Multilevel Interventions Target HIV/AIDS in South Africa |
With national HIV prevalence rates among adults at 18.8%, South Africa’s AIDS epidemic is one of the worst in the world. To build local capacity to improve HIV/AIDS prevention and care, RTI is working with 23 municipalities and with South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority’s Sexual Offenses and Community Affairs (SOCA) Unit. The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funds the activities under the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Local Governance Support Program (LGSP), led by RTI since 2004.
Initially, LGSP focused on improving the municipal performance and revenue streams of 23 municipalities in Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West provinces. In 2006, the project also began supporting the national government and municipalities to better address HIV/AIDS, as it is having a profound impact on service delivery.
The new PEPFAR funding is being used to expand selected LGSP activities, including initiating and/or strengthening care delivery via voluntary employee participation in HIV/AIDS workplace programs. This will include education, voluntary counseling and testing, psychological care, and strategies for municipal and union leaders to reduce stigma toward people living with HIV. The project is also working to expand the National Department of Health’s accredited home-based care training to community workers in participating municipalities, as many community-based organizations do not have access to this proven standardized training, which covers basic pain and symptom management, antiretroviral therapy adherence, bereavement care, and communication skills, among other topics.
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| In Soweto, Johannesburg, representatives from the Nthabiseng TCC and SOCA recently gave several U.S. officials an informational tour of the refurbished facility and the services offered there. [Photo: Reverie Zurba, USAID] |
RTI is also helping SOCA develop seven new Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs), adding to 10 already established. RTI conducted a gap analysis of the 10 existing centers and refurbished four of them. TCCs are located in public hospitals to provide comprehensive care services to rape survivors, including emergency medical care, counseling, and court preparation. SOCA advocate Thoko Majokweni explains, “South Africa’s constitution guarantees the right to access services and this is what informs the rollout process for the Thuthuzela model. The TCCs will ensure that more victims are turned into survivors in an effective, efficient, and expeditious manner.” This new activity also aims to improve the quality of basic HIV-related clinical services and psychological and social care services offered to rape survivors by the TCCs.
Ms. Katherine Liesegang of USAID/Southern Africa adds, “The TCC work is part of the Women’s Justice and Empowerment Initiative announced in 2005, a groundbreaking and truly multidisciplinary program bringing together people and resources from both the South African and U.S. governments in ways never done before.”
More information: Peter Vaz,
e-mail pvaz@rti.org
Website: http://www.lgsp.org.za