Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Years of mechanism: 2007 2008 2009

Details for Mechanism ID: 6084
Country/Region: South Africa
Year: 2007
Main Partner: South African National Blood Service
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: Host Country Government Agency
Funding Agency: HHS/CDC
Total Funding: $400,000

Funding for Sexual Prevention: Abstinence/Be Faithful (HVAB): $250,000

Plus-Up funds will be supplementing SANBS's activities listed under Activity ID 7394. SANBS is expanding its donor base by establishing in 2007 four new donor clinics in geographical areas previously not serviced by the organisation. The recruitment and educational programmes aimed at new donors will focus on safe lifestyle and AB messages. The donors who commit to a safe lifestyle and become regular blood donors will be screened for TTI markers. The test results will be conveyed to them in a programme that aims to reinforce the message of safe lifestyle, the role of AB in avoiding infections with sexually transmitted disease, and the benefit to society of becoming a blood donor. This message will be conveyed by one-on-one interviews with skilled and trained nursing sisters qualified as counselors. Again the message to the new donor will be emphasising the importance of AB and safe lifestyle. Four nurses, one for each of the pilot clinics, will act as donor counselors. In addition information/education packs with suitable materials on AB and prevention messages will be developed to support the interview process, This will be part of the ongoing education and recruitment drives to donors. Through this close interaction with the new donors, SANBS aims to heighten in its donors awareness of the benefits of a safe lifestyle and AB adherence; and in doing so, getting them to spread these messages to their family, friends and peers, thereby making them ambassadors of the program. This programme, which will be piloted at the four new clinics, will later be institutionalized in all the clinics across SANBS (and WPBTS).

Funding for Biomedical Prevention: Blood Safety (HMBL): $150,000

See activity 7394

Plus-Up funds will be supplementing SANBS's activities listed under Activity ID 7394. SANBS will utilise professional consultants in the fields of general education and training, and specialists in the design and development of web-based education. This will initiate the project to establish SANBS as a training centre for the Southern African region, particularly the SADC countries that will form the basis for a later expansion to offer the services to sub-Saharan-Africa. The consultants will assist SANBS in the investigation, design and development of an appropriate web-based tele-education system. The system should satisfy the needs of SANBS and WPBTS in terms of web-based training, education and continuous professional development for donor, technical and medical personnel. Initially the SANBS intranet will be used to pilot the system. Once proven an effective educational tool, this will be used as the model to develop the web-based system for other African countries.

The system should therefore incorporate a design that will allow its extension into neighbouring Southern African countries, in particular the SADC countries, and later to sub-Saharan and other African countries. It is also envisaged that this web-based educational system could act as a model for other countries.

The investigation will also incorporate needs analysis of the training and education requirements for SANBS, WPBTS and the SADC countries. The investigation by experts will give guidance and advice on the minimum personnel requirements (qualification and experience); the necessary communication network capability and capacity of SANBS, WPBTS and SADC; and specifications for system hardware and software.