Published: November 29, 2011, 12:00 am
JHU∙CCP is pleased to announce that it will join PSI to improve the health of the people of Lesotho by reducing HIV incidence. The LETLAMA project (Lesotho Together Against HIV and AIDS Partnership) is named for King Moshoeshoe I, founder of the Basotho nation, and means “one who unites.” Population Services International (PSI) will lead this five-year, USAID funded project.
A woman gathers water from a community bore hole in Bobete, a mountainous area of central Lesotho. © 2007 David Snyder, Courtesy of Photoshare.
Lesotho has the third highest HIV prevalence rate in the world, and all parts of the country, sexes, ages and socio-economic strata are affected. HIV is primarily spread through sexual contact, made worse due to gaps in knowledge about HIV and AIDS, high rates of multiple and concurrent partnerships and low awareness of HIV status. LETLAMA seeks to address these issues by increasing the adoption of protective behaviors and supporting healthy social norms among adults and youth in Lesotho to reduce HIV incidence.
As part of the LETLAMA project team, CCP will do the following:
- Provide technical assistance to bodies within the appropriate Ministries to coordinate, monitor, and evaluate S/BCC components of the National Prevention Strategy;
- Take the lead in building the capacity of local Basotho institutions to assess SBCC strengths and weaknesses and build their ability to design, implement, monitor and evaluate the SBCC HIV prevention response;
- Conduct needs assessment to inform development of knowledge management tools and systems for local partners and stakeholders;
- Develop an overarching communication strategy for the project;
- Design and implement a branded multi-channel campaign, addressing gender roles;
- Deepen the impact of existing youth radio show through expanded themes and complementary discussions.
For more information about LETLAMA, contact Leanne Wolff [1], Program Officer.
