N'weti Millennium Challenge Account Project

The campaign included the following strategies:

Community Dialogues
The community dialogue sessions were designed to empower communities to rethink their health behaviours, improve interpersonal skills, and build social capital, thus creating better social contexts in which behaviour change can occur. This participatory approach was organised around a planned activity and used films, group discussions, and role plays to facilitate dialogue among various community members and leaders, focusing on gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS. Information disseminated during community dialogue sessions was intended to raise questions, and lead to additional information needs among individuals. Being aware of this, as well as the fact that the number of people during such activities does not always provide the necessary privacy for discussing personal issues, N’weti adopted the "visiting counselor" method. The visiting counselor is a N’weti-supported, trained health worker assigned to the health facility located near the camp or community, who travels once a week to the location to carry out HIV tests, provide counselling, clarify misunderstandings about health issues and refer patients as needed.

Films
This activity used a kit of nine video profiles of women, men, and couples who became role models to others by overcoming negative barriers and challenges in their own lives (i.e. gender barriers, HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination). During community-based workshops, participants view these profiles which ground the discussion in the reality of people’s lives and provide a focal point for discussions. Trained facilitators who are drawn from the local community lead the discussions, with the aid of a facilitator’s guide. The screening sessions are centred on nine central themes, such as HIV/AIDS Basic Facts; Gender Equity and HIV/AIDS; Social Roles;Traditions and Cultural Norms in the context of HIV/AIDS; Multiple and Concurrent Relationships (MCP); Transactional and Cross-generational Sex; Women’s and Men’s Reproductive Health; Stigma and Discrimination; Violence Between Partners; Referrals and Networking.

Theatre
According to N’weti, community theatre can enable individuals to gain insight on how they construct their own identities. It can also lead audiences to question and revisit their own attitudes and behaviours towards HIV prevention and stigma and discrimination. Furthermore, it encourages individuals to identify themselves in different positions and examine experiences to come to new understandings through theatrical means. N’weti used Community Theatre as a comprehensive approach that involved community members and staff at construction sites in fostering social circles, and networking benefits that group endeavors can provide such as referrals, group support, HIV/AIDS and services information.

Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal Communication (IPC) is a form of communication that takes place between a trained health agent and one or more members of a specific target population. For HIV/AIDS awareness raising, N’weti used IPC to conduct one-to-one or small group sessions in order to foster increased awareness and understanding about HIV/AIDS among members of the target community. In order to make interpersonal communication more elective, during the sessions N’weti distributes Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials produced in the local language – as well as condoms.

Road Shows
The Road-show was used by N’weti as an umbrella approach for community mobilisation which combined aspects of entertainment and health promotion. Road shows included community theater performance, local music groups, facilitated games, dance performances, distribution of HIV/AIDS booklets, female and male condoms, and testimonies of people leaving with HIV AIDS. Complementing road shows are Voluntary Counselling Testing (VCT) Mobile Unit sessions. During the Road Show – a 5-6 hour event that typically draws thousands of people – a tent for VCT is mounted at a distance of not more than 500 meters from the road show site. This also establishes a system of reference and counter reference for health units and other partner organisations that provide VCT and treatment.

Click here to read a report on this project called "N'weti - Where Inspiration is Real: Stories of Impact 2013".

Health Communication

N’weti is a Mozambican independent not-for-profit organisation created in 2007 specialising in social and behavioural change communication around various public health issues.  Their mission is to contribute to improving the health status of Mozambican citizens and communities through communication interventions that promote social and behavioural change at individual and community levels, which lead to healthier lifestyles and behaviours. They provide communication for health through integrated mass media, social mobilisation, and advocacy interventions using rights-based approaches and paying particular attention to gender equality and human rights.