish joint UN teams on AIDS to improve the effectiveness of HIV responses at country level. Following this directive, Zambia became the second country within the Harare Cluster to establish a Joint United Nations Team on HIV and AIDS in September 2006. The team provides technical support to government, civil society, including the private sector, and cooperating partners (both multilateral and bilateral) in its role as co-lead for HIV and AIDS under the Joint Assistance Strategy for Zambia (JASZ) Framework.

The Joint UN Team in Zambia ensures a strong coordinated and strategic UN system response in support of national needs and priorities through implementing a joint UN programme of support on AIDS. This includes a long-term vision, a rolling annual work plan, with a corresponding technical support plan and a monitoring and evaluation framework in support of the national response to AIDS.

The Joint UN Programme of Support on AIDS is a main pillar within the current United Nations Development Assistance Framework for 2007-2010 and includes all UN activities, whether implemented individually, jointly or collaboratively.

Other functions of the team include:

• Contributing to resource mobilisation for the national response;

• Supporting the implementation of the UN Learning Strategy on HIV and AIDS;

• Facilitating the application and adaptation of the “Three Ones” principle, especially through providing space for joint programming, policy dialogue and inclusive partnerships;

• Supporting an effective, nationally owned and nationally driven multi-sectoral response; and

• Generating and disseminating strategic information on the status of the AIDS response in the country.

Training and Research Opportunities

Training of trainers workshop on educational planning and management in a world with HIV and AIDS: Kenya, 16-20 July 2007

The International Institute for Educational Planning and Management (IIEP) is organising a workshop to provide requisite skills to address the impact of HIV and AIDS on education sector.

The workshop aims to heighten awareness of educational planning and management issues that the pandemic raises for the education sector; impart advanced planning techniques; assist trainers conceptualise and analyse the interaction between the pandemic and educational planning management; and plan and develop strategies to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS.

Targeted participants include representatives from different faculties of education and training centres that actively train educational planners and administrators across Anglophone Africa, especially in high prevalence countries. Participants will be selected by a committee that will convene on 15 May 2007. For more information email: b.tourmier@iiep.unesco.org  or visit: www.unesco.org/iiep. Top

SHORTCUT LINKS

DEMIS stakeholders meeting in Malawi

Implementing the United Nations Learning Strategy on HIV and AIDS: 16 Cases Studies

UNESCO Harare promotes HIV and AIDS programmes in ASPnet schools in Kariba and Victoria Falls

UNESCO deepens strategic action on education and HIV and AIDS response

DFID supports Harare Cluster in strengthening higher education’s response to HIV and AIDS

Zambia’s Ministry of Education establishes a National HIV and AIDS Committee 

Database of HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis research papers established in Namibia

Rwanda to host the HIV and AIDS Implementers Meeting set for June 2007

A profile of the Girl Child Network in Zimbabwe

Zambia launches a new five-year AIDS strategy

Countrywide circumcision planned in Uganda

1 700 people tested in Zebras-For-Life-Test-Life Campaign in Botswana

UNESCO Chair on Education and HIV & AIDS Steering Committee established

AIDS levy in Zimbabwe: a best practice  

Establishment of the Joint United Nations Team on HIV and AIDS in Zambia

Circumcision for HIV Prevention: Failure to Fully Account for Behavioural Risk Compensation

Training and Research Opportunities

Online resources

Forthcoming Activities

END OF LINKS

UNESCO Harare promotes HIV and AIDS programmes in ASPnet schools in Kariba and Victoria Falls

UNESCO Harare Cluster office, in collaboration with Zimbabwe National Commission for UNESCO, organised a visit to ASPnet schools in Kariba and Victoria Falls to promote HIV and AIDS prevention education.

The objectives of the visit, carried out by a staff member from each of the two offices, included:

• establishing HIV and AIDS activities and initiatives already underway in the selected schools;

• exploring ways and means for UNESCO Harare to build upon those activities and initiatives;

• brainstorming with the schools on what they could do or how they could best respond to the pandemic in their own circumstances, according to resources available to them;

• encouraging emphasis and creating awareness on the importance of HIV and AIDS prevention education and treatment.

The team visited a total of eight schools: four in Victoria Falls and Binga areas (Mosi-oa-Tunya Secondary, Chinotimba Primary, Binga Primary and Baobab High school) and four in Kariba (Nyamhunga Primary, Kariba Primary, Mahombekombe High and Nyamhunga High school).

Each visit consisted of the sessions:

• Consultation with the schools to determine their level of involvement, engagement or understanding of HIV and AIDS prevention education.

• Presentation on HIV and AIDS prevention education.

• Brainstorming with the schools on what they can do in response to the pandemic.

In the schools visited, children were at different levels of understanding HIV and AIDS and its related components, with the understanding levels depending on age and level of education. High school students showed a clear understanding of the concepts on HIV and AIDS while primary school students had a vague idea of the meaning and ways of contracting the virus.

The students identified various mechanisms to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their schools and the surrounding communities, some of which include:

• promotion of abstinence in schools;

• conducting drama, poems and plays on HIV and AIDS;

• engaging local government authorities in AIDS responses in schools; and

• conducting research on health issues.

HIV and AIDS is one of the chief barriers to achieving Education for All goals by 2015. UNESCO’s role in the national responses is to explore ways to stem the exponential negative impact of the pandemic on the education sector. One of these involves capacitating the youth to exchange information effectively, in terms of positive messages on prevention education.

UNESCO’s Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) is a global network vehicle, launched in 1953 with the aim of translating the Organization’s goals into concrete action through networking of schools.

For more information, email: m.mzumara@unesco.org.  Top

DFID supports Harare Cluster in strengthening higher education’s response to HIV and AIDS

Within the context of the “Joint United Nations Proposal for Fast Track Funding for a Strengthened HIV and AIDS Response in Zimbabwe”, the Harare Cluster Office received a grant from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).

The grant aims to strengthen the Harare Office staff complement to improve the internal and external coordination of the response to the pandemic in the higher education sector.

It supports the Office in providing strategic leadership and support, ensuring implementation of the scaled response at both national and sub-national levels.

Supported activities include the following:

• Enhancing the staff complement to provide support to the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education and other partners in implementing, monitoring and evaluating HIV and AIDS programmes.

• The establishment of a UNESCO Chair on Education and HIV & AIDS to support the reduction of HIV prevalence and its impact through integration into teaching, research and service.

Under the auspices of the UNESCO-led Global Initiative on Education and HIV & AIDS (EDUCAIDS), the Harare Cluster office, in partnership with the United Nations Country Team, Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and Child Welfare and the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education facilitated the establishment of the UNESCO Chair at the University of Zimbabwe in 2006.

Through the Chair, UNESCO Harare and its partners seek to bring recognition of the close link between HIV and AIDS and the education sector.

The Office hopes to motivate intellectual and professional responses that take into account developments in this field in Zimbabwean universities, consideration of the distinctiveness of the epidemic’s impact on education systems and the pivotal roles and responsibilities of the universities.

In addition, the Harare Cluster Office conducted a baseline survey to document the implementation of UNESCO Harare’s HIV and AIDS programme in Teacher Training Institutions in Zimbabwe in 2006.

The survey’s goal was to document and establish the current status on implementation of the following activities supported by UNESCO Harare Office in 2004-2005:

• Development and implementation of college specific policies on HIV and AIDS;

• Use of the Coping Skills Manual;

• Voluntary testing and counselling Initiative (VCT);

• Evaluate impact of the Capacity Building Workshops on HIV and AIDS.

Recommendations from the survey called for the strengthening the response of teacher training institutions in the response to HIV and AIDS through the provision of more copies of the Coping Skills Manual, training workshops for peer educators, support for the establishment of HIV and AIDS resource centres among other things.

In 2006, the Harare Cluster Office’s HIV and AIDS Working Group visited the Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) schools in and around Bulawayo.

The visits helped the Harare Cluster Office to identify activities which promote education and HIV & AIDS through inter-school networking.

In 2007, the Office expects to:

• Publish a report on UNESCO’s experience in strengthening Teacher Training Institutions in Zimbabwe;

• Develop and test learning materials for capacity building workshops for Teacher Training Colleges in Zimbabwe;

• Conduct capacity building workshops conducted in collaboration with the UNESCO chair;

• Develop and test the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system for workplace programmes.

For more information, email: m.zulu@unesco.org. Top

Rwanda to host the HIV and AIDS Implementers Meeting set for June 2007

More than 1500 delegates are expected to attend this year’s HIV and AIDS Implementers meeting to be held in Kigali, Rwanda from 16-19 June.

The Rwandan government, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS are co-sponsors of this meeting.

Intended for program implementers to share lessons learnt in scaling up HIV and AIDS programmes, the theme of the meeting is “Scaling Up Through Partnerships”.

Its objectives are to:

• widely disseminate, in real time, lessons learnt in implementing multi-sectoral HIV and AIDS programs with a focus on:

  • scale-up of prevention, treatment, and care programmes;

  • building local capacity response; and

  • quality and coordination among partners.

• encourage open dialogue about future directions of HIV and AIDS programmes with strong emphasis on implementation and identification of critical barriers; and

• directly impact HIV and AIDS programme implementation in the upcoming year through the diffusion of best practices.

Proceeding by way of plenary and break-out sessions, skills building workshops and poster sessions, the meeting will focus on illustrations of key programmatic steps, tools, successes and challenges, including results from recent public health evaluations and studies that offer information to support scaling-up of HIV programs to reach unprecedented levels of scope, quality and access.

The meeting provides an opportunity to take stock of past achievements and consider concrete solutions for moving the response to AIDS forward towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, especially in Africa.

In past years, participation has been primarily from the grantees of the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). PEPFAR is a $15 billion, five-year initiative created to turn the tide against global HIV/AIDS – the largest global health initiative directed at a single disease that any nation has ever undertaken.

The 2007 meeting has, however, broadened its scope by inviting a wider cross-section of AIDS implementers that include non-governmental organisations receiving funding from various sources. Professor Juma Shabani, Director and Representative of the Harare Cluster Office, will represent UNESCO at the meeting.

Rwanda is among the ten countries in Africa severely affected by HIV. The country is facing a generalised epidemic, with an estimated 190 000 people living with HIV in 2006. AIDS claimed the lives of 21 000 people last year alone and made 210 000 orphans.

Faced with such a challenge, political leaders at the highest-level adopted a multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary, decentralised and community-based approach involving representatives from groups of people living with HIV, faith based organisations, the media, the private sector and other stakeholders.

In 2001, a National AIDS Control Commission was established under the office of the President and in 2002, an AIDS Treatment and Research Centre was created to expand access for testing and counselling, prevention of mother-to-child transmission and clinical care and support for people living with HIV.

For more information, visit: http://www.hivimplementers.com /.  Top

Countrywide circumcision planned in Uganda

The government of Uganda is set to begin training medical personnel to implement male circumcision as an HIV and AIDS prevention method. The Ministry of Health has established a task force, under the Uganda AIDS Commission, to review all studies in male circumcision and map the way forward.

Apart from reviewing studies, the taskforce will also:

• review the recommendable age of circumcision;

• identify which health workers qualify to conduct the procedure;

• identify an effective method of implementing the programme in the country; and

• explore partnerships with various stakeholders (including traditional leaders).

The decision by Uganda comes after the United Nations endorsed the integration of male circumcision into HIV prevention measures. Inclusion of male circumcision in HIV prevention efforts should be coupled with provision of trained medical personnel to avoid complication during procedures.

The training programme aims to improve health services in Uganda so as to provide safe surgical procedures. It is the first step in incorporating male circumcision into the “Abstinence, Be Faithful, Condomise” prevention methods. Male circumcision in Uganda has been predominantly practiced by the Bagisu people, found in the western slopes of Mount Elgon and these only constitute 5% of the population.

The UN recommendation followed three studies conducted in Uganda, Kenya and South Africa, which found that men who had been circumcised reduced their risk of HIV infection by between 51% and 60% compared to their uncircumcised counterparts. UN agencies declared that millions of lives could be saved if circumcision is widely and safely practiced.

Five to seven million new cases of HIV infection and three million deaths could be prevented over 20 years if male circumcision is universally practiced in sub-Saharan Africa.

Countries with high rates of heterosexual HIV infection and low rates of male circumcision now have an additional intervention, which can reduce the risk of HIV infection in heterosexual men.

Uganda was among one of the countries hardest hit by the AIDS pandemic. Before 1999, the country had an HIV prevalence averaging 30%. The post 1999 period saw a decline in rates to around 6%.

Success in reducing the prevalence of HIV in Uganda is the result of a broad-based national effort backed up by firm political commitment, including the personal involvement of President Yoweri Museveni.

From the onset, the government involved religious and traditional leaders, community groups, non-governmental organisations and all sectors of society, forging a consensus around the need to contain the escalating spread of HIV and provide care and support for those affected.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200704040203.html.  Top

AIDS levy in Zimbabwe: a best practice

In 1999, the Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Finance, introduced an AIDS Levy, also known as the National AIDS Funds Trust (NAFT). Zimbabwe became the first country in southern Africa to implement the levy, in response to the AIDS pandemic.

The levy is a home grown resource mobilisation initiative intended to raise resources for the national response to HIV and AIDS. It is backed by an Act of Parliament that stipulates that three percent of taxable individual and corporate income be directed towards the National AIDS Council (NAC) that administers the fund.

Managed by NAC, the levy serves all Zimbabweans. In the initial stages, funds generated through the levy were channelled to the community through proposals.

To ensure equitable distribution and effective use of the funds, NAC decentralised the implementation process to districts. District AIDS Action Committees receive financial resources and implement programmes in their particular districts.

The AIDS levy is hailed as one of the best practices in response to the HIV and AIDS pandemic in the region. It is a unique innovation aimed at creating a pool of local resources and its ability to sustain Zimbabwe’s national response since 2000 enhances its uniqueness.

Application of the levy is broken down into percentages for all thematic areas. In the 2007 financial budget announced by the Ministry of Finance, treatment was allocated 70% of the total funds collected through the levy.

The resources will be used to procure antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for treatment. The government aims to triple the number of people on ARVs from the current level of 50 000 to about 160 000 at the close of 2007.

With the NATF, Zimbabwe has managed to raise levels of awareness of the pandemic, currently confirmed at 98% by the Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey of 2005-06. NAFT is instrumental in the creation and realisation of an all inclusive and an enabling environment for collective action to counteract the effects of the pandemic.

The fund has enabled the creation of a decentralized framework through the AIDS Action Committees. These committees are multi-sectoral, drawing representation from relevant government ministries, non-governmental, community-based and faith-based organisations and traditional leadership. Through these structures, AIDS has been mainstreamed into local development projects and put on the agenda of all communities.

Other achievements include:

• contributing to the overall reduction of the HIV prevalence rate from over 30% in 1999 to the current 18.1%; and

• sustaining the operations of the National AIDS Council.

The AIDS levy concept has been nominated as a best practice in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. It provides a demonstration of the necessity of relying on local resources for national responses. Several countries, including Kenya, have established AIDS levies – illustrating the ease of replicating the programme.

Among the recommendations is a call for the documentation of the concept of the AIDS levy. Member states stand to benefit from the documentation since it is a model that they can emulate in establishing local reservoirs to fund HIV and AIDS response programmes.

For more information, email:

cmajonga@nac.co.zw .  Top

Circumcision for HIV Prevention: Failure to Fully Account for Behavioural Risk Compensation

Three randomised controlled trials of male circumcision have been halted when interim analyses showed significant reductions in HIV infection among men who received this intervention.

Modelling suggests that increased male circumcision coverage in southern Africa could prevent as many as 2 million HIV infections over ten years.

Moreover, the cost-effectiveness analysis indicates that the male circumcision could be cost-saving. However, the protection of male may be partially offset by increased HIV risk behaviour, or “risk compensation,” especially reduction in condom use or increases in numbers of sex partners.

Risk compensation occurs when individuals adjust their behaviour in response to perceived changes in their vulnerability to a disease. It is more applicable to males since avoidance of sexual dissatisfactions of condom use and the desire to have more sex partners are likely to be significant motivations for men to seek circumcision.

In South Africa, only 73% of men between the ages of 15 and 24 reported using condoms in their last sexual encounter showing the difficulty of developing a convincing public health message that effectively influences men to undergo circumcision and continue to consistently use condoms.

Circumcised men in one of the trials reported 18% more sexual contacts at follow-up than did uncircumcised men but no other sexual behaviour differences were obtained.

For ethical reasons all men in the trials receive on-going risk-reduction counselling and free condoms, which reduces the utility of these trials for estimating the potential behavioural impact of male circumcision when implemented in a natural setting.

One model of the potential impact of male circumcision did not take into account risk compensation, but noted that increases in risk-taking behaviour among circumcised men could reduce the benefit of male circumcision.

Based on the 18% difference in sexual contacts for circumcised and uncircumcised men and the assumption that risk compensation might be higher in a non-research program scale-up, the 60% effectiveness was revised down to 50% to reflect a 25% increase in sexual risk behaviours among circumcised men.

Although this incorporated the increased risk of HIV acquisition associated with risk compensation, it did not consider the impact of risk compensation on the HIV transmission risk of HIV-infected circumcised men or on circumcised men’s risk for non-HIV sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

It is yet to be proved whether circumcision increases or decreases the risk of HIV transmission by HIV-infected men. However, risk compensation by HIV-infected circumcised men will substantially increase the risk of transmission to their sex partners.

This suggests that circumcision could reduce the incidence of HIV among men while increasing the incidence among women. Increased prevalence in women translates to greater risk to men.

Epidemiological models of male circumcision should take this into account. Countless studies have shown that STIs account for at least some of the rapid increases in HIV transmission in southern Africa. Non-HIV STIs are associated with an increase in HIV transmission risk in countries with low and high rates of male circumcision. Areas with prevalent STIs can have a relative increase in men’s STI-associated HIV risk as high as 60% to 340%.

Circumcision likely reduces the risk of acquiring a non-HIV STI and may be partially responsible for the decreased HIV risk observed in circumcision trials. Nevertheless, the failure of models to account for increased STI risk due to risk compensation likely inflates estimates of averted HIV infections.

Estimates of HIV risks resulting from increased exposure to STIs that coincide with reductions in condom use have been included in previous models of the cost-effectiveness of HIV prevention interventions and should be included in male circumcision models.

Issues regarding risk compensation are important in refining modelled estimates of the impact of male circumcision and monitoring risk compensation during the scale-up of male circumcision.

The inclusion of non-HIV sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as risk co-factors adds a useful dimension to analysis. Increased STIs associated with risk compensation in newly circumcised HIV-infected men are likely to lessen male circumcision impact.

However, in a concentrated epidemic setting where STIs play a greater role in HIV transmission, the STI-reducing effects of male circumcision in HIV-susceptible men could further increase its benefits in preventing HIV.

Recent data suggests that male circumcision does not increase risky behaviour and may lead to a transient decrease in HIV prevalence. It is hoped that this experience is carried over to routine and widely operating programs. To reduce the magnitude of risk compensation, programmes should incorporate effective risk reduction counselling.

A great value of male circumcision scale-up is the opportunity to directly deliver strong behavioural prevention messages. Evidence shows that risk reduction messages have worked well with antiretroviral therapy in Africa.

Source: PLoS Medicine, March 2007, Volume 4, Issue 3 www.plosmedicine.org.  Top