NGO Strengthening - HIV/AIDS Prevention ProgramPlease note that this is a closed, archived program. October 1997-June 2003 Zimbabwe is at the center of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa and has among the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world. Between one quarter and one third of all adults are infected with HIV. Since 1990 life expectancy has declined almost a quarter century from 63 to 39 years and by 2010 more than 35% of all children are expected to be AIDS orphans. If the country is to succeed in its struggle against this terrible scourge, AIDS service organizations (ASOs) must step up their capacities and programs and reach down further to the communities where the actual war against HIV/AIDS will ultimately be won. It is in communities that the leadership and many of the resources will be found to combat the myriad forces contributing to the virus's deadly spread. Community-centered responses to fighting the epidemic require strong ASOs implementing a variety of services. Priority needs to go beyond prevention and education to include more broad range programs of care and support and mitigation Pact's approachBeginning in 1997 Pact utilized a customized organizational capacity assessment tool for Zimbabwean organizations, called ZOCA, which emphasized a participatory and developmental learning process. Pact worked closely with 15 ASOs to identify their strengths and weaknesses in working with communities. The results of applying ZOCA served to identify needed organizational activities and interventions to address the particular needs of each ASO, while allowing the group to learn with and from each other on key strategic issues. In 2000 Pact worked in consultation with government ministry officials, health and civil society experts and donors to shift the programmatic focus to provide post-HIV test services and home-based care services. Working closely with communities, ASOs, medical facilities, local governments and in collaboration with voluntary and counseling testing (VCT) centers, Pact established post test clubs (PTCs), called Moving On..., to provide VCT clients with long-term psychosocial support, counseling and referral to other HIV support services. Membership is open to anyone who has taken an HIV test, regardless of HIV status. After taking the test and paying a nominal membership fee, Moving On... members can avail themselves of free support services provided by local health care practitioners, lawyers, herbalists, counselors, psychotherapists, pastors, pharmacists and support groups. The clubs help to sustain the behavior change processes of persons who have taken the HIV test and serve as a forum for reducing stigma. The clubs are also developing a network of service providers to facilitate the exchange of experiences, share best practice, and provide mutual support and encouragement. Principles of the Moving On... Post Test Clubs As a member, we have:
To better address the issues of HIV mitigation, Pact launched a pilot home-based care (HBC) initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to strengthen communities' ability to respond to the increased number of sick and dying by working with ASOs to train volunteer HBC workers, provide needed supplies through HBC "kits" (containing basic nursing supplies such as soap, protective gloves, etc.), and to work with community leaders to develop coping strategies. The volunteers, who visit between three and five patients per day in their communities, provide counseling and advice to family members as well as needed basic medical care. Results
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