HIV/AIDS

Themes: HIV/AIDS, youth sexual responsibility, community advocacy, capacity building, de-stigmatizing AIDS & PLWA

• Overview
• Objectives
• Activities
• Results
• Unique Features
• Future Plans
• Partners
• Program Staff
  

Overview

The HIV/AIDS project in Rwanda focuses on changing the behaviors and social norms that contribute to the transmission of HIV/AIDS and that stigmatize PLWA. It focuses on young men aged 15-19 in six provinces, with young women as the secondary audience. Additional activities are aimed at creating an enabling environment for HIV/AIDS programs and for supporting young people in their choices to practices safer sex through creating a social norm whereby HIV/AIDS is talked about in the public arena. Advocacy activities work to help communities speak out about their concerns surrounding HIV/AIDS and to call upon decision-makers to allocate resources for their needs. Seeking to build capacity, JHU/PCS also works to support NGOs and government institutions to provide better services to their constituents.

Objectives

• Increase knowledge of the means to prevent HIV/AIDS transmission
• Increase practice of HIV/AIDS prevention behaviors, notably condom use abstinence, and fidelity
• Bring HIV/AIDS into public discourse
• Reduce the stigma around PLWA
• Build capacity and strengthen the skills of multi-sectoral IEC/AIDS coordinators

Activities

This poster encourages discussion on HIV prevention and explains the meaning of "KUBA": abstinence, fidelity, and condom use."

• The KUBA youth campaign launch. The KUBA logo symbolizes the ABC's of HIV prevention. KUBA means "Being" in Kinyarwanda and stands for Kwifata = Abstinence; Ubudahemuka = Fidelity, and Agakingirizo = Condom use. The campaign was launched in six prefectures with a national launch in Kigali, where internationally acclaimed musicians Brenda Fasse and Natty Dread performed along with locally popular musicians. In attendance were first ladies from 11 African countries. The intended audience for the campaign is young men between 15 and 19, with young women as the secondary audience.
• KUBA Ambassadors. Musicians who participated in the national and local launches in the prefectures were trained to be spokespeople for HIV/AIDS prevention. These "Ambassadors" continue to speak out at local events, and have written and performed KUBA theme songs.
• KUBA Scenario contest. Together with Parliamentarians and school inspectors, JHU/PCS implemented a contest involving school students aged 12-15 from 7 provinces. Teachers work with selected groups of students to enable them to choose and integrate the KUBA themes into songs, dance, poems and comic strips. Prizes are awarded at the provincial level and grand prizes will be awarded at the national level.
• Media Treasures Hunt. To encourage young people to identify, contemplate and recall the messages on KUBA campaign materials, a contest was held with young people in Kigali.
• Dr. Dee's Caravan. This mobile caravan of health professionals travels throughout the six provinces to engage in information exchange with young people, and clarify myths and rumors about HIV/AIDS.
• KUBA Summer Camps. Summer camps were used to train more than 120 youth and coaches on how to talk about HIV risk perception and prevention during football training camps.
• KUBA Fan Clubs. To encourage young people in their decision to practice one of the three KUBAs, fan clubs were formed in the three districts. These clubs exchange information through meetings and local events.
• KUBA campaign materials. At every venue, KUBA materials, including posters, education cards, balloons, informational brochures ("Sida Ni Ki"/"What is AIDS?"), and t-shirts are distributed. In addition, radio spots are broadcast, and billboards are placed in popular sections of town.

"Sida ni iki?" What is AIDS? Your HIV/AIDS illustrated dialogue book.

• Town Hall Meetings. As a way to increase public discourse around HIV/AIDS, we organized a national town meeting, followed by six town meetings in the prefectures. These meetings enable community members to ask questions of health experts and demand greater commitment of resources and political and social support from decision-makers and politicians concerning HIV/AIDS. In addition, they can hear first-hand testimony from PLWAs about how it is to live with the disease. The national town meeting was broadcast live on radio and television. A special town meeting for the military on HIV/AIDS was also held. Live broadcasts on radio and TV, plus open phone lines, enabled soldiers from more than 10 barracks to participate.
• Radio Round Tables. As a follow-up to the town meetings, and to keep the issues on the public agenda, radio round table discussions are held with presentations by experts and call in questions from listeners.
• Capacity Building. JHU/PCS seeks to build capacity of NGO's, individuals and the Ministry of Health. Through collaboration on the KUBA campaign, PCS helped the National Youth Council (NYC)improve its ability to organize and implement a youth campaign. JHU/PCS also provided training to more than 40 musicians and volunteers. Training in HIV/AIDS Community Mobilization was provided for 36 multi-sectoral HIV/BCC teams.

Results

Factors Hindering the Access of PLWHA to Health Care and Support Resources in Rwanda (1.5 MB)

• Nearly 50,000 people attended the concert in Kigali at which the KUBA youth campaign was launched on May 20, 2001. Subsequently, 150,000 people were exposed to the different launches of the youth campaign taking place in the six prefectures.
• More than 17,000 people were reached with the HIV/AIDS message at the provincial town hall meetings and concerts.
• More than 24,000 people were exposed to KUBA messages at football camp matches.
• More then 40 community HIV/AIDS prevention and education sessions were held.
• Representatives of the Ministry of Health, local and international NGOs, community members and religious groups are attending the weekly town hall meetings and radio round tables in the six prefectures.
• Nearly 90% participation in the KUBA media treasure contest (of 5,500 contest forms, 4,811 were filled out and turned in)
• Mayors from participating football camp districts asked to institutionalize the KUBA training as part of their annual vacation program.
• Distribution of IEC materials: 20,000 KUBA concert flyers, 60,000 concert posters, 10,000 T-shirts, 25,000 KUBA concert tickets with messages, 1000 decks of AIDS education cards, 60,000 posters, 5,000 training pamphlets, 6,000 balloons, 27,000 pamphlets. Three KUBA radio spots were broadcast.
• Creation of 1,250 KUBA fan clubs. Among registered KUBA fan club members, 68% say they will practice abstinence, 31% say they will be faithful, and 11% say they will use condoms.

Natty Dread performing at the KUBA campaign launch concert to help promote abstinence, fidelity and condom use among youth.

Unique Features

The KUBA youth campaign concert launch took place during the Summit of African First Ladies, hosted by Rwanda first lady Jeannette Kagame and her husband, President Paul Kagame. The first ladies of Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, and Nigeria were present at this summit. Following the concert, the international musicians (Brenda Fassie, Natty Dread) acted as spokespeople for KUBA by giving press interviews and meeting with young people.

Future Plans

• NYC capacity building: organize a workshop for NYC representatives for use of materials and equipment purchased with the proceeds of the KUBA concert launch.
• Dissemination workshop of four studies done in Rwanda between 2000 and 2001: PLWA, Street Children, Assessment of NGO and Youth baseline survey.
• Evaluation of the KUBA youth campaign scheduled for April-May 2002.
• Produce and distribute Town Meeting Guide that details how to plan, implement and evaluate a TM.
• KUBA "ambassadors" will continue doing outreach with young people.

Partners

Population Services International
UNICEF
National Youth Council
Ministry of Education
Ministry of Health
Ministère de la Jeunesse, Sports et Culture
Programme National de Lutte contre le Sida (National HIV/AIDS Program)
Society for Women and AIDS in Africa
Association Rwandaise pour le Bien-Être Familial
ORINFOR (Rwandan National Information Office)

Program Staff

Jane Brown, jbrown@jhuccp.org

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