Anchoring Awareness in the Community - Handicap International

Project goals
General goal
Contribute to reducing HIV/AIDS transmission
and improving the quality of life of persons
living with HIV/AIDS in the northwest region of
Somalia and the northeast region of Ethiopia.
Specific goal
Reinforce HIV prevention and provide access
to continued, comprehensive treatment for
persons living with HIV in the neighborhood of
the Hargeisa – Jijiga / Dire Dawa – Djibouti /
Djibouti – Loggia corridors.
Expected results
1. Availability of and access to objective and
culturally appropriate information for the
migratory and sedentary populations of the
target areas.
2. Availability of voluntary counseling and
testing services in four secondary health
structures and reinforcement of these services
in three reference centers.
3. Improvement in and better performance of
comprehensive care services, in particular
treatment services, in the reference hospitals.
4. Effective implementation of skill exchanges
on the regional scale and promotion of
experience capitalization.
Handicap International is in charge of
the implementation of the project in the
two countries: Ethiopia and Somaliland.
The intervention logic is mainly based on
partnership through the coordination and
reinforcement of local initiatives.
A STRONG AWARENESS COMPONENT
At the different sites of project intervention,
development of awareness represented a
fundamental aspect of the project, with its
implementation entrusted to local partner
associations.
“House-to-house” awareness action
In each community concerned, awareness
was developed at different levels, in different
contexts and through targeting different
groups. First, a “house-to-house” awareness
action, implemented daily, enabled contact
with persons present in the home during the
day, mainly women. This method consisted
in making the contact aware of the HIV/AIDS
problem by providing information and creating
a discussion on the topic within the intimacy
of the home. To do this, animator would make
several visits to a home; during these visits, the
animator would talk about different subjects
that enabled knowing the disease better
and how to prevent it. At each intervention
site, a team of five animators was in charge
of a daily program of awareness development
throughout the three project years.
Involving community leaders
In parallel to this “house-to-house” program,
extensive collaborative work with the
community was carried out to make the
project possible. Religious and community
leaders were actively involved in the project
through the creation of “Project Advisory
Committees” responsible for promoting the
project within the community, giving advice
on project orientations and resolving the
conflicts encountered by the organizers.
Without the support of these leaders, project
acceptation within the community would have
been difficult.
Creating an environment
of comprehensive awareness
In addition to developing awareness in
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