The community had a problem with high death rates of parents due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These deaths were attributed to lack of HIV/AIDS prevention literacy, condoms, sensitization, and treatment and led to a growing number of orphans and vulnerable children without parental support who, as a result, often became involved in harmful practices. Sensitizing the community through the provision of HIV/AIDS literacy, prevention measures, distribution of condoms, and accessing ART (treatment) was important to the community because HIV infections would be reduced and ART would prolong life of parents.
Bauze VCT members informed the community using megaphones and invited them to visit the Red Elephant Children Center to receive HIV/AIDS prevention literacy and condoms, voluntary counseling, and testing conducted by a specialized HIV testing organization known as Newstart Center. Fourty VCT sessions were conducted in ten months, in partnership with Newstart Center, in which 600 male and female parents received HIV/AIDS prevention literacy, 450 were tested and 90 were found to be positive and were referred to health centers for ART evaluation. Follow-ups to health centers indicated that 79 male and female parents accessed ART (Antiretroviral Treatment) and their lives were being prolonged. The initiative reduced the number of parental deaths and as a result reduced the number of orphans and vulnerable children who may have become involved in harmful practices.
Assess: There were a growing number of orphans and vulnerable children in the Kanyama community who were involved in harmful practices. This led the group to carry out a research assessment that uncovered the high parental death rates in the community caused mainly by HIV/AIDS. The group’s efforts were made in attempt to contribute to the reduction of high parental deaths in the community by identifying the facilities at Red Elephant Children Center which could be used to conduct HIV/AIDS prevention literacy, counseling, and testing in partnership with a local organization known as Newstart Center that specializes in HIV testing. The group also sourced 45,000 condoms from the Ministry of Health. Bauze VCT sensitized the community using megaphones and invited them to the center where HIV/AIDS prevention literacy and condom distribution including testing were conducted.
Plan: Bauze VCT divided Kanyama into ten HIV/AIDS prevention sections in order to develop a plan. The group’s strategy was to use individual sections to conduct HIV/AIDS prevention literacy, counseling, and testing. The group’s mission was to put the HIV/AIDS virus in the community under control by providing prevention measures and encouraging HIV-positive people to access ART in order to prolong their lives. The main objective of the group was to provide HIV/AIDS prevention literacy, condoms, voluntary counseling, and testing to 1,000 people of the Kanyama community within 12 months. Those found positive would be referred to health centers for ART evaluation.
Act: The group first acquired two megaphones from within the community and used them for mobilization and sensitization. The group divided the community into ten HIV/AIDS prevention sections and each was allocated one month in which to conduct sectional sensitization then eventually progress into HIV/AIDS prevention literacy and voluntary counseling and testing with Newstart Center counselors at the Red Elephant Children Center. The group used the children’s hall at the center, which accommodated about 40 people per HIV/AIDS literacy session for two hours in a day. The people who made up their minds to be tested chose to undertake VCT within the center while those found positive were referred to health centers for ART evaluation.
Evaluate: An interpretive approach was used to evaluate the program: interviews were conducted at different levels of the program with individuals and focus groups in each HIV/AIDS prevention section to evaluate the results being achieved as well as to analyze program records. The activities were shown to have a direct impact on the community. The information suggested that the program needed more testing counselors, as one Newstart Center counselor could only test a maximum of 20 people per day while often 25-35 people needed to be tested within one day. That led the group to partner with Kara Training Center where four Bauze VCT members were trained in voluntary counseling and testing in order to meet the need of the rising number of people who requested testing services on a daily basis.
Sustain: The group’s valuable efforts are being maintained even after the project ended. The group had been endorsed as a private community clinic and integrated into Lusaka District Health Management Team’s supported clinics as voluntary counseling and testing counselors and also as ART dispensers. The group is currently renovating a five-roomed office block to recommended specifications by the Medical Council of Zambia at the Red Elephant children Center to a community clinic where the community will be receiving HIV/AIDS prevention literacy, condoms, Voluntary Counseling and Testing and Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).
The community had low parental mortality rate as well as orphans and vulnerable children involved in harmful practices such as theft, glue sniffing, begging, and living on the streets. Because of the group’s efforts, 79 parents in the community accessed ART, 285 children whose parents’ lives are being prolonged due to ART and were supposed to be orphaned are being supported by their parents. About 250 parents who received HIV/AIDS prevention literacy and tested negative responded to HIV prevention measures of having one sexual partner and using a condom whenever they have sex. 12,000 condoms were used by the community in ten months and up to now they are still collecting from the center.
