Engaging Traditional and Religious Leadership in accelerating HIV & GBV prevention through culture transformation strategies: The SAfAIDS “Rock” Integrated Model

Southern AfricaHIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service

HIV/AIDS INFORMATION : the power to make a differenceSAfAIDS - P O Box A509,Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe, Tel: 263 4 336193/4, Fax: 263 4 336195, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.safaids.org.zw Southern Africa

HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service

SAfAIDS - P O Box A509,Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe, Tel: 263 4 336193/4, Fax: 263 4 336195, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.safaids.org.zw

““Engaging Traditional and Religious Leadership in Accelerating HIV and GBV Prevention through Culture-

Transformation Strategies: The SAfAIDS “Rock" Integrated Model."

Southern Africa HIV and AIDS InformationDissemination Service (SAfAIDS)Regional Office: 479 Sappers Contour, LynnwoodPretoria, South Africa

Tel: +27 12 361 0889Fax: +27 12 361 0899Website: http://www.safaids.net Emails: [email protected] and [email protected]


HIV/AIDS INFORMATION : the power to make a differenceSAfAIDS - P O Box A509,Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe, Tel: 263 4 336193/4, Fax: 263 4 336195, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.safaids.org.zw

By the end of this Session, By the end of this Session, we shall ……we shall ……• Explore and appreciate an interactive and comprehensive

package on engaging traditional leadership in HIV & GBV prevention responses

• Be equipped with innovative skills and tools to engage traditional leadership in African communities to harness their role in promoting integrated HIV & GBV prevention

• Become familiar with the SAfAIDS Culture Dialogue Model of community driven mapping of cultural practices that promote and reduce vulnerability issues, related to HIV & GBV and strategic engagement of custodians of culture in reducing these vulnerabilities



…………andand

• Be inspired to effectively utilise and cascade the package tools – adapted to out country specific contexts – through strategic advocacy and mobilisation activities that engage traditional leaders in reducing HIV & GBV in the communities they lead

• Network and build a broader network of partners committed to engaging traditional leadership and tackling harmful cultural practices towards reducing vulnerability to HIV and GBV in communities being served



This Session Comprises….This Session Comprises….• Welcome & Overview of session objectives and structure

• The Process : Build-up to the SAfAIDS “Rock” HIV Prevention Programme Engaging Traditional Leaders – fresh frontiers being pushed forward as we revolutionalise “Getting to Zero”!

• Exciting Explorations: The “From Past to Future – Traditional Leaders as Prevention Champions” Package

• Translating Tools into Creative Application: Activities in Groups

• A Story of An African Queen (DVD show)

• Sharing our Rich Experiences

• Keeping the Fire Burning & The Wheels Turning : Paving the Way Forward – what next





General Justification• Prevailing high statistics & structural imbalance of power and

inequality factors fuelling GBV and vulnerability to HIV. Majority of current interventions are timidly addressing ‘root’ => CULTURE

• Risk and vulnerability factors of the twin epidemics often perpetuated by traditional structures established and practiced

• Traditional leaders highly influential, yet omitted from mainstream responses, unless for tokenistic purposes. Many have desire to “move with the times”, but need knowledge and skills

• Getting to Zero (UNAIDS) demands pulling out the plug in all corners of society. It is time to engage TLs. Evidence of pockets of similar interventions show success! Undoubtedly this angle to prevention will contribute to meeting national MDGs 4, 5 & 6



The Process…..The Process….. Needs identification

The need to actively engage traditional leadership structures and tackle harmful cultural practices, while bringing protective cultural practices to the fore, was identified by SAfAIDS following:

– Multiple community-based HIV and GBV interventions and operational research related through programme documentation

– Research conducted in Namibia and Mozambique around the links between women’s rights, HIV and gender inequalities

– Concerns raised by service providers and community groups, that traditional structures continued to be excluded from mainstream HIV & GBV responses, and this has countered progress in behaviour change

– Evidence gathered during policy dialogues revealed exclusion of traditional mechanisms from mainstream responses was impeding change



Design of Pilot Intervention•SAfAIDS (2005) then begun a culture, HIV and women’s rights programme in a small Zimbabwean Community (Seke) in partnership with a local CBO, and piloted it through

– Development of Training manual on HIV, gender, women’s rights and culture and conducting cascade training

– Culture dialogue series

– Campaigns

– Other participatory activities

•This proved effective, open dialogue took place by women/men, practices were changed and behaviour change evidence, and a best practice was documented in the area



Scaled-up Programme•SAfAIDS rolled out a fully fledge Changing the River’s Flow (CTRF) programme in 6 southern African countries (Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe). As a result 10 best practices were documented, evidencing working models of cultural transformative change in the SAfAIDS Turning the Tide Book and DVD

•A spin off of the CTRF programme is this “Rock” programme that offers specific attention to working directly and intricately with Traditional Leaders as “prevention champions” !

•Programme now being implemented in Lesotho and Malawi since 2011 with the support from UN Women



Models of Intervention Applied



SAfAIDS “Culture Dialogue Series Model”



SAfAIDS Cascade Model for Capacity Strengthening

National Trainers

District Trainers

Volunteers

Door to door with familiesChurch meetingsCommunity meetingsSchools etc



The Rock Programme: – Package developed and piloted during a Regional

Indaba on HIV for Traditional Leaders (TLs) in 2011. Confirmed that when TLs are engaged - by civil society and other partners responding to HIV & GBV - they are more likely to take the lead and mobilise their communities towards intended behaviour change

– Evidence gathered during programming that when TLs engaged – culture is transformed – risks and vulnerabilities reduced e.g. replace offering of a girl child bride with a cow; promote condoms; go for testing and share +ve HIV status to reduce stigma and increase open dialogue around HIV; balance traditional court systems to protect women from violence etc



Hosi Nwamitwa II of the Baloyi (Limpopo)

– 1st constitutionally appointed Queen

in South Africa– MP: influences national policy– Promotes women and girls rights

through job-and-life-skills trainings– Facilitates HIV testing service availability and access

by subjects– Intervenes in domestic violence cases– Facilitates initiation of PLHIV subjects on ART– Mobilises local resources (convinces local business

persons to contribute building schools, centres etc)



Chief Mdluli of Swaziland got circumcised,

openly states he wears a condom during

sex, and went for HIV counselling. He

motivates men/boys to go for MMC

Chief Rangwani of Zimbabwe, tested HIV positive, overcame

his

self-stigma & disclosed. Negotiated

with hospital accept PLHIV clients who cant pay, and offered his time to

the hospital OI unit



Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini KaBhekizulu

"A number of amakhosi have died after taking the oath to lead their clans, hardly having spent 5 years in office“.

He announced that the Ingonyama Trust Board had taken the issue upon itself to assist amakhosi cope with HIV.

"The board has introduced an HIV programme aimed at assisting infected amakhosi. And those who are HIV positive must come forward for help"

He revived male circumcision in 2010



Thank you…..Thank you…..

Health & Medicine

Engaging Traditional and Religious Leadership in accelerating HIV & GBV prevention through culture transformation strategies: The SAfAIDS “Rock” Integrated Model