The PEPFAR Gender Initiative on Girls’ Vulnerability to HIV (GIGV), the first award under the HIV/AIDS Research Sector TASC 3 IQC, was funded by USAID. Known as the Go Girls! Initiative (GGI), the project was led by CCP in partnership with Macro International. The Initiative shifted the focus from individual risk-taking to contextual factors that render girls vulnerable. The purpose of GGI was to develop, implement and test social, gender and behavior change communication approaches, in an effort to reduce adolescent girls’ susceptibility to HIV infection. Approaches included: addressing contextual factors that present barriers to accessing education; increasing girls resilience through building life-skills; strengthening parents’ and other adults ‘ability to communicate with and support girls; and community dialogue and action. The CCP teams in Mozambique, Malawi and Botswana combined quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to develop a deeper understanding of girls’ vulnerability, evaluate the initiative and disseminate and discuss results with communities and national and international partners.
Gender roles and relations impact a broad array of health issues. Social norms and expectations of how men and women should behave contribute to problems such as violence against women and the transmission of HIV/AIDS. Discrimination against women and girls also results in the neglect of issues that uniquely affect them, such as maternal mortality, as well as a lack of attention to the causes and consequences of disease that impact upon men and women differently.
The Global Program on Gender uses strategic health communication to promote gender equality and address the different needs of women and men, girls and boys. Theory and behavior change frameworks underpin all of our work and ensure that our programs are based on sound knowledge of what works. We also contribute to the development of new and innovative approaches to apply theory to current programming and identify best practices.
CCP has worked on gender and health issues for over 20 years, including the development of guides to strengthen gender programming; campaigns to encourage men to participate in Family Planning, HIV prevention and other health issues; programs inspiring women and girls to speak out!; and toolkits to transform men’s and women’s relationships.
Our gender programs have a primary focus on improving gender equality and women’s empowerment as well as addressing gender-specific health burdens, such as HIV/AIDS and maternal mortality. We also put emphasis on incorporating these issues into all of our programs and developing a tailored approach to address the different needs of women and men.
Highlights include:
Guides
- The Gender Guide for Health Communication Programs [1] takes managers, implementers, and evaluators through a step by step process (using the P!) to assess if programs are addressing the needs of women and men in an equitable manner and offers practical suggestions on how to strengthen those that do not.
Men’s Campaigns
- Zimbabawe Male Motivation Project: One of the first ever FP campaigns to address men, the MMP reached out to men where they congregate and through mass media to get them engaged with their spouses to discuss and use Family Planning.
- Bambo Wachitsanzo (“Great Guy,”)/Malawi: promotes men’s participation in HIV prevention through mass media community outreach, IPC toolkits and “certification” of Great Guys through public recognition ceremonies.
- “Be a Man” /Uganda: engages men to analyze traditional male norms and the impact they can have on their health and presents alternative models of “being a man”. Part of the Y.E.A.H campaign, the program broadcasts the Rockpoint 256 serial drama, media spots, and conducts trainings using the Men and HIV discussion guide
- Together for a Happy Family/Jordan: the first-ever national multimedia campaign in Jordan to involve men in family planning. Messages promoted men discussing FP with their wives; FP’s consistency with Islamic teachings; and that male and female children are of equal value; among others.
- “African Transformation” builds on the methodology and success of Arab Women Speak Out! taking it a step further by engaging women and men in dialogue to analyze gender norms, address harmful traditional practices and transform relationships to improve health and well being. First implemented in Uganda, it has since been replicated and adopted in Cote d’Ivoire, Malawi, Nigeria, Mozambique and Zambia. Click here [2] to see the report on the evaluation of African Transformation.
Contact Person
Patricia Poppe ppoppe@jhuccp.org [3]Publications and Project Materials
The Gender Guide for Health Communication Programs [1]A Report on the Evaluation of African Transformation [2]
Projects
The Health Communication Project Associate Award (HCP II AA) in Uganda, funded by USAID, builds on the foundation of the three-year Health Communication Partnership I (2004-2007) award to change individual behavior, mobilize communities, create an enabling environment for sound health practices and build capacity in health communication The project is led by CCP, in partnership with MOH, Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC), Communication for Development Foundation Uganda (CDFU), Media for Development International (MFDI), Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC), Mango Tree, Makerere University School of Public Health, AIDS Information Centre and the Regional Center for Quality Health Care. The five-year HCP II project uses proven communication approaches to address HIV prevention, AIDS care and treatment, family planning, malaria prevention and treatment and tuberculosis.
The CCP-headed HCP South Africa field office was registered as a local NGO -- Johns Hopkins Health and Education in South Africa (JHHESA) -- in October 2004. Supported by USAID, JHHESA provides technical assistance and financial support to over 16 local institutions working at the national, provincial and local levels to build capacity to design, implement, monitor, evaluate, and manage HIV and AIDS related behavior change communication programs in South Africa. JHHESA's partners -- PEPFAR, the Government of South Africa and numerous South African media and civil society organizations -- use a combination of interpersonal communication, community mobilization and mass media to emphasize messages around HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, HIV counseling and testing, and OVC. All of JHHESA's partners' activities fall into one or more of the three domains of South Africa's Pathways to a Competent Society Conceptual Framework: the social political environment, service delivery systems, and communities/individuals.
The Jordan Health Communication Partnership (JHCP) worked with a broad variety of public and private partners to implement a comprehensive national health communication strategy. A nine-year project funded by USAID, JHCP carried out cross-cutting strategic, integrated behavior change communication activities under a unified national brand, “Our Health, Our Responsibility.” Communication activities fostered health competence by empowering individuals, families, communities, and institutions with the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to improve and sustain health.
Malawi’s BRIDGE II is the next generation of prevention programming designed to scale up and deepen HIV/AIDS prevention activities in Malawi by removing barriers to individual action and confronting drivers of behavior at the normative/society level.
The BRIDGE II Project is a five-year USAID funded HIV prevention program aimed at promoting normative behavior change and increasing HIV preventive behavior among the adult population in Malawi. The program is implemented by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (CCP) in partnership with Save the Children Federation (SC), Pact Malawi and The International HIV/AIDS Alliance (Alliance). Local partners include Corporate Graphics, Youth Net and Counseling (YONECO), Galaxy Media Consultants, Story Workshop, and National People Living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi (NAPHAM).
The overall program objective is to contribute towards the reduction of new HIV infections among the adult population in Malawi. By 2014, we envision BRIDGE II will achieve the following outcomes:
- Men and women will have personalized understandings of their HIV risk, and believe they have the skills, knowledge, and motivation necessary to prevent infection.
- Supported by normative change, proactive services, and dynamic institutions, individuals are using available HIV services and adopting safer sexual behaviors, particularly those related to a key driver of the epidemic, Multiple Concurrent Partnership (MCP). Their behavior change is deep and lasting, and an inspiration to others.
- Norms are redefined to recognize, value, and reward couple communication about prevention and sero-status, compassion for those with HIV and AIDS, protection of self and others, gender equity, and rejection of cross-generational sex, alcohol/substance abuse, and harmful traditional practices.
- HIV and other health care providers never miss an opportunity to provide both HIV negative and positive clients with proactive information, counseling, and referral. They will do this through traditional venues, such as client visits, and new approaches, such phone hotlines, cell phone technology, and community events.
- Malawian institutions are taking the lead in HIV prevention in an atmosphere of coordination and collaboration, with a vibrant exchange of ideas, information, and best practices.
BRIDGE II is a strategic, evidence-based communication program that builds on the Nditha! [9] (“I can”) brand developed under BRIDGE I [10], a USAID funded HIV Prevention project that was led by CCP from 2001-2008. Through the combination of proven community methodologies, interpersonal communication and innovative approaches, BRIDGE II is scaling-up BRIDGE I’s [10] successes while confronting specific drivers of HIV such as multiple concurrent partnerships (MCPs), alcohol/substance abuse, women’s vulnerability, and male norms, and promoting collective efficacy and normative change. In addition, BRIDGE II is linking prevention and referral systems with other HIV/AIDS-related services through existing networks while using m-health to increase access while strengthening forums for exchange of ideas, research, and strategy harmonization, and building capacity of local institutions to lead a coordinated and sustained HIV prevention effort.
The Malawi BRIDGE Project, a six-year project funded by USAID, was an HIV/AIDS prevention project targeting males and females of reproductive age. Led by CCP, in partnership with Save the Children US, Population Services International (PSI), the Malawi Network of Service Organizations (MANSO), Public Affairs Committee and other local organizations, the goal of the project was to change the way Malawians think and speak about HIV/AIDS, and to encourage adoption of behaviors that prevent HIV transmission. BRIDGE worked at the national, district/community and individual levels in eight intervention districts. CCP used results from formative research to develop a multi-media campaign, called Nditha! (I Can!), to reinforce feelings of confidence and self-efficacy among Malawians in their ability to prevent HIV and AIDS. The follow-on to this project is the Malawi BRIDGE II Project [12].
The Measure DHS project, funded by USAID, is a five year project implemented by ICF Macro. The DHS program provides assistance to countries with the Demographic and Health Survey, the Service Provision Assessment (SPA) Survey, the HIV/AIDS Indicator Survey (AIS), Malaria Indicators Survey (MIS) and qualitative research. prjoect. Since October 2008, ICF Macro has partnered with five internationally experienced organizations CCP, PATH, The Futures Institute, CAMRIS Internatonal, and Blue Rastter to expand access to and use of the DHS data. CCP's role focuses largely on dissemination activites at both the country and global level.
Publications and Program Materials
- Bienvenue aux Changements dans la Communauté Year 2 Strategy Document [16]
- Breast Cancer in Egypt: Situation analysis with a focus on early detection [17]
- Community Perspectives on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Eastern RDC [18]
- e-Toolkits (HCP Uganda Project Materials and Resources) [19]
- Final Project Report (HCP Uganda 2007-2012) [20]
- Go Girls! Toolkit (Training Manuals, Technical Briefs, Program Resources, Research Reports, Success Stories) [21]
- JHCP TV Spots [22]
- Les avis de la communauté sur la violence sexuelle et basée sur le genre dans l’est de la République Démocratique du Congo [23]
- Messages and Materials Development Training of Trainers Workshop [24]
- TV Spot: Childhood Immunizations [25]
- TV Spot: Exclusive Breastfeeding [26]
- TV spot: HIV/AIDS Integrated Counseling and Testing (Anil Kapoor) [27]
- Violence Against Women - a True Manhood campaign [28]
