District Initiatives on HIV/AIDS - Zimbabwe
District Initiatives on HIV/AIDS aims to increase community capacity and local planning for HIV/AIDS by fostering and enhancing community responses. It focuses on the community as a means to implement HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives.
This project is part of the Southern African Youth (SAY) Initiative. SAY is a sub-regional HIV and AIDS initiative through which the United Nations Foundation (UNF), the United Nations Fund for International Partnership (UNFIP), and UNAIDS seek to support and scale up HIV/AIDS interventions among young people in southern Africa. Zimbabwe project objectives include:
The project adopts priority strategies and interventions identified in the National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS and the National AIDS Policy. In line with these national priorities, the project has 6 major areas of focus: advocacy, prevention of HIV infection among young people and adolescent girls, institutional capacity building, orphan support, care and support, and micro-financing of women's projects. It proposes ways to help districts implement community-level interventions that prevent the transmission of HIV infection, particularly among young girls and adolescents. It also focuses on mitigating the socio-economic impact of the epidemic.
One particular project emphasis is fostering and enhancing community responses by using the district and the community as the focus of implementation of HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives. For example, the project established 25 corners for youth sexual and reproductive health services in Harare, Bulawayo, and Mashvingo in 2002. Health workers in both areas were trained to support the youth corners.
Other project activities include:
HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health, Youth, Young Women.
This project is part of the Southern African Youth (SAY) Initiative. SAY is a sub-regional HIV and AIDS initiative through which the United Nations Foundation (UNF), the United Nations Fund for International Partnership (UNFIP), and UNAIDS seek to support and scale up HIV/AIDS interventions among young people in southern Africa. Zimbabwe project objectives include:
- mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS through the provision of orphan care programmes
- empowering young people to intervene against HIV/AIDS
- providing micro-financing services
- increasing institutional capacities at the district level to respond to HIV and AIDS among youth.
The project adopts priority strategies and interventions identified in the National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS and the National AIDS Policy. In line with these national priorities, the project has 6 major areas of focus: advocacy, prevention of HIV infection among young people and adolescent girls, institutional capacity building, orphan support, care and support, and micro-financing of women's projects. It proposes ways to help districts implement community-level interventions that prevent the transmission of HIV infection, particularly among young girls and adolescents. It also focuses on mitigating the socio-economic impact of the epidemic.
One particular project emphasis is fostering and enhancing community responses by using the district and the community as the focus of implementation of HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives. For example, the project established 25 corners for youth sexual and reproductive health services in Harare, Bulawayo, and Mashvingo in 2002. Health workers in both areas were trained to support the youth corners.
Other project activities include:
- orphan-care support
- youth and adolescent initiatives
- care and support of people living with HIV/AIDS
- micro-financing initiatives
- advocacy
- institutional capacity-building activities
- monitoring and evaluation.
HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health, Youth, Young Women.
Key Points
According to organisers, "Zimbabwe faces a worsening AIDS epidemic with over 1.8 million people infected with HIV infection. It is estimated that over 1,200 die of HIV related illnesses every week with over half of new cases occurring before the age of 25. In some areas, 20% of girls aged between 15 and 19 years and 40% of women aged between 20 and 24 years are infected."
SAY comprises 9 independent projects located in 8 of southern Africa's most severely affected countries, as well as a sub-regional technical support project (Telling the Story). Through the work of UN country teams, SAY aims to catalyse innovative and expanded national responses to the HIV and AIDS epidemic to meet the needs of the youth in southern Africa, especially girls, who are most vulnerable to HIV infection.
SAY comprises 9 independent projects located in 8 of southern Africa's most severely affected countries, as well as a sub-regional technical support project (Telling the Story). Through the work of UN country teams, SAY aims to catalyse innovative and expanded national responses to the HIV and AIDS epidemic to meet the needs of the youth in southern Africa, especially girls, who are most vulnerable to HIV infection.
Partners
UNF/UNAIDS.
Sources
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