Since May 2012, USAID has worked with the BLC Project, led by MSH to accomplish some objectives and targets originally intended for the Kapelako project, which ends on 9/30/12. Between May - Sept 2012, USAID and the Regional South Africa office worked closely with WL and MSH to ensure smooth transition of activities. BLC is an existing regional project, awarded in 2010, and in Angola, its overall goal will be to improve access and utilization of quality, EB community HIV prevention services to the general populations in selected provinces. COP 12 activities will draw on principles of the GHI and the priorities outlined in Angolas PF, which prioritize HIV prevention and the strengthening of internal systems thru capacity building. Similar to the Kapelako project, BLC will work to support and develop an effective community-based prevention response with an emphasis on evidence-based BCC and creating critical linkages with the community. Activities are linked to VCT, STI, PMTCT and RH services from Luanda south to Cunene on the Namibian border, and aim to increase individual risk perceptions, direct BCC messaging to sexual networks that drive transmission especially in high-risk sexual encounters by HIV+ people, and increase the age of sexual debut. BLC will build capacity in CBOs, youth centers, and other key community stakeholders, to implement comprehensive, community-based prevention programming. This project will provide technical assistance and sub-grants to CSOs to implement effective HIV prevention activities. Capacity building in CSOs and youth centers will focus on organizational, technical and programmatic areas such as using resources effectively & strategically while strengthening systems and using existing structures to ensure sustainability beyond PEPFAR.

BLC will work at the community and structural levels to develop the capacity of Angolan organizations, and those who work on HIV prevention issues on a daily basis, to deliver high quality, evidence-based interventions, and to ensure that those interventions will be in place over the long term. Activities will improve the technical capacity of local NGOs to interpret research, develop messages, and monitor activities through administering a performance-based small grants program. Furthermore, activities will facilitate better HIV policy making by national and local Angolan leaders through establishing an advocacy coordination forum at national and provincial levels.

BLC will encourage participatory development of evidence-based campaign strategies and tools for HIV prevention. Specifically, the project will support the INLS to design evidence-based, multi-channel communication strategies to address different aspects of HIV prevention. Periodic review and monitoring and evaluation data will constitute an important part of each campaign strategy to allow for adjustments in line with data on effectiveness and impact. Overall, these activities will strengthen the capacity within the INLS to use evidence-based data to guide decisions and future programming. FY13 will actually be the third year of project activities, and all of the activities that are being proposed in this COP12 will be implemented in FY13.

Abstinence/Be faithful activities will target the general population, including at risk youth from under age 15 to age 24 in Luanda, Huambo and along the transportation corridor south to Cunene on the Namibian border, and will include:BCC and IEC messages directed towards sexual networks that drive transmission. Approaches and materials will be revised and reinvigorated based on available, new study data, and proposed assessments. Peer counseling protocols and messages will be revised by and will work to emphasize the four transmission routes and individual risk behaviors.Activities with the youth centers (Jangos) will focus on specifically tailored messages and customized activities to reach both in- and out-of-school youth through centers and outreach activities with an emphasis on gender norms, behaviors and vulnerability for HIV, and will provide boys and girls with gender neutral skills such as computer and language. Messages will include abstinence, secondary abstinence and fidelity components.Develop life skills curricula, which include updated components on sexual education to include gender, GBV, and HIV/AIDS, specifically addressing teacher training, reduction of sexual harassment and abuse in the school environment, and provision of peer counseling in schools. New modules include girls empowerment, safer sex negotiation skills, secondary abstinence, self-esteem building and related skills building. Components to emphasize for males include male norms, cultural peer pressure, men as future partners. Promote the increased and on-going involvement of parents. Critically review teachers role, both positively and negatively, existing and needed school based policies to protect students from sexual coercion and provide a systematic process for addressing these issues, and mandatory training for teachers.Creation and support of innovative and creative AB-related messages, campaigns, resources, and materials such as working with the private sector.Cooperation and coordination with community leaders, parents and teachers and other groups and individuals on HIV prevention and BCC. Capacity building efforts for civil society will include technical support on BCC efforts focusing on A and B.

Prevention interventions will include:Provision of condoms and other prevention efforts, including fidelity and condom messaging, alcohol messages and gender related activities. Critical focus will be on interventions addressing reduction of multiple concurrent partnerships and consistent and correct condom use, especially in high risk sexual encounters and by HIV-positive persons.Implementation of small grants programs to work with community leaders, parents and teachers and other groups and individuals on HIV prevention and BCC. Capacity building efforts for civil society will include technical support on BCC efforts including gender and alcohol.Development of life skills curricula, which include updated components on sexual education to include gender, GBV, and HIV/AIDS, specifically addressing teacher training, reduction of sexual harassment and abuse in the school environment, and provision of peer counseling and condom distribution in schools. The project will also work to improve school-based reproductive and sexual health services; and promote youth-friendly health services, in partnership with the MOH and the provincial and municipal health services, including expansion of VCT, STI and follow-up referral for reproductive health services.School-based programming will critically review the role of teachers and needed school-based policies to protect students from sexual coercion. Then provide a systematic process for addressing these issues coupled with mandatory training for teachers.The project will also reach out-of-school youth and street youth with tailored messaging and activities related to HIV prevention, reducing discrimination and stigma, and raising awareness about HIV.Activities in collaboration with the INLS will include the creation and support of innovative and creative promotion of HIV services and related BCC campaigns at the national level, including campaigns, resources, and materials. Examples include collaborating with the private sector, support of national efforts, specialized campaigns, and one-off activities such as events for World AIDS Day, national testing day, events during Africa Cup, stigma and discrimination campaign.