Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Details for Mechanism ID: 4465
Country/Region: South Africa
Year: 2007
Main Partner: Children's AIDS Fund International
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: NGO
Funding Agency: USAID
Total Funding: $167,988

Funding for Sexual Prevention: Abstinence/Be Faithful (HVAB): $167,988

SUMMARY:

The Children's AIDS Fund (CAF) promotes risk avoidance (abstinence) and behavior change and engages a broad spectrum of global society in HIV prevention education, diagnosis, treatment and care. CAF's model engages partners already working in HIV and AIDS to implement program activities while CAF provides financial and technical resources to these local implementing partners for direct program services and capacity building. This approach accomplishes several key goals: culturally relevant programs and messages, rapid scale-up, and long-term sustainability. This Track 1 project engages implementing partners in South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. The overall project goal is that youth commit to abstinence before marriage and fidelity within marriage to keep themselves HIV free.

BACKGROUND:

South African program activities are designed to be consistent with national government's HIV prevention strategies and focus on specific objectives and target audiences: 1) Increased abstinence until marriage among unmarried youth who have not initiated sexual activity. Audiences include youth ages 10 to 24, families and communities; 2) Increased "secondary abstinence" until marriage, or cessation of intercourse among youth and young adults who have previously initiated sexual activity but are not yet married including referrals to VCT; 3) Increased fidelity in marriage and monogamous partnerships, along with knowledge of own and partner sero-status, among youth and the general population; and 4) Increased avoidance of harmful behaviors, such as sexual coercion and violence, cross-generational and transactional sex, prostitution, sex-trafficking and unhealthy behavior, such as sexual promiscuity before and outside of marriage, that increase one's vulnerability to HIV.

South African program activities will be conducted by two implementing partners: The Institute for Youth Development South Africa (IYDSA) and Helping Hands Africa (HHA). IYDSA will implement through its key sub-partner Imbizo Bangani (Where Friends Meet), a consortium of four FBOs Scripture Union, Student Christian Organisation, Youth for Christ and Uniting Christian Students' Association. HHA will work through its faith-based and community-based outreach. Partners are selected for their expertise and existing programs, as well as their complementary characteristics and range of services. Sustained behavior change requires an environment where youth can discuss their questions and concerns as they contemplate behavior choices, as well as receive support from their peers, parents and community for healthy behavior choices. For this reason CAF's plan includes activities targeting parents, community and faith leaders. Through a multi-sectoral approach, issues such as transgenerational sex, transactional sex and differing standards related to sexual debut for boys and girls can be effectively addressed and consistent messages delivered. CAF partners have existing networks with government, schools, youth organizations, parents, faith-based and community leadership that will facilitate rapid program scale-up as well as broad information dissemination.

Project implementation has not yet begun in South Africa because the South African Government (SAG) has not provided concurrence for this activity. CAF has responded to all the SAG's requests for modifications to the proposal so USG South Africa is hopeful that they will provide concurrence in the near future.

ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTED RESULTS:

ACTIVITY 1: Life Skills for In- and Out-of-School Youth

Youth ages 10-24 will be engaged in programs and activities that focus on life skills, goal setting, character development, self respect, vocational skills, HIV, AIDS and other STI prevention, with a focus primarily on abstinence and faithfulness for HIV prevention. CAF and its local implementing partners will establish core advisory groups of youth and adults that will meet quarterly to assess activities, monitor progress, and recommend future direction. In addition, CAF's local partners will work with provincial governments to identify participating schools, youth groups and churches and implement education through selected curricula developed by Imbizo Bangani (Where Friends Meet).

ACTIVITY 2: Training of Adults and Peers

CAF and its local partners will educate and equip adults and peers who influence youth (pastors, parents, community leaders, teachers, and peer mentors) to reinforce the message of healthy choices through abstinence and faithfulness to remain HIV free. They will train peer educators to work with youth at all age levels to participate in training/education sessions with in-school and out-of-school youth in a variety of venues. In addition, they will train trainers in Imbizo Bangani who will train other trainers and implement curricula with youth in multiple settings (in-school, out-of-school, churches, and youth groups). CAF and its local partners will also develop and implement seminars for parents, pastors and youth leaders, and community and faith leaders, focused on parenting skills, HIV, AIDS and other STI facts, modeling positive patterns of sexual behavior and gender relationships; ways to discuss parental behavior expectations about youth behavior choices; and refusal and life skills.

ACTIVITY 3: Male Responsibility

CAF and its local partners will emphasize sexual responsibility in targeted programs for male youth and adults to reduce the incidence of coercive, cross-generational and transactional sex and increase the number of males who practice abstinence before marriage and fidelity within marriage. They will develop and implement targeted programs using trained adult and peer mentors for youth and adult males focused on healthy relationship skills, sexual responsibility, and the importance of making healthy choices.

ACTIVITY 4: Capacity Building

CAF and its local implementing partners will provide technical assistance and partner capacity building through assessments, on-site trainings, annual team meetings, and resources. As part of the sustainability and eventual exit strategies, the capacity building strategy will also focus on improving sub-partners' skills in program design and implementation, program and financial management, quality assurance and monitoring and evaluation processes.

CAF's activities will contribute to PEPFAR achieving their overall goal of averting 7 million new HIV infections.