Swazi Girls4Health, Swazi Women4Health, Swazi Men4Health Discussion Guides for Interpersonal Communication

These Discussion Guides for Interpersonal Communication were developed to promote the uptake of key HIV prevention services for three target audiences in Swaziland: adolescent girls and young women (AGYW),  women aged 25-39, and men aged 25-39. The guides were developed to address a specific gap identified by Swaziland’s extended National Multisectoral Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS (eNSF, 2014–2018) - an inadequate targeting of interventions and services for AGYW, women aged 25 -39, and men aged 25-39, all groups who face the highest risk of HIV acquisition and/or transmission.

The Swazi Girls4Health, Swazi Women4Health, and the SwaziMen4Health Discussion Guides are interactive tools designed for interpersonal communication (IPC) within those specific age groups. They consist of interactive sessions, which are meant to take place over three days, using a diverse range of participatory methods to enable individuals to become more aware of their own personal risks to HIV infection, learn about strategies to reduce their risk, and make decisions to adopt appropriate risk reduction strategies to avert HIV acquisition and/or transmission.

The guides comprise of the following three modules:

• Understanding HIV Risk
• HIV Risk Reduction Strategies
• Making HIV Risk Reduction Happen

According to the guides, participants in the discussion sessions using these tools will be able to:

• Increase their understanding about HIV transmission, prevention, antiretroviral treatment (ART) and the importance of adherence;
• Increase their awareness and understanding of the gender norms that impact HIV risk, prevention, ART adherence and service uptake;
• Examine and identify their risk for HIV and develop a personal plan and commitment to reduce their risk;
• Practice new skills to prevent HIV infection;
• Use condoms correctly and consistently;
• Increase their use of HIV-related services including HIV testing and counselling (HTC), prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and ART; and
• Discuss what they have learned during the sessions with others – such as their family, peer group and community – and inspire others to take action to reduce their HIV risk and access related services.

The guides were produced with technical assistance from the Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3), which is based at Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP). The design was modelled after the Tasankha Discussion Guide, produced by the Malawi BRIDGE II project, also implemented by CCP.