This activity is specifically linked to activity #9390, #8691, #7754, #8682, #7774, #7810, #9060, #9063, #9061, #7727, and #7852 in AB

The Tanzania HIV/AIDS Faith Initiative is managed by The Balm in Gilead. The goal of the initiative is to expand the capacity of three national consortium sub-partners to effectively deliver HIV prevention and care programs through enhanced indigenous capacity, in order to sustain a long-term and local response to the epidemic. The three consortium sub-partners include: TANZANIA Episcopal Conference (TEC), Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT) and The National Muslim Council of Tanzania (BAKWATA) and their associated partner networks.

The Balm in Gilead and its consortium partners have accomplished several key achievements during the current fiscal year, most notably in scaling up HIV prevention mobilization and training of faith leaders and communities. The Balm established its training center and conducted five major courses and technical assistance sessions to enhance and strengthen partners' skills in areas of HIV science, program evaluation, data management, and program administration. The partners' successful completion of these courses has resulted in their training over 10,057 religious leaders and staff of their organizations at the national, regional and district levels. Using a train-the-trainer approach, a total of 102,311 individuals from faith communities have been mobilized and trained to train others in basic HIV awareness and prevention education in the areas of Mtwara, Iringa, Shinyanga, Dodoma, Lindi, Singida, Tanga and Kigoma regions of Tanzania. These individuals are positioned to scale up and train others as a process of diffusing HIV prevention and care programs throughout their areas.

The proposed activities under the Abstinence/Be Faithful program area are designed to specifically build sustainable programs and enhance communication strategies, mobilization efforts and build skills of national, regional and local leadership. Directors of youth and adult programs and faith leaders of Christian and Muslim communities have been trained to develop and/or improve the delivery and effectiveness of Abstinence only HIV prevention interventions, as well as stigma reduction, to male and female youth, young adults, adults, and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), and runaway and street youth. A major focus of proposed activities will be to adapt and implement a specific faith-based curriculum for youth and young adults to be taught through faith institutions. Other activities are also proposed to support curriculum activities: 1) program and material development and dissemination; 2) curriculum and evaluation training; 3) on-site tailored technical support; and 4) communication campaigns. These activities will enhance faith communities at each organizational level to design, develop, implement and evaluate HIV prevention interventions as well as build networks and partnerships to raise national awareness of abstinence only HIV prevention needs and programs among youth and newly-married couples. Although the program is national in scope, target regions are Mtwara, Iringa, Shinyanga, Dodoma, Lindi, Singida, Tanga and Kigoma.

The objectives of these activities are to: 1) Increase the number of youth and young adults knowledgeable about and practicing abstinence only; 2) Increase the participation of Tanzania's faith community in activities that combat the spread of AIDS; 3) Increase media coverage of HIV prevention messages, specifically abstinence/be faithful and stigma; 4) Translate the existing Church School Curricula into a religious, cultural specific context for the Christian and Muslim communities; 5) Develop HIV resource materials within both a Christian and Muslim context to encourage and facilitate behavior modification in abstinence only and stigma reduction; 6) Develop capacity in monitoring and evaluation of HIV prevention.

There is a dearth of HIV prevention education and training material available for religious leaders and organizations. To address this void, the Balm in Gilead received funding from the Kaiser Family and the Ford Foundations, to develop a first-of-its-kind Church School HIV Education Curriculum (Abstinence Only) designed expressly for Christian Education within African American church denominations. The 8-week curriculum was developed in close consultation with experts in the fields of public health and religion and presents 13 biblical themes to three distinct groups: 11-18 year olds, 19-25 year olds, and adults/parents. There is also a 2-day intergenerational retreat for the family. The curriculum consists of a leaders' guide for each age group, as well as a guide for the teaching of each lesson. This curriculum consists of eight individual "student" lessons as

well as eight individual "teacher" guides. The curriculum was designed to be easily responsive to diverse cultural contexts. FY 2007 funding will be used to translate and assure local cultural adaptation of the curriculum, as well as to introduce its use in the majority of Tanzania's religious community.

FY 2007 funds will be used to accomplish a wide variety of tasks including:

1. Establishment of a five-person Islamic advisory board for the translation and cultural adaptation of the context for the Muslim community. 2. Establishment of a five-person Christian advisory board for the translation and cultural adaptation of the context for the Christian community. 3. Approval of the documents by each religious council(s) for use as a pertinent HIV prevention curriculum within their faith community. 4. Specific mandate by the council(s) that every local faith community teach this 8-week HIV prevention (abstinence only/stigma reduction) document at least once or twice per calendar year. This includes utilization by "small faith communities," support service programs for OVC, homeless and street children. 5 .Development and implementation of a series of train-the-trainer workshops for directors of youth and adult programs, ministers and imams and other leaders of Christian and Muslim communities at the national, regional and local levels. 6. Development of a teaching series utilizing the curriculum to be broadcast via Christian and Muslim owned broadcasting stations. The activity may be undertaken in collaboration with the STRADCOM radio project. The population-at-large will be able to download weekly lessons from the web. 7. Monitoring and evaluating the progress of implementation of the programs within CCT, TEC and BAKWATA.

This activity is related to Balm in Gilead (#8687), Palliative Care--Basic Health Care (#7851), Salvation Army (#7801), Africare, (#7674), CRS(#7691), and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (#7818). As an OVC partner, this activity will link with the PACT coordinating Implementing Partner Group network for OVC (#7783) and the FHI OVC Data Management System (#7715).

Balm in Gilead (BIG) works in partnership with the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT), National Muslim Council of Tanzania (BAKWATA), and the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC).

This submission is a new OVC activity that will work in line with the National OVC Plan of Action (NPA), supporting the national identification process for OVC and implementing the national OVC Data Management System (DMS).

In FY07, BIG will provide direct support to 6,000 OVC and train at least 100 providers. Funding will be used to work in districts not already covered by implementing partners to: 1) Assess and increase the scale up of OVC support, providing educational materials such as uniforms, scholastic material, sports programs and equipment; and 2) Strengthen families and Most Vulnerable Children Committees (MVCC) through needs assessments, care plans and monitoring of family care and social support by small faith communities.

These activities will be implemented in the districts of Singida and Shinyanga. BIG will provide technical assistance and support for each partner in these districts to develop and deliver a community-based continuum of care for OVC, their caretakers, and others involved with OVC in the community.

The BIG approach includes the following: 1) utilization of the national identification process to identify the most vulnerable children for direct services and support; (2) strengthen the capacity of the MVCCs and households at the village level, providing psychosocial and other support, as appropriate; 3) mobilizing the community-based response through existing locally recognized and respected faith support systems, thereby reducing stigma for OVC and their families; and 4) advocating for OVC and their families with multiple sectors to create or increase supportive environments for children and families living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. BIG will link with Peace Corps Income Generating Activities to support the nutritional and economic needs of OVC households.

As with all USG-funded implementing partners, BIG will support the implementation of the national Data Management System, and will use that system for their own Monitoring and Evaluation system. They will ensure that information about MVC/OVC identified at the local level feeds not only into the national system, but is also available to MVCCs at the local level for planning, decision making, and monitoring.

This activity relates to activity numbers 7711, 8656 and 8666 (CT), and 8692 (palliative care).

Our Church/Mosque Lights the Way is the Tanzania Faith Communities' HIV testing campaign, which is modeled after the Balm in Gilead's Black Church HIV Testing Campaign within the African American community. This campaign has proven effective for engaging faith communities in empowering people to get HIV tested. Our Church/Our Mosque Lights the Way is a call to action that leverages the power and influence of the religious leaders to mobilize their congregants and local communities by promoting voluntary testing and counseling and the prevention of maternal to child transmission. Working in collaboration with Tanzanian faith partners, the Balm in Gilead will adapt its present US-based campaign to a cultural context appropriate for both the Christian and Muslim communities in Tanzania. These campaign materials are unique in that they address CT demand creation from a spiritual context. Our Church/Mosque Lights the Way materials and strategies will be shared with other USG-supported organizations working with faith communities.

The campaign focus will be to develop and or enhance the capacity of faith leaders to mobilize faith communities around issues of HIV testing and counseling, and link faith communities to local VCT sites and services including follow up care as needed. The specific objectives of the campaign are to: 1) position HIV testing as desirable and safe by cultivating supportive environments that encourage testing; 2) remove the stigma associated with HIV testing; 3) work with ANGAZA VCT sites and other USG partners to link individuals to mobile HIV testing sites in their communities and at their churches and mosques; 4) link HIV-positive people and affected people with treatment and support in their communities; and 5) support HIV-positive persons through the treatment process. This program activity is responsive to USG/CDC's key theme area for 2007 which is to expand counseling and testing opportunities so that the maximum number of people is reached with prevention messages and treatment opportunities. Furthermore, the Our Church/Mosque Lights the Way is particularly relevant at this time given the Government of Tanzania's interest in coordinating a National Testing Day. The Balm in Gilead is already on the National Testing Day committee and will continue to collaborate and cooperate with this effort to develop common goals and harmonious messages.

The Balm in Gilead, in collaboration with its consortium partners, completed a feasibility study of VCT in three regions of Tanzania - Kigoma, Mtwara and Iringa. Findings from the study indicated both a need for more services, and a general lack of prior testing and limited knowledge regarding testing. Religious leaders expressed an interest in becoming more involved in mobilizing and engaging their communities in testing and counseling. In addition to conducting the feasibility study, the Balm in Gilead has worked with its consortium partners to encourage more than 9,000 individuals to get tested and 6 individuals to get trained to work in VCT services in FY 2006.

In FY 2007, the focus of activities will be to develop the competency level of partners through trainings of trainers in effective faith community mobilization regarding stigma reduction and HIV testing and counseling. Three major activities will be undertaken: 1) training in community mobilization and demand creation within faith communities; 2) establishment of mobile CT services, linkage referral and follow up systems in collaboration with USG partners; and 3) monitoring and tracking of campaign.

Our Church/Mosque Lights the Way will pick two designated months in 2007 as the designated times of year when Tanzanian's faith community unites to focus attention on the HIV/AIDS crisis in country. National faith partners and their contingents will implement the campaign in their respective target areas. The two month-long, community-wide AIDS awareness programs will be led by the highest official leadership of each national faith institution. These leaders, along with local leaders of the Catholic, Protestant and Muslim communities, will give a call to action to the people of Tanzania for the people to get tested for HIV. They will lead the call to action by personally taking an HIV test. Contact with local media (i.e., radio, television and newspapers) has already been established and will be further cultivated and strengthened in preparation for this component of program activities.

Prior to the launching of the campaign, at least two HIV/AIDS training programs will be held for religious leaders and a designated person from their local congregations who will

implement the educational program within their church/mosque. Local congregations will be responsible for disseminating information about HIV prevention, HIV testing and the communities' VCT center(s). The Balm in Gilead will provide technical assistance on linking with existing USG-supported organizations to coordinate mobile CT services for local churches and mosques. Religious leaders and their designated AIDS coordinator will be trained in HIV/AIDS pastoral/spiritual counseling, HIV science, and the components of the HIV test.

The Balm in Gilead is committed to identifying and developing linkages and networks on the ground with HIV/AIDS service organizations, government offices, media systems and all faith communities. Working in collaboration with our Tanzania national faith partners, the Balm in Gilead will develop a mutually agreed upon care and treatment referral systems with protocols for quality assurance.