HIV/AIDS Prevention & Reproductive Health Project

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Involvement of parents and the community Project activities In a preliminary phase the objective of the project was to use PEs at schools to also reach out to the communities. Support of the community to the PEs was however limited, their work was misunderstood and it was regarded as inappropriate for youth to talk about issues related to HIV and SRH to their seniors and elders at home or other older people in the community. Public IEC events such as street drama contributed to removing some barriers. Another approach was to directly include the community and shift the responsibility of sensitizing other adult community members to women groups. CAPITALIZATION STUDY HIV/AIDS Prevention and Reproductive Health Project NRCS/SDC 2000-2007 13
PEs disseminate messages related to HIV and Reproductive Health to the wider communities mainly through public IEC events - street drama or folk song competitions. Some interventions specifically target vulnerable population groups including dissemination of IEC materials to transport workers and sending letters on HIV and AIDS to migrant workers. Youth perform interactive street drama sessions not only in the community but also on the roadside, truck and bus halting places. To gain parental support the project informs and involves parents through information sessions and distribution of IEC materials, for example, at parents' days. Parents are invited to public activities of PEs. There appears to be little resistance of parents regarding SRH education at schools. Opposing views are often related to the fear that teaching of SRH may increase promiscuity among the youth. Support teachers play a role to counter these fears. The project has increasingly made an effort to involve the People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA). While in general PLWHA are increasingly coming out, in many communities they are still invisible and the majority of youth and community members involved in the project have not met anybody living with HIV and AIDS. Within the project, PLWHA are increasingly being referred to the NRCS for support. Three PLWHA were supported by the project when they publicly spoke out on the occasion of the condoms' day. In one district the project is supporting a self help group of 12 PLWHA. Members of the support group are in regular contact with the NRCS district office, they are invited to join the DACC meetings and receive small financial support mainly in terms of travel expenses to reach the treatment facilities in the next district, Kaski (Pokhara city). It is yet not widely known that treatment is available in Pokhara, even health facilities may not be aware of this. Dolakha, Ramechhap, Baglung, Parbat and Sindhuli districts until now do not have VCT facilities and people would need to travel to Kathmandu Valley for testing. The lack of close voluntary testing facilities appears to be a major deterrent to a comprehensive HIV response in the project districts. In one project district 7 people currently receive ART, 3 of them were referred by the project. They also receive support for travel expenses. Each district has constituted 10 women groups, each comprising 20 or more members. For each group 20 members are selected based on criteria including social status and vulnerability (e.g. wives of migrants working mainly in India). The women receive a 3-day training on HIV and AIDS, RH, and hygiene and sanitation. They meet once a month with a community-based facilitator to learn and discuss these issues. Occasionally, non-members also take part in these meetings as observers. Encouraged by the discussion and appreciative of the events organized by the women's groups, nonmembers have also expressed interest to join in as members. Many feel 'excluded' as their calls go unheeded. According to group members, however, larger groups are difficult to manage in the long run. Having to stay out of the group makes non-group members feel like 'lesser child of God,' particularly if they are Dalits. The project provides a small seed amount to set up a fund for social protection/IGA/emergency depending upon the modalities that are determined by the members. Though the funds are small and thus of limited scope, they contribute to a sense of membership and provide an incentive to meet regularly. In most cases members have used the funds to take loans. The number of women participating in the groups has increased steadily and some of the groups almost doubled in size. Demands are further issued 14 CAPITALIZATION STUDY HIV/AIDS Prevention and Reproductive Health Project NRCS/SDC 2000-2007
Page 1 and 2: HIV/AIDS Prevention & Reproductive
Page 3 and 4: Contents List of Abbreviations III
Page 5 and 6: Study Methodology This capitalizati
Page 7 and 8: the National HIV and AIDS Strategy.
Page 9 and 10: Life skills development of Youth Pr
Page 11 and 12: community. Sessions now include dis
Page 13 and 14: Lessons learnt Adolescents have man
Page 15 and 16: national system for distributing IE
Page 17: forbade his sister to be involved i
Page 21 and 22: increased. "We were accused of bein
Page 23 and 24: Adults furthermore tend not to be v
Page 25 and 26: is not encouraged or allowed at all
Page 27 and 28: female PEs further contributes to r
Page 29 and 30: for Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Ma
Page 31 and 32: Summary of Recommendations • Peer
Page 33 and 34: Annex I Newspaper extracts Advising
Page 35 and 36: Under the initiation of District Re
Page 37 and 38: support.) Do you think there is a y
Page 39 and 40: information materials used? Who dec
Page 41 and 42: III Project documents and consulted

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