The Soul Beat 187 HIV/AIDS – Tackling Alcohol and Stigma
In this issue of The Soul Beat:
- ADDRESSING ALCOHOL ABUSE AND HIV with mass media campaigns and counselling programmes
- WORLD AIDS DAY CAMPAIGN WEBSITE
- TACKLING HIV/AIDS STIGMA through art and religious leaders
- Soul Beat Africa HIV/AIDS THEMESITE
The theme for World AIDS Day 2011 is 'Getting to Zero'. After 30 years of the global fight against HIV/AIDS, this year the global community has committed to focusing on achieving 3 targets: "Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths".
To commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1, this edition of The Soul Beat looks at HIV/AIDS and communication with a particular focus on addressing alcohol abuse and stigma. The newsletter includes programme experiences, reports, studies, and resources that show how communication is being used to tackle alcohol abuse and stigma - both considered key challenges in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
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ADDRESSING ALCOHOL ABUSE AND HIV
1. Ketetu Belek (Know Your Limit) - Ethiopia
Launched in June 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ketetu Belek (Know Your Limit) is an alcohol-HIV communication campaign run by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs AIDS Resource Center (CCP/ARC). The communication materials developed as part of the campaign are designed to address alcohol-related harms due to excessive consumption and the relationship between consumption and HIV risk exposure among university students.
2. Alcohol and Risky Sex: Breaking the Link
By Katherine Fritz
From the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)'s AIDSTAR-One project, this editorial from September 2011 explores the link between alcohol and HIV and advocates for a multilevel response. The opening section shares statistics connecting hazardous alcohol consumption with unprotected sex, more sex partners, and HIV - though, as indicated here, more research is needed to understand the causal links.
3. Alcohol Consumption, Sexual Partners, and HIV Transmission in Namibia
By P. Stanley Yoder and Debie LeBeau
This report, produced for review by USAID in 2009, presents the results of a qualitative research study undertaken to examine the impact of alcohol consumption on sexual partnerships and the implications for HIV transmission. The report presents its findings on aspects including multiple concurrent partnerships, condom use, underage drinking, and transactional sex before concluding with possible interventions focused largely on behaviour change and condom promotion.
4. Prevention of Alcohol-Related HIV Risk Behaviors
By Katherine Fritz
This 2009 technical brief from the AIDSTAR-One case study series catalogues what is known about the relationship between harmful alcohol use and HIV sexual risk behaviour and offers a critical analysis of interventions to address the issue. It has been informed by a review of the published literature on alcohol and HIV, the AIDSTAR-One database of good and promising programmatic practices, and interviews with experts in the field of alcohol and HIV prevention.
5. Wising Up" to Alcohol-Related HIV Risk, Cape Town, South Africa
By Katherine Fritz
This case study, published by AIDSTAR-One in 2010, looks at the South African health communication programme Phaphama (which means "wise up" in Zulu and other South African languages), which was designed to reduce alcohol-related sexual risk among patients with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) seeking care at a primary health care clinic. Phaphama ran between 2005 and 2009 and combined counselling to reduce hazardous drinking with HIV risk-reduction counselling in a single 60-minute session. According to the study, the approach has led to documented successes in changing behaviours that are notoriously resistant to change.
6. Qualitative Research in Uganda on Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Concerning Alcohol
By Agatha Kafuko and Paul Bukuluki
This 2008 report, conducted for Young Empowered and Healthy (YEAH) - an organisation involved in behaviour change communication aimed at reducing the prevalence of HIV and AIDS in Uganda - presents the findings of a qualitative study about alcohol which involved 30 focus groups of adolescents (15-17), young people (18-24 years of age), and adults (25-35) in 5 districts in Uganda. The study aimed to: understand the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of participants in relation to alcohol use and abuse; identify drivers of alcohol use and abuse; explore the linkages between gender norms and alcohol use; determine the linkages between alcohol abuse and risky sexual behaviour; assess the roles of existing social support structures and institutions that influence behaviour in relation to alcohol abuse; and explore perceptions about norms surrounding alcohol consumption.
7. Phuza Wize Campaign - South Africa
The Phuza Wize Drink Safe Live Safe campaign, launched by Soul City Health and Development Institute in March 2010, aims to create Safer Social Spaces (S3) and alcohol-free zones in order to reduce levels of violence and new HIV infections in South Africa. The campaign uses mass media, social mobilisation, and advocacy to achieve its objectives. As part of the mass media component, the campaign was incorporated into the Soul City television series 10 which aired in 2010 on SABC, the Soul Buddyz series, and the Soul City radio series. The campaign has utilised community radio stations and newspapers, and produced materials for community groups and other stakeholders to take action and make their communities safer.
8. True Manhood Campaign - Uganda
Launched in June 2009, the True Manhood Campaign is an initiative of Young Empowered and Healthy (YEAH) in collaboration with the Health Communication Partnership (HCP), which is designed to address alcohol use and abuse, violence against women (VAW), and transactional sex in relationships. The campaign is centred on a national contest to find a male role model and is complemented by radio, print, and interpersonal communication. It is designed to empower young men with skills to be able to assess their personal risk of alcohol abuse and to commit to drinking responsibly or not at all, to solve conflict using non-violent means, and to be able to resist relationships where gifts, favours, or opportunities are exchanged for sex.
9. Alcohol and HIV Picture Codes Flip Chart
Produced by C-Change/Namibia as part of the "Stand Up" Alcohol and HIV campaign, this picture codes flip chart is designed for field workers and volunteers to create conversations for behaviour change that focus on the drivers of the HIV epidemic. Contents of the flip chart can form part of a comprehensive HIV behaviour change curriculum or be used as a stand-alone material.
WORLD AIDS DAY CAMPAIGN WEBSITE
For more information on World AIDS Day, news, key events, as well as resources click here.
10. Stigma in the Balance: Ensuring the Roll-Out of ART Decreases Stigma
By Annabelle South, Maria Roura, Basia Zaba, Jim Todd, and Mark Urassa
This policy briefing paper, published by Evidence for Action in 2011, explores the impact of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) on stigma and outlines recommendations for ensuring that the roll-out of ART helps to reduce stigma. The report draws on findings from qualitative research carried out against the backdrop of a longitudinal cohort study in a semi-rural area of North-Tanzania.
11. Stigma Action Network (SAN) Website and e-Library
This website and e-library were created by the Stigma Action Network (SAN), which seeks to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination through a dynamic network that will catalyse action and commitment locally, regionally, and globally through knowledge sharing, dialogue, and partnerships. The website is designed to be a "one-stop shop" for affected populations, programme designers and implementers, researchers, advocates, trainers, and donors to learn about the latest tools, technical resources, research findings, best practices, and new initiatives in reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination.
12. Integrating Stigma Reduction into HIV Programming: Lessons from the Africa Regional Stigma Training Programme
By Sue Clay, Chipo Chiiya, and Mutale Chonta
This document, published by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in 2011, illustrates lessons learned from implementing the toolkit "Understanding and Challenging HIV Stigma across Africa". The toolkit was produced for and by HIV trainers in Africa to help trainers plan and organise educational sessions with community leaders or to assist organised groups with raising awareness and promoting practical action to challenge HIV stigma and discrimination.
13. Moving Forward: Tackling Stigma in a Tanzanian Community
By Laura Nyblade, Kerry MacQuarrie, Gideon Kwesigabo, Aparna Jain, Lusajo Kajula, Fausta Philip, William Henerico Tibesigwa, and Jessie Mbwambo
This report from 2008 shares findings from an evaluation of a Kimara Peer Educators (KPE) and Health Promotors Trust Fund (KPE) programme to reduce stigma in a peri-urban community in Tanzania. The programme included: capacity building on stigma for all KPE staff volunteers, people living with HIV who were part of KPE support groups, and community leaders known as balozi leaders; support to all trainees in developing their own creative, low-cost, and sustainable ways to address stigma in their regular, ongoing activities; and incorporation of stigma reduction into KPE counseling for persons with HIV and families affected by HIV. According to the report, findings of this study present a mixed, but hopeful, picture for a way forward in tackling stigma at the community level.
14. We Are All in the Same Boat! Using Art and Creative Approaches with Young People to Tackle HIV-related Stigma and Discrimination
Developed by the United Nations Education, Science, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Culture and HIV and AIDS programme in 2010, this toolkit is designed to facilitate the use of arts and creativity to address HIV and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in Southern Africa. The toolkit uses different art forms and creative activities – drama and role playing, games, drumming, dance, puppets, story telling, pictures, drawing and collages – to spark new thinking about HIV stigma, change attitudes, and challenge young people to do something.
15. Combating HIV and AIDS Related Stigma, Denial, and Discrimination: A Training Guide for Religious Leaders
Published by Religions for Peace in 2008, this training guide contains both a training manual and a handbook on HIV and AIDS. The training manual and handbook were designed to provide religious leaders and facilitators with a comprehensive information pack on HIV and AIDS and related stigma, denial, and discrimination, as well as strengthen their commitment and skills to combat HIV and AIDS related stigma and discrimination.
16. National Guide on the Integration of Stigma and Discrimination Reduction in HIV Programs
This guide was developed by the Tanzania Commission for AIDS in 2009 to provide experience-based direction for programmes seeking to integrate stigma reduction. It is designed for use by a wide variety of stakeholders working in Tanzania's grassroots organisations, programme designers, donors, researchers, policymakers, media, and planners and implementers of HIV and AIDS activities at all levels to strengthen HIV stigma reduction efforts in their specific contexts.
17. True Cost of Stigma: Evaluating the Social Return on Investment of the Stigma and Discrimination Component of the Alliance's Africa Regional Programme II
By Robin Brady
Published by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in 2011, this document analyses the use of the Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology as a way to measure value for money in its programmes through a pilot evaluation of the social return on investment of the stigma and discrimination component of the Alliance's Africa Regional Programme Phase 2 (ARP 2). The study was carried out at two sites in Zambia during 2010 and used focus groups from each site to determine the stakeholders for the study, what happened to each stakeholder group, and what impact this had for the group.
For additional HIV/AIDS resources, visit Soul Beat Africa's HIV/AIDS Theme site.
This themesite offers a particular focus on:
HIV/AIDS-related previous issues of The Soul Beat include:
The Soul Beat 165 - HIV/AIDS and Communication
The Soul Beat 155 - Regional OneLove HIV Prevention Campaign - 2010 Update
The Soul Beat 153 - Children and HIV/AIDS
To view ALL past editions of The Soul Beat e-newsletter click here.
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