Harare Cluster Office hosts workshop on culture and HIV & AIDS

As part of mainstreaming HIV and AIDS in the implementation of UNESCO’s programmes, the Harare Cluster Office’s culture sector hosted a culture and HIV & AIDS workshop during the International Volunteer Camp on the Restoration of the Khami World Heritage Site in Bulawayo on 2 July 2007. Culture plays a fundamental role in response to HIV as it provides a platform from which to combat harmful cultural practices that make people vulnerable to HIV.

The workshop sought to:

• provide a platform for information sharing on HIV and AIDS and culture among the youth at the 2007 International Youth Camp;

• raise awareness of HIV and AIDS and the susceptibility of college and university students to HIV;

• explore various cultural myths on HIV and AIDS from different regions;

• equip participants with survival skills at colleges and universities;

• create networks among students from various countries with divergent cultural beliefs on HIV and AIDS.

Through presentations and discussions, participants discussed general information on HIV and AIDS and culture, the impact of culture on HIV and AIDS at college and individual levels, culture, HIV and AIDS as it affects boys and girls and the contribution of environments to the spread of HIV.

Discussions highlighted that universities and colleges are high risk institutions for the transmission of HIV due to various factors – economic hardships topped the list.

Participants also noted that behavioural practices such as “sugar-daddy” liaisons, sexual experimentation, prostitution on campus, unprotected casual sex, and gender violence, multiple partners, and similar high-risk activities have exacerbated the spread of the pandemic among students. Other issues highlighted included mixing of cultures and the role of the media.

Recommendations:

• Participants urged governments to assist students with grants, allowances and loans to alleviate economic hardships.

• All stakeholders involved in the response should continue teaching university and college students on HIV and AIDS and related components.

• Organisations should devise new strategies to respond to the pandemic in higher education institutions.

Participants comprised college and university students from the Harare Office cluster countries of Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

This workshop was in line with UNESCO’s focus on advocacy and promotion of policy development, capacity building to respond to HIV and AIDS and the enhancement of UNESCO’s capacity to effectively respond to the pandemic.

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

Kenya hosts the first women’s international AIDS conference

Over 1 500 delegates attended the inaugural International Summit on Women's Leadership and HIV and AIDS held in Nairobi, Kenya from 5-7 July 2007.

Hosted by the World Young Women Christian Association (YWCA), the summit brought together global leaders, United Nations organisations, high level policy makers, community health workers and AIDS activists to develop strategies, skills and partnerships in response to the impact of AIDS on women and girls. It sought to mobilise urgent responses to the rising HIV infection rates among women and girls in the world.

Other partners were the International Community of Women Living with HIV, UNAIDS Global Coalition on Women and AIDS and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Specifically the summit sought to:

• highlight the difference women’s leadership is making on AIDS issues;

• build the capacity of individuals and organisations to develop sustainable programmes and evidence based solutions;

• mobilise women around the world to respond to AIDS and related issues; and

• develop strategic partnerships to broaden the impact of AIDS responses.

Key issues discussed at the conference included feminisation of the HIV pandemic, gender inequality, healthcare and treatment, sexual and reproductive health rights, women’s leadership and economic empowerment.

At the close of the summit, delegates developed the “Nairobi 2007 Call to Action”, a 10-point action plan aimed at developing leadership of women and girls to respond to HIV and AIDS.

The plan affirms that the realisation of human rights for women and girls is a critical component of an effective response to the global AIDS pandemic.

It calls on governments and other stakeholders to commit to leading change in communities and transform the lives of women and girls.

It also identifies specific strategies for change to be implemented through individuals, families, faith groups and communities as part of the global women's movement.

The plan seeks to create change in ten key areas for action that are based on existing knowledge and evidence about the life experiences of women and girls around world and some of these are:

• developing the leadership of women and girls to respond to HIV and AIDS, overcome stigma and discrimination and offer solidarity and support to all women and girls;

• ensuring the meaningful involvement of women infected and affected by HIV in relevant decision making and participation in the development of AIDS strategies, programming and decision making bodies;

• promoting gender equality and human rights of women and girls including laws and education to protect and uphold these rights;

• expanding access to services for women infected and affected by HIV, including safe testing, care, treatment and support, among others; and

• advocating for increased resources to support the capacity of women to lead change on HIV.

For more information, visit:
 http://www.worldywca.info/index.php/ywca/world

_ywca/ywca_news/world_ywca_news__1/call_to_action.  Top

Ministry of Education’s response to HIV and AIDS in Botswana

The Ministry of Education in Botswana plays a key role in response to HIV and AIDS in Botswana.

As the custodian of young people who constitute the country’s “Window of Hope”, the ministry is strategically positioned to reverse the effects of the pandemic. Education systems, both formal and non-formal, are key agents for behaviour change.

In line with the National Strategic Framework, the ministry’s goals are to:

• prevent the spread of the pandemic through integration of HIV and AIDS into teacher training and curriculum development, among other methods;

• provide treatment, care and support by ensuring learners’ access to services related to HIV and AIDS;

• manage the national response through research on HIV and AIDS;

• in collaboration with other partners, develop interventions to support orphans and vulnerable children and provide psychosocial counselling and support within schools; and

• provide a strengthened legal and ethical environment for the development of policies on the pandemic, which recognise human rights.

A Ministerial Coordinator is responsible for coordinating HIV and AIDS activities. The Coordinator is the link between the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders, including other ministries, organisations and the civil society.

Over the years, increased funding from African Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP) has enabled the ministry to increase its human resource capacity for the response.

The ministry established a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) office responsible for ensuring the presence of an M&E component in all interventions. It also deployed HIV and AIDS regional coordinators responsible for monitoring progress in implementing HIV and AIDS programmes, providing support, guidance and advice to schools on the pandemic.

The UNESCO Harare Cluster Office funds the project on “Development of Leadership Skills in Management of HIV and AIDS in Secondary Schools in Botswana”.

Coordinated by the Department of Secondary Education, the project aims to strengthen school level responses by establishing systematic management and leadership mechanisms that will guide on-going teacher and learner capacity building programmes. Since its inception, the project has conducted a needs assessment and baseline survey.

Findings include:

• lack of performance indicators and ability to monitor the impact of initiatives and programmes;

• limited knowledge of seeking funding and assistance among schools;

• need for raising awareness among school heads and other stakeholders on HIV and AIDS and its related components.

The ministry, in partnership with other organisations (UNICEF, PEPFAR, BTV), has conducted various activities, including the Teacher Capacity Building for HIV and AIDS Prevention, review of Early Childhood Care, Circles of Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children and Education Policy to incorporate HIV and AIDS and behaviour change communication in life skills training. It has also published the “Development of Early Childhood Education Curriculum Blueprint HIV and AIDS Booklets” and the “Window of Hope HIV and AIDS Life skills Materials”.

Though the ministry has set up response mechanisms to HIV and AIDS, Botswana still faces challenges which include inadequate information and knowledge on HIV and AIDS, weak links between stakeholders offering care and support, limited human resources and poor coordination among stakeholders involved in the response.

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

HIV & AIDS and the education sector in Zambia 

The HIV and AIDS pandemic threatens to undermine the delivery and quality of education services in Zambia. To counter the negative impact, the Ministry of Education has embarked on various initiatives in an effort to prevent new infections, reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS and manage and mitigate the impact through various work-based and school-based initiatives.

In 2003, the ministry introduced the HIV and AIDS workplace programme which aims to promote the following:

• positive behaviour change through peer education;

• voluntary counselling and testing; and

• accessing care and support services, including anti-retroviral therapy, food supplements and counselling.

It also launched the HIV and AIDS workplace policy.

The UNESCO Harare Cluster Office has and continues to support the education sector’s response. It has assisted Zambia’s institutions of higher learning, especially the teacher training colleges, through the development of an HIV and AIDS manual for trainees.

Recently, the Japanese Government, through the Japanese Funds-in-Trust (JFIT) for the Capacity Building of Human Resources Sector, approved a project to build capacity on HIV and AIDS & Education in pre-service teacher training institutions in Zambia. Implemented under the auspices of the Global Initiative on Education and HIV & AIDS (EDUCAIDS), this project aims to contribute to the reduction of HIV prevalence rates among young men and women.

Other activities include:

• awareness and capacity building;

• capacity building, support to people living with HIV and AIDS and administration funded by the Global Fund;

• educational programmes and review of the HIV curriculum intervention financially supported by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF);

• mobilisation and sensitisation for voluntary and counselling testing programme which is funded through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR);

• procurement and capacity building supported by Sector Pool.

Limited human resource is a key challenge to the ministry, resulting in the shift of the HIV and AIDS programme from the directorate of Standards and Curriculum to the directorate of Human Resource and Administration. As such, Zambia needs to build the human resources capacity of the directorate.

Another key challenge the ministry faces is erratic sources of funding, leading to poor programme planning and implementation.

Zambia requires UNESCO’s support for its HIV and AIDS programme to extend beyond teacher training colleges and cover areas within the education sector.

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

Partnerships for improving healthcare worker safety in Botswana

In an effort to create safe working environment for health care workers, the Ministry of Health and Local Government in Botswana, through the National Injection Safety Advisory Group and in collaboration with the Nurses Association of Botswana Botswana-United States of America (BOTUSA) Project and the Making Medical Injections Safer (MMIS) project, are developing and executing strategies to protect workers from the risk of infection.

The partnership involves the implementation of integrated strategies that include behaviour change communication, capacity building training, availability of adequate injection safety supplies and appropriate health care waste management. Injection assessments in Botswana observe that 26% of nurses sustain needle stick injuries annually. In caring for patients, health care workers are exposed to deadly blood-borne pathogens through contaminated sharp objects and unsafe medical practices.

Since HIV and AIDS patients constitute over 50% of the patient population, Botswana’s health care system faces unprecedented challenges, with health care bearing an inordinately large psychological and physical burden brought on by risk of infection, work overload and inadequate safety measures.

Botswana has developed an injection safety policy, including national guidelines and norms for health worker and patient safety. The government has also developed safer medical devices to reduce accidental injuries, which have been tested in various districts in the country. Initial results show improved injection practices and a greater sense of security among health workers.

Other activities include the introduction of a trial use of retractable syringes by MMIS to reduce exposure to needle-stick injuries. The organisation maintains incinerators at health facilities for proper management of healthcare waste, provides community interactive theatre to inform the community on the importance of safe injections and informs home-based care patients such as diabetics on the safe use and disposals of needles and syringes.

MMIS covers 113 health care facilities in Botswana’s four districts of Kgatleng, Lobatse, Gaborone and Kanye/Moshupa. The project has trained a total of 4 268 health care workers in these districts.

Though the project has made remarkable strides, it still faces numerous challenges including:

• Limited resources for scaling up interventions;

• High cost of safety syringes; and

• Administrative delays.

Key lessons learnt indicate that partners should focus on employing a holistic approach that involves all stakeholders in the development of policies, guidelines, implementation strategies and monitoring and evaluation plans.

Lessons also call for policies with clear implementation plans. Another key recommendations urges countries to realise that achieving best practices in health care workers safety programs requires commitment and participation of senior-level managers, health care institutions and relevant partners.

Efforts must continue to focus on building capacity among the worker, and advocate for the adoption of safer injection technology in the country.

For more information, visit:
http://www.globalhealth.org/conference_2007/presentations/m_najafi.pdf.   Top

UNAIDS releases new guidelines to ensure confidentiality for people living with HIV 

With the aim of protecting almost 40 million men, women and children living with HIV from potential stigma and discrimination, UNAIDS has released new guidelines to ensure that the confidentiality of people living with the pandemic is maintained.

Entitled “Interim Guidelines on Protecting the Confidentiality and Security of HIV Information”, the guidelines were developed during a workshop supported by UNAIDS and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS (PEPFAR) in Geneva, Switzerland from 15-17 May 2007.

They provide direction to ensure patient confidentiality in HIV data collection and storage of information on the disease. They provide principles, definitions and technical recommendations to maintain confidentiality, privacy and security when working with HIV-related information.

Stigma and discrimination constitute one of the greatest barriers to dealing effectively with the pandemic. They discourage governments from taking timely action against AIDS, and deter individuals from finding out about their HIV status.

UNAIDS noted that stigma and discrimination inhibit those who know they are infected from sharing their diagnosis and taking action to protect others and from seeking treatment and care for themselves. The risk of harm following a breach of confidentiality varies with the national or local context according to levels of stigma, lack of comprehensive public health safety nets, legal traditions of respect of privacy, religious perspectives and other local conditions.

Eddy Beck, a UNAIDS senior technical officer, highlighted that clinical information is a key requirement for optimum treatment and care for people living with HIV. Ensuring this information is securely stored and confidentiality maintained will prevent potential stigmatisation and discrimination of individuals and communities, and enhance the quality of information collected.

According to the guidelines, using information for public health purposes must be balanced against individual rights to privacy and confidentiality. The recommendations also include a call for countries to establish confidentiality and privacy laws to maintain that balance.

Other recommendations include:

• Safeguarding the health of communities through proper collection, analysis, dissemination, and use of health data.

• Establishment or review regulations o privacy and confidentiality.

• Development of policies, at all health care levels that define security procedures concerning the way data are collected, stored, transferred, and released.

The guidelines cover confidentiality and security from a variety of perspectives, including legal, ethical, procedural, electronic and physical data dissemination. It also covers topics as diverse as firewall configuration and good password construction, protection of portable electronic devices, laptop computers, training for hospital workers, and model legislation for protecting privacy of individuals, among others.

The purpose of defining the health information confidentiality and security principles is to ensure that health data are used to serve the improvement of health. Pursuing this goal involves an ongoing process of refining the balance between:

• maximisation of benefits – benefits that can come from proper use of data; and

• protection from harm – harm that can result from either malicious or inadvertent inappropriate release of individually identifiable data.

For more information, visit:
http://data.unaids.org/pub/manual/2007/confidentiality_security

_interim_guidelines_15may2007_en.pdf.  Top

Barriers to diagnosis and disclosure of HIV infection among children in Zimbabwe

At the just ended HIV Implementers Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, Zimbabwe shared with other delegates, the barriers to diagnosis and disclosure of HIV infection in children aged 0-17 years. In a national study conducted by the National AIDS and TB programme results showed that there were many challenges to diagnosis of HIV infection in children.

The study also found that non-availability of HIV testing and counselling facilities for children and inadequate knowledge regarding paediatric HIV diagnosis have proved to be significant barriers to diagnosis and disclosure of HIV infection among children in Zimbabwe.

Other results:

• Limited access to treatment services for children.

• Absence of a clear policy on HIV testing in children.

• Negative attitudes towards revealing children’s HIV status.

• Health care providers with-hold children’s HIV status from families believed to be unable to cope with a positive HIV result.

• Most health workers believe that disclosure of HIV status in a child should be the responsibility of the parents or the guardians.

Supported by the Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation and the Catholic Relief Services- Support to Replicable, Innovative, Village/community-level Efforts (CRS-STRIVE) and the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, the study focused on a national situational analysis of clinical and community provision of care and treatment for children living with HIV and AIDS (CLHA) in the country.

Participants in the study comprised government and mission medical providers, local and international non-governmental organisations, children’s homes and the private sector, donors and policy makers.

In Zimbabwe, approximately 165,000 children between 0-14 years are living with HIV infection, representing 3% of all children. In the absence of any intervention, 25-30,000 children are expected to acquire HIV through mother-to-child-transmission each year. While prevention of HIV infection remains a priority, the importance of ensuring provision of appropriate services for children already infected cannot be overstated.

The study recommends:

• Development of a clear policy on HIV testing in children;

• Provision of training to all stakeholders in this policy;

• Ongoing training, supervision and mentoring should used as mechanisms to counter negative attitudes from health workers; and

• Health workers should consider children’s rights when disclosing their HIV status.

For more information, visit: www.hivimplementers.org.  Top

Zambia scales up provision of Quality Community-based Care and Support

Due to HIV and AIDS, Zambia has 800 000 orphan children in need of care and support. The RAPIDS is a United States government funded project to ensure high quality care and support for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).

In 2006, the project had reached 200 363 OVCs in the country, provided home-based care to tens of thousands of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA), and engaged 50,000 youth in abstinence and being faithful programming. RAPIDS works at all levels, ranging from the national to the community level in 49 of the 72 districts in Zambia.

The organisation’s main function is to set quality standards and sharing best practices on care and support for OVCs. It also motivates caregivers and provides a link to and coordinates with other HIV and AIDS services. RAPIDS has trained and continues to support 13 000 volunteer caregivers through community structures to support HIV and AIDS affected households.

Under its “household approach”, each caregiver provides integrated care and support to the OVC and others in a family unit or household. To promote caregiver motivation and retention, RAPIDS equip caregivers with necessary tools for work, including uniforms for recognition, bicycles for mobility, and bed-nets and home care kits to prevent malaria and provide for basic care.

The project also provides direct support for OVC through combined donations such as basic medicines, school/educational supplies and recreational materials. It also gives anti-retroviral therapy adherence support to PLWHA, including children. The project is a large scale comprehensive, integrated, high quality package of OVC care and support.

Outcomes of the project include:

• an increase in the number of people receiving home based care, relieving pressure from health care facilities;

• promotion of abstinence to vulnerable youth;

• establishing links with government, local authorities, community and faith based organisations to ensure sustainability of the project.

The project faces challenges such as providing minimum essential packages to large numbers of OVCs, preventing the potential overload of volunteer caregivers with new demands and the need to monitor care to allow for evidence-based adjustments to the programme.

To overcome the challenges, the project recommends:

• ensuring effective advocacy to persuade governments to allocate resources for OVC;

• provision of training to caregiver groups to meet needs of affected households and facilitate scale up;

• monitoring of quality as the programme is scaled up;

• ensuring national and local level coordination; and

• creating an OVC caregiver database.

For more information, email: b.mapanda@unesco.org.  Top

Training workshop for Zimbabwean news editors on HIV and AIDS reporting 

The National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe organised a training workshop for HIV and AIDS and news editors from the Zimbabwean media houses on HIV and AIDS reporting. Participants comprised representatives of United Nations agencies, the ministry of health, media houses local and regional non-governmental organisations.

The meeting aimed to:

• ensure that editors keep AIDS on agenda;

• share various updates on HIV intervention; and

• encourage editors to develop HIV and AIDS programmes.

Opening the workshop, the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr. David Parirenyatwa, highlighted the importance of fully understanding HIV and AIDS and its related components.

A key highlight of his speech was the fact that there are so many more females reporting on HIV and AIDS compared to males. He encouraged male media practitioners to become more active in reporting HIV and AIDS issues.

The Minister reiterated the importance of appreciating the devastating effects of the pandemic on all sectors. In his concluding remarks, editors were tasked with the responsibility of properly informing people.

Key highlights of the workshop included presentations on the various HIV and AIDS interventions in the country. The National AIDS Council (NAC) presented on its role in response to the pandemic. NAC’s Director, Dr. Magure, provided information on the organisational structure of the body.

He highlighted the various strategies put in place to respond to HIV and AIDS, which comprise Zimbabwe National AIDS Strategic Plan (ZNASP) 2006-2010 and the National AIDS Policy. The presentation also looked at the roles and functions of the AIDS committees, among others.

Other issues highlighted include:

• the Expanded Support Programme;

• priority areas outlined in the Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2007-2011;

• the National Behavioural Change Strategy;

• HIV and AIDS terminology; and

• programmes implemented under the Global Fund.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) outlined its role in the national response. UNAIDS supports Zimbabwe in strengthening national coordination mechanisms including the “Three Ones” principle, the revision and roll-out of ZNASP and ensuring its full implementation, target setting and annual milestones and resource mobilisation.

Participants shared their experiences regarding activities from the media in its response to the pandemic.

Zimbabwe Newspapers (Zimpapers) highlighted various interventions it has put in place, one of which is the setting up of a committee to address issues on the pandemic and coverage of a group of people who have disclosed their status.

The workshop established taskforce comprising editors, the National AIDS Council and the Southern African HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAFAIDS) to explore ways of coming up with workplace policies for media houses, prioritising HIV and AIDS issues and partnering with AIDS Service organisations.

For more information, email: fdube@nac.co.zw.  Top

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. For more information email: b.tourmier@iiep.unesco.org or visit: www.unesco.org/iiep.

Regional Seminar on “Poverty Alleviation, HIV and AIDS Education and Inclusive Education: Priority Issues for Quality Education for All in Eastern and Western Sub-Saharan Africa” Nairobi, Kenya, 23-27 July 2007

UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education, the Kenyan Ministry of Education and the Kenyan Institute for Education (KIE) is organising a regional seminar on “Poverty Alleviation, HIV and AIDS Education and Inclusive Education: Priority Issues for Quality Education for All in Eastern and Western Sub-Saharan Africa”, from 23-27 July 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The seminar shall:

• identify the most affected group of learners and the consequences on their learning opportunities abilities;

• assess how the curriculum responds to the above;

• discuss how basic education curriculum can contribute to the Education for All goals and poverty alleviation; and

• recommend changes in the prescribed curriculum and in its implementation to ensure that affected children have a better chance to learn and participate in education.

For more information, email: r.opertti@unesco.org. Top

SHORTCUT LINKS

Harare Cluster Office hosts workshop on culture and HIV & AIDS

Kenya hosts the first women’s international AIDS conference

Overview of Zimbabwe’s education sector response to HIV and AIDS

Ministry of Education’s response to HIV and AIDS in Botswana

HIV & AIDS and the education sector in Zambia 

Profile of Zimbabwe National Network of People Living With HIV and AIDS 

Partnerships for improving healthcare worker safety in Botswana

Malawi shares lessons from the first national HIV testing and counselling week

UNAIDS releases new guidelines to ensure confidentiality for people living with HIV 

Secondary school communications clubs for behaviour change in young Mozambican men

Barriers to diagnosis and disclosure of HIV infection among children in Zimbabwe

Zambia scales up provision of Quality Community-based Care and Support

Inter-country workshop on effective garden-based learning for improved livelihood and child nutrition

US First Lady visits Mozambique and Zambia to highlight HIV and AIDS programmes

Training workshop for Zimbabwean news editors on HIV and AIDS reporting  

Online resources

Forthcoming Activities

END OF LINKS

Overview of Zimbabwe’s education sector response to HIV and AIDS

Zimbabwe’s education sector continues to be actively involved in the HIV and AIDS national response, particularly in scaling up and rolling out prevention and care programmes. Based on the premise that education plays a key role in HIV prevention efforts, the ministries of Higher and Tertiary Education and Education, Sport and Culture introduced programmes to counter the adverse effects of the AIDS Pandemic.

Both ministries introduced compulsory teaching of HIV, AIDS and life skills education from the fourth grade to tertiary education institutions in the country. In 1994, the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education (MHTE) introduced the General Course on HIV and AIDS Education as one of the key strategies in its response. All elements of this course, including life skills and counselling, are compulsory to the learner. The general course complements the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture’s (MOESC) Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS which states that HIV and AIDS and its related components should be taught to advanced levels.

Other activities include the Teacher Training HIV and AIDS programme which is a key success of the Schools HIV and AIDS and Life Skills Programme for it equips future teachers and artisans with essential knowledge, skills, methods and attitudes to effectively and competently handle the subject of HIV and AIDS.

The two ministries have developed their HIV and AIDS curricula covering:

• instruction on prevention, awareness and knowledge of the disease to pupils through the use of “Lets Talk” textbooks;

• policy development, risk reduction, coping skills, teaching skills and care and support for tertiary level; and

• ways of coping with HIV and AIDS on personal and classroom levels for lecturers and students.

To strengthen their HIV and AIDS and Life Skills Programme, both ministries have set up internal structures to address issues of HIV and AIDS in schools, colleges and universities. MOESC created an HIV and AIDS Desk to spearhead the implementation of the programme. MHTE has an HIV and AIDS officer within the ministry and HIV and AIDS coordinators at each educational institution.

With UNESCO Harare’s support, MHTE reviewed the HIV and AIDS syllabus and formulated a policy for teacher training colleges. This complements the National Policy by providing colleges with a standard framework and guidelines for implementing programmes. UNESCO Harare also assisted in building capacity in setting up and managing Post Test Support Groups (PTSG) in colleges.

UNESCO has further supported the two ministries in:

• developing an HIV and AIDS Facilitators manual;

• training teachers in the use of information and communication technologies in teaching HIV and AIDS;

• reviewing syllabus for colleges of education; and

• developing the Ministry’s policy on HIV and AIDS.

Despite efforts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the sector, several challenges remain. Some of these consist of the need to expand HIV and AIDS programmes and continue improving existing structures within the ministries to effectively implement projects and programmes.

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

Profile of Zimbabwe National Network of People Living With HIV and AIDS 

Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (ZNNP+) is a registered national non-governmental organisation founded in 1992. It is a national umbrella body that represents and coordinates activities of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA). The Organisation advocates for the interests of PLWHA in various fora and promotes empowerment through skills development, sharing of information, involvement in community home based care, counselling and education.

ZNNP+’s vision is to encourage people to live positively and facilitate the reduction of HIV infection among the entire population, leading to a creation of an HIV and AIDS free generation. The organisation is committed to advocating for the rights of PLWHA through information dissemination and networking. It also seeks to improve the quality of life and care of PLWHA by mobilising resources and capacity building of the infected and affected.

Guided by the values of non-discrimination practices, dignity for the infected and affected, confidentiality of members’ status, respect for human rights, transparency, greater involvement of PLWHA and positive living, the Organisation seeks to:

• promote material and psychological support for PLWHA and their families and communities;

• facilitate networking and sharing of information among all stakeholders at different levels;

• disseminate relevant information on the pandemic and related issues to the affected;
  • lobby and advocate for the human and legal rights for PLWHA;

• build capacity; and

• mobilise resources.

The operational structure of ZNNP+ covers all levels in the country. It has a national executive committee which is supported by a secretariat, provincial, district and ward committees. The Organisation is unique in that it also boasts of village committees (support groups) and family or household committees. Membership of ZNNP+ comprises support groups of PLWHA, individuals with a keen interest in PLWHA, institutions and organisation with interventions those affected. It works with local organisation such as the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisation (NANGO) and the Zimbabwe AIDS Network (ZAN). It also has close links with the Southern African Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (SAPWA), the Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (NAP+) and the Global Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (GNP+).

For more information, email:

programmes@znnp.co.zw.  Top

Malawi shares lessons from the first national HIV testing and counselling week 

At the HIV and AIDS Implementers Meeting held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 16-19 June 2007, Malawi shared with delegates, lessons from the first national HIV testing and counselling week implemented by the government in July 2006. The campaign was designed in line with Malawi’s National HIV and AIDS Policy to support the country’s goal of testing one million people by the end of 2007. Its aims were to increase knowledge of HIV status among Malawians and hasten the progress towards prevention and care targets for 2010.

Under the theme “Plan your future, get an HIV test today”, the objectives of the campaign included:

• Increasing visibility of HIV testing and counselling.

• Raising weekly HIV testing and counselling service output.

• Creating an opportunity to evaluate feasibility of the national campaign strategy in rolling out HIV testing and counselling.

The campaign highlighted the benefits of HIV testing and counselling, coupled with provisions of services at conventional and temporary sites. Spearheaded by the Ministry of Health and the National AIDS Commission (NAC), civil society organisations, bilateral donors, donor agencies, local non-governmental, community and faith based organisations and other service providers participated and supported the campaign. The HIV testing and counselling week drew from Malawi’s experience in implementing successful immunisation campaigns.

Before the campaign began, Malawi mobilised all stakeholders through community meetings, radio, television programmes and print media. This also served to inform the public about the purpose and benefits of the initiative. During the week-long event, 239 sites, 500 outreach and mobile HIV testing and counselling were operated. Collectively, these sites engaged 1500 trained counsellors. Key outcomes include increased public debate on testing and counselling. The week also led to a sharp increase in public demand for HIV testing. Nearly 97 000 people were counselled and tested within the 6 days. This represented close to ten-fold increase in total number of people tested in the whole country each week. Most sites in the country reported increased demand for services in the firsts three months following the national campaign.

The campaign indicated that people in Malawi are ready for HIV testing if services are taken close to the public even in non-conventional outreach or mobile settings. It also concluded that poor access may be the cause of the low uptake of HIV testing and counselling in Malawi. NAC reports that only 15% of the total Malawian population (12 million) are aware of their HIV status, and yet an estimated 930,000 people are HIV positive. With the arrival of treatment and programmes to prevent transmission of HIV, testing has become a major part of the prevention and care continuum.

The paper recommended the urgent expansion of services within and beyond the formal health sector. HIV testing and counselling week campaign strategy in Malawi was a success and should be adopted by other similarly affected countries.

For more information, visit: http://www.usaid.gov/mw/pressandinfo/hctweek.htm. 
Top

Secondary school communications clubs for behaviour change in young Mozambican men

Gender norms often lead to risky behaviours that drive the HIV pandemic in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. To reduce and eventually halt the negative impact of gender norms, the Mozambican Ministry of Education and Culture, the National AIDS Council, the United States Embassy and the Peace Corps developed secondary school communication clubs for behaviour change. The project targets in-school Mozambican males aged between 14 and 17 years.

Presenting at the HIV and AIDS Implementers Meeting held in Kigali, Rwanda from 16-19 June 2007, Robert Bernard Morehead of the US Peace Corps noted that the communications programme seeks to reduce HIV incidence among young people in secondary schools through training and peer education to develop young men’s capacity to analyse gender roles in the country and adopt behaviours that reduce HIV transmission.

The JOMA (Youth for Change and Action) project, in partnership with non-governmental organisations (NGO) and the government, addresses male behaviour and HIV through annual Boys’ Conference and follow-up support to community-based boys’ clubs. Coordinated by the Peace Corps Volunteers and partner organisation trainers, the six-day annual conference teaches male teachers and students to:

• examine male behaviour and its consequences;

• explore strategies to reduce risks;

• motivate and form boys’ clubs; and

• educate peers and organise school based micro-projects.

Boys’ clubs carry out journalism, photo-documentary, theatre and art micro-projects in the community and serve as a vehicle for exploration of HIV, male behaviour and consequences. They also provide a way for teachers and students to educate and support peers. Teachers and students acquire knowledge and skills in project management through boys’ clubs. To expand boys’ understanding of gender, JOMA facilitates discussions between boys’ clubs and young women's groups.

Outcomes from the project show that young men, learn from the project:

• how traditional male roles increase the risk of HIV;

• ways to identify and choose risk reduction behaviours;

• methods of educating and motivating peers to develop healthier behaviours;

• organisation of club activities in the community, sharing information and providing support to peers; and

• how to identify male role models.

The project has many challenges such as failure to expand into additional schools and institutionalising the support structure for male behaviour change in the Ministry of Education. Others include ensuring the quality of peer education activities and interface of girls’ clubs without compromising open discussions about gender relations.

Some of the key recommendations call for:

• institutionalisation of male behaviour change programmes within the Ministry of Education and schools throughout the country;

• increase in involvement of teachers, school directors, and other male leaders to create “champions” for male behaviour change; and

• follow-up study of conference participants and clubs to determine effects and improve future conferences and activities.

For more information, visit:
http://www.unaids.org/en/MediaCentre/Press
Materials
/FeatureStory/20070618_preventionprogramming_
young_people.asp. Top

Inter-country workshop on effective garden-based learning for improved livelihood and child nutrition

The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the UN Sub Regional Office for Southern and Eastern Africa held a regional review workshop of school garden activities in selected countries in Southern Africa (Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe) in Harare, Zimbabwe from 12-15 June 2007.

The objectives of the workshop were to:

• review existing garden-based learning and nutrition education activities in the region;

• identify best practices and lessons learnt;

• develop operational guidelines for School Gardens in emergency contexts and high HIV and AIDS prevalence;

• reconcile long term education and nutrition needs with emergency programmes;

• identify needs for capacity building; and

• make recommendations for networking and knowledge exchange.

FAO shared its concept and approach on school gardens, which promote lifelong healthy eating and stresses on a tri-partite curriculum/whole school approach which integrates classroom, school-based activities and linkages with parents and the community. The workshop recognised that school gardens or garden based learning has the potential of:

• increasing the relevance and quality of education for rural and urban children through active learning and introduction of food and nutrition-related knowledge and skills into the curriculum;

• providing school children with practical experience in food production and natural resource management, which serves as a source of knowledge that can be applied in their own household gardens and farms;

• improving pupils’ nutrition by supplementing school feeding and increasing children’s nutrition knowledge and skills, for the benefit of the whole family.

School gardens can contribute to HIV and AIDS impact mitigation through enhancing livelihood skills and nutritional security in areas that are highly vulnerable to food insecurity due to the impact of HIV and AIDS. They are seen as a vital link in response to the HIV and AIDS pandemic, which has affected the social and economic status of many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. School gardens also provide an excellent platform to reverse some of the effects through production of food, generation of funds and capacity building of children in the region.

Participants highlighted that school gardens are commonly used as production units instead of learning laboratories (production orientation takes priority over educational objectives).

They made the following recommendations:

• strengthen the nutritional aspects in implementation of school based gardens;

• integrate school garden based activities into the curriculum;

• involve community members and other stakeholders in school garden projects; and

• enhance monitoring and evaluation of school gardens.

For more information, email: Fadzai.Mukonoweshuro@fao.org. Top

US First Lady visits Mozambique and Zambia to highlight HIV and AIDS programmes

As part of her four-nation tour of Africa, the First Lady of the United States of America, Laura Bush, visited Mozambique and Zambia – two Harare Cluster countries – in addition to Senegal and Mali, to highlight initiatives supported by the US government and corporations. During the visit, the US pledged to support Africa’s response to HIV and AIDS and improve the education system..

In Zambia, Mrs Bush visited an HIV and AIDS treatment centre and graced the launch of the malaria campaign in the country. She also visited a project with a network of 12,000 Zambian HIV and AIDS volunteers to distribute insecticide-treated nets (ITN) for malaria control. The project is funded by the US government, US corporations including Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson and others that are part of the Global Business Coalition on HIV and AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Also involved in the project is a consortium of non-governmental organisations such as the World Vision and Care International, and church groups in Zambia.

Other activities included a visit to Regiment School in Lusaka to watch students perform a drama about HIV and AIDS. The trip has shed light on the role of faith-based organisations in Zambia in response to HIV and AIDS, and one such organisation visited provides access to HIV and AIDS treatment, counselling and testing services.

The First Lady also visited sites in Maputo, Mozambique, including the US funded project to curb malaria. While in Mozambique, she announced a US$507 million aid package from the Millennium Challenge Corporation to help Mozambique eradicate mosquito breeding sites, build water wells, upgrade roads and improve agriculture. In Beluluane near Maputo, officials are beginning a malaria eradication program, which includes spraying the walls of homes with the chemical DDT. At a meeting with religious leaders, Mrs Bush announced that two million dollars would be disbursed over the next three years to Mozambique's Inter-Religious Council for the fight against this disease. Another program visited provides life-saving drugs to children with AIDS and is sponsored by the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Other places visited include a US funded clinic in Dakar, Senegal which provided outpatient treatment to people infected with HIV and AIDS. In her address, Mrs. Bush highlighted the US government’s commitment to the response to HIV and AIDS and malaria. She also called for further investment in education for the continent. The U.S. government Africa Education Initiative has trained 4,000 new teachers in Senegal since it began in 2002 and aims to train 900,000 across the continent by the end of the decade. In partnership with US universities, it has also provided half a million new schoolbooks to children in Senegal alone, with another 800,000 to be delivered over the summer.

The visit by the First Lady indicates a new political will to combat the effects of malaria and HIV & AIDS. President Bush’s initiatives gives hope to the continent with programmes to bring better drugs and more powerful anti-mosquito weapons including the pesticide DDT to fight malaria and the AIDS pandemic.

More than 25 million people, globally, have died of AIDS-related illnesses since it was first recognised more than a quarter of a century ago. About 40 million live with HIV, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa where the virus is spread primarily through heterosexual sex.

For more information, email:
b.mapanda@unesco.org.  Top

In a meeting of UNESCO HIV and AIDS clearinghouses representatives hosted by the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) in Paris, France from 4-5 June 2007, delegates agreed to establish a common clearing house for HIV and AIDS materials and resources. Representatives at the meeting comprised those from IIEP, the International Bureau of Education (IBE), Scribnet, Tosca Consultants, the Section on HIV and AIDS Division for the Coordination of UN Priorities in Education and the UNESCO offices of Bangkok, Dakar, Harare, Kingston, Nairobi and Santiago.

The objective of the meeting was to agree upon one common technical platform for all UNESCO HIV and AIDS Clearinghouses so as to provide users with one entry point to access information. Currently, there are eight UNESCO HIV and AIDS Clearinghouses, each at different levels of development and these include among others, the:

• International Clearinghouse on Curriculum for HIV and AIDS Preventive Education (International Bureau of Education);

• HIV and AIDS Impact on Education Clearinghouse (IIEP);

• UNESCO Harare Education and HIV & AIDS Clearinghouse;

• UNESCO Bangkok HIV and AIDS Clearinghouse (UNESCO Bangkok); and

• Database of HIV/AIDS Preventive Education (UNESCO Dakar).

Addressing participants, the UNESCO Global Coordinator for HIV and AIDS, Mark Richmond, called for the development of a common technical platform for the clearinghouse. He further urged them to define roles and responsibilities for each of the partners. Mr Richmond recommended the harmonisation of plans of the three clearinghouses (IBE, IIEP and Bangkok) which received financial support from the UNAIDS Unified Budget Work-plan.

Participants outlined several issues including a common the core functions, benefits and challenges of an education and HIV & AIDS clearinghouse. The core services provided by the clearinghouse include:

• Online access to documents structured in a database with multi-criteria search function;

• Enquiry service; and

• Web links to related sources of information.

The Harare, Dakar and Nairobi offices were called upon to explore available options for thematic or geographical data from the sub-Saharan region and direct the data entry process for the region.

Other key follow-up actions include:

• Updating existing clearinghouse databases and migrating the data to central server;

• Developing a common platform with web-based data entry, user query and maintenance interface.

A common clearinghouse with a central database offers quality control and security of information, unified location of information giving faster access to the end user, a standard format of data entry, single point of access for users and easier online access for maintainers and users.

For more information, email: s.bodo@unesco.org