Intervention programmes to combat the spread of HIV, are on a large scale in South Africa. Even in the poorest communities, efforts had been put on by organisations and individuals to assist individuals and families who are infected and affected by HIV. In his opening speech at the launch of the HIV/AIDS Case Studies, Minister of Social and Welfare Zola Skweyiya said "the HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the most urgent development challenges faced by South African and requires a new vision, new ideas and new policy development in order to face the multiple socio-economic challenges".
The HIV/AIDS Case Studies in South Africa (Volume1) focussed on four broad issues: Business partnership, community prevention initiative, home-based care and prevention initiatives. The Case Studies reflects experiences of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and training. Although the Case Studies were not necessarily representative of the rural and urban settings of South Africa, they provided a framework on initiatives established to deal with the epidemic.
The organisations were identified from:
Out of 115 questionnaires mailed to NGOs and other organisations active in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention and care in all nine provinces, only 36 organisations dealing with 41 HIV/AIDS projects completed the questionnaires. A sub -sample of 14 organisations was selected for the Case Studies. Although the Case Studies were not representative in nature, but they provided a broad framework on initiatives established to deal with the epidemic.
The result from the study indicated that the majority of projects had focussed on preventive activities and on HIV/AIDS infected and affected women, men and youth.
This article will report only on the Business Partnership, Awareness and Prevention Initiatives.
Three organisations were selected in this category namely; Ethembeni Centre, Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative and Old Mutuals I Have Hope AIDS Peer group project.
Ethembeni Care Centre
Ethembeni Care Centre was established under the auspices of the Zululand Chamber of Business Foundation. It offers four main services namely, drop-in and say care, home-based care, inpatient care and training. Services are offered on fee for service base, and training is also designed for specific organisation, on request and the profit made from such training assist in sustaining the Care Centre.
Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative is one of the Spatial Development Initiatives launched by former President Nelson Mandela in 1997. Its main focus is to generate economic growth, job creation, business ownership and ensuring cooperation between all three levels of governance in partnership countries. The phase one proposal was to provide HIV/AIDS education programmes to men and women in the craft programme. The tender was awarded to the Womens Health Project from the University of Witwatersrand. The training was divided into three stages, and highlighted broad sexual and reproductive health and HIV Counselling. Role plays and focus group discussions were used to introduce the concept of sexual right.
The programme achieved the following:
The aim of Old Mutuals I Have Hope AIDS Peer Group Project the project is to make peer leaders intensely aware of the realities of HIV/AIDS and how it could affect themselves, their families, friends and community. Old Mutual is funding the programme to the sum of R1 million per annum.
The programme target the high schools (grade 10 and 11 learners), and usually takes place over a period of six months and encompass four discreet phases.
The Old Mutual Project has had the following impact in capacity building and life skills results:
The baseline learners attitude results:
In conclusion the above results have shown that Old Mutual Project I Have Hope Peer Group Project significantly changes attitudes, knowledge and beliefs.
The Old Mutual Project I Have Hope Peer Group Project is an example of the kind of assistant that can be provided by business to facilities to accelerate the response to HIV/AIDS.
The AREPP theatre and puppetry projects are a non-profiting national community programme. The main aim of the projects is to create awareness on socially relevant issues; focusing on Sexuality, HIV/AIDS, Health and Well-being, Gender and Abuse by using theatre and puppetry programmes. The target audience is both adults and children. The messages conveyed in the shows are focussed and are aimed at addressing the issues at the most basic level.
AREPP uses the concept of a travelling theatre in which even the remotes areas are visited. The shows are designed in such a way that the audience has a more personal interface and interaction with the show to allow the audience to identify with the characters and the story line.
Indicators identified by AREPP staff members to assess efficiency of their work:
Indicators identified by AREPP staff members to assess impact of their work:
While the above individual changes are difficult to assess, the following observation supports the impact on the programme:
The change of content of discussion and debate-presumably, as reflected in question-and- answer sessions.
A child telephoning Childline and saying: Monkey told me to phone you.
In conclusion, there is a need to develop more effective methods of evaluating the shows, particularly in terms of monitoring attitudinal and behavioural changes over a period of time.
Soul City: Institute for Health and Development Communication (IHDC)
Soul City is a multi-media strategy aimed at raising awareness of and providing education on a range of health and social issues. The projects uses a number of different media that complement each other.
Soul Buddyz target children from 5- 12 yrs of age whilest Soul City target people from age 12 and older. Both projects are preceded by extensive research.
Summary of research on Soul City Four Soul Citys forth series reached 16.2 million people in South Africa through radio, television and print, which represents 79% of the target audience.
In conclusion, Soul City has successfully incorporated messages on HIV/AIDS into highly entertaining projects that, in themselves, can stand as compelling television and radio shows. These were backed up by publications that are fun to read and easy to understand.
Reference:
Compiled by Matsie Ratsaka-Mothokoa
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Research Updates are quarterly publications of the Department of Health, focusing on the important/current research findings.