Focus Area:Gender
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From short-term technical assistance to long-term program implementation support and more, AIDSTAR-One provides rapid, evidence-based services to PEPFAR country teams in generalized, mixed and concentrated HIV epidemic settings.
A Compendium of Programs in Africa
This compendium describes how 31 programs in Africa are using gender strategies to improve HIV services and reduce vulnerability to HIV infection. Click on the tabs below to see how these programs are combining strategies, where gaps exist, what lessons were learned, and common experiences across programs.
From these 31 programs, 5 were selected as subjects of in-depth case studies. The five case studies and the resulting findings report are integrated into the compendium below, or you can view the whole Africa Gender Compendium Case Study Series.
View the Africa Gender Compendium Case Study Series Findings Report
What is the Compendium?
The public health and international development communities have known for nearly two decades that gender – the way in which societies define acceptable roles, responsibilities and behaviors of women and men – strongly influences HIV vulnerability and how people respond to the epidemic. There is growing recognition that using multiple approaches in HIV/AIDS programming is more effective than single strategies.
Recognizing the many links between gender and the continuing global AIDS epidemic, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) advocates for the inclusion of gender strategies in HIV prevention, treatment, and care and support programs around the world.
Despite increased understanding of the link between gender and HIV and, more recently, the value of using multiple gender strategies to mitigate women’s and men’s vulnerability, little is known about how HIV programs are applying these insights to improve programs and services. To expand this knowledge base, PEPFAR’s Gender Technical Working Group commissioned AIDSTAR-One to compile a compendium of HIV prevention, treatment, and care and support programs in sub-Saharan Africa that are integrating multiple gender strategies into their work.
The resulting compendium describes how 31 programs in Africa are using gender strategies to improve HIV services and reduce vulnerability to HIV infection. The compendium provides examples of how strategies are combined, where gaps exist, lessons learned, and common experiences across programs.
From these 31 programs, five were selected as subjects of in-depth case studies. Click on the links to the right to view the interactive case studies.
Summary of Findings
Many HIV programs have begun integrating multiple gender strategies.
Programs reported numerous benefits of using gender strategies in combination.
Multiple gender strategies are most common in prevention, care and support HIV programming. They are least common in treatment programs.
Addressing gender-based violence is a key strategy to reducing HIV risk.
Increasing women’s legal protection was the least developed of the four gender strategies.
Community involvement and participatory approaches may contribute significantly to program sustainability.
Involving men is a challenge that can be met with innovative approaches.
Findings
All programs selected for the compendium were reviewed to identify lessons for program and policy audiences, such as:
- How multiple gender strategies were employed
- Gaps in programmatic efforts
- Similar and dissimilar approaches, experiences and lessons across programs
The review showed that many innovative programs exist in sub-Saharan Africa and implementers are successfully integrating multiple gender approaches into HIV programs. Combining gender strategies produces numerous benefits, including ensuring project salience and relevance, extending project reach, and reflecting the multiple, inter-related needs of beneficiaries.
Most programs lack rigorous data collection and evaluation, often because implementers do not have sufficient resources or technical capacity. Though all the programs featured in the Compendium are have strong gender components, few collect findings related to gender outcomes.
Of programs implementing two or more gender strategies:
- Reducing gender-based violence was most common
- Increasing women’s legal protection was the least common
- Programs often addressed male norms and behaviors in combination with gender-based violence efforts, successfully engaging men with innovative approaches; and
- Strategies to increase women’s income were combined with other strategies to sustain women’s capacity to address a range of issues in their lives, including violence and HIV
Recommendations
Programs that seek to initiate gender-based programming for the first time or to expand their current gender programming should be encouraged to include gender strategies in combination. These strategies are mutually reinforcing, while the costs of adding new gender components may be relatively low.
However, funders and program implementers should determine which strategies to combine, and how best to combine them, based on the specific gender constraints experienced by target audiences. Context-specific consequences of combining programming – both positive and negative – also must be considered and addressed. For example, program implementers have described increased spousal violence experienced by women who participated in income generation activities.
Targeted Recommendatrions
- Programs should combine gender strategies to address gender constraints of target audiences, which will strengthen HIV programs.
- Implementers need flexibility to adapt programming based on new findings to build in and combine gender strategies.
- Increasing the involvement of men –especially young men –should remain a high priority.
- Gender-based violence should be considered a key component in HIV programming, addressing other gender strategies and involving a broad range of actors.
- All programs should have a strong evaluation component
- Involvement and leadership from the community is integral to changing gender norms.
- Reducing violence and coercion (#)
- Addressing male norms and behaviors (#)
- Increasing women's legal protection (#)
- Increasing women's access to income and productive resources (#)
| File | Strategies addressed | Country |
|---|---|---|
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Binti Pamoja Binti Pamoja (Daughters United) is a reproductive health and women's rights center for adolescent girls living in a slum area of Nairobi. The center... |
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Kenya |
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Biruh Tesfa (Bright Future) Biruh Tesfa works with migrant adolescent girls who have relocated to urban areas and are at risk of coerced sex, transactional sex and exploitative... |
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Ethiopia |
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Community Care in Nigeria Community Care in Nigeria improves community and household capacity to respond to the needs of women and children affected by HIV and AIDS. Services... |
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Nigeria |
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Comprehensive Sexuality, Family Life, and HIV/AIDS Education Comprehensive Sexuality, Family Life and HIV/AIDS Education (SLFHE) is a three-year program that trains teachers to implement a project-developed... |
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Nigeria |
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Corridors of Hope II The Corridors of Hope II HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative (COH II) aims to decrease HIV transmission, morbidity and mortality in seven of the highest-... |
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Zambia |
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Engendering Equality The Engendering Equality project seeks to improve the status of rural women, children and youth by increasing access to information about the links... |
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Kenya |
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Ethiopian Radio Serial Dramas to Prevent HIV/AIDS Population Media Center uses radio serial dramas to promote reproductive health, provide information about preventing HIV and sexually transmitted... |
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Ethiopia |
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Family and Community Strengthening Program (FCS) The Family and Community Strengthening (FCS) program provides a tailored package of activities based on the needs of HIV-affected communities.... |
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Uganda |
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Geração Biz Geração Biz works to prevent HIV among young people in Mozambique by promoting adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Peer activists reach out to... |
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Mozambique |
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HIV & AIDS Counseling and Services The HIV & AIDS Counseling and Services program provides counseling and prevention services to individuals, couples, family members, and... |
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Uganda |
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IMAGE (Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity) IMAGE (Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity) is a community-based research study that combines a microfinance program to reduce... |
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South Africa |
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Laphum’ Ilanga (Sunrise) Laphum’ Ilanga (“sunrise” in Xhosa) uses community-based theater to explore the links between gender-based violence, gender norms and HIV. Women... |
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South Africa |
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Maanisha Maanisha builds the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) to mainstream gender into HIV-related into community activities targeting women... |
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Kenya |
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Male Norms Initiative The program is building the capacity of existing HIV/AIDS programs to integrate male engagement strategies at all levels (individuals, community,... |
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Namibia Ethiopia |
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Mama’s Club Mama’s Club seeks to improve the economic status of HIV-positive mothers by training them in life skills and income-generating activities. HIV-... |
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Uganda |
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Memory Book The Memory Book project aims to minimize the trauma of parental loss by strengthening the relationships between HIV positive parents and their... |
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Uganda |
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Nuru ya Jamii Nuru ya Jamii works to prevent HIV-driven orphaning by providing assistance and care to HIV-positive caregivers and their children. The program... |
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Kenya |
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Operation Haute Protection (OHP) Operation Haute Protection (OHP) seeks to reduce HIV prevalence among uniformed services personnel and their families. OHP implements behavior change... |
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Côte d Ivoire |
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Polyclinic of Hope Care and Treatment Project The Polyclinic of Hope Care and Treatment Project provides comprehensive, quality HIV and AIDS prevention, care, support and treatment to HIV-... |
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Rwanda |
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Post Rape Care Post Rape Care offers an array of post-rape services in government health facilities and works to improve community awareness about sexual violence,... |
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Kenya |
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Shosholoza AIDS Project The project trains and supports young men on local soccer teams to conduct peer education sessions aimed at preventing HIV and reducing violence... |
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South Africa |
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Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication (IHDC) Project The Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication (Soul City IHDC) is a South African-based regional health and development... |
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South Africa |
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Stepping Stones – Adapted for South African Youth Stepping Stones is an HIV prevention training package first implemented in Uganda and recently replicated and tested in South Africa by the Medical... |
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South Africa |
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Survival Skills Training for Orphans (SSTOP) Survival Skills Training for Orphans (SSTOP) works to reduce involvement in transactional sex among orphans and vulnerable teenage girls. Through the... |
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Mozambique |
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T-MARC (The Tanzania Marketing and Communications for AIDS, Reproductive Health, Child Survival and Infectious Diseases Project) The Tanzania Marketing and Communications for AIDS, Reproductive Health, Child Survival and Infectious Diseases Project (T-MARC) uses business... |
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Tanzania |
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Tap and Reposition Youth (TRY) Tap and Reposition Youth (TRY) was a research project in low income areas of Nairobi that sought to improve adolescent girls’ reproductive health... |
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Kenya |
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Targeting and Involving Men in HIV Prevention Activities The primary goals of the program are (1) to reduce risk for sexually transmitted infections among Batswana men and their partners, and (2) to improve... |
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Botswana |
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The Fatherhood and Child Security Project The Fatherhood and Child Security project supports men to play a more active role in the lives of their families, to work to eliminate violence... |
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South Africa |
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The SASA! Activist Kit for Preventing Violence against Women and HIV The SASA! program aims to mobilize communities to change the power imbalance between women and men, reduce gender based violence, and reduce women’s... |
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Uganda |
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Women First (Mulheres Primero) Women First combines health, HIV prevention, and entrepreneurial training with the establishment of sustainable businesses for rural women.... |
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Mozambique |
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Women’s Health CoOp, Pretoria The Women’s Health CoOp, Pretoria intervention seeks to empower at-risk women, particularly drug users and sex workers, through education and skills... |
|
South Africa |
About
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the many colleagues who contributed to the development of this compendium. The members of the PEPFAR Gender Technical Working Group whose vision and technical input provided ongoing guidance and support to this effort include:
Lisa An (USAID) Marissa Bohrer (OGAC, USAID)
Nomi Fuchs-Montgomery (OGAC) Clint Liveoak (CDC)
Lauren Murphy (OGAC) Emily Osinoff (USAID)
Diana Prieto (USAID) Susan Settergren (CDC)
Madeleine Short (CDC) Laura Skolnik (USAID)
David Stanton (USAID) Anna Williams (USAID)
At ICRW, the vision for the Compendium began with Geeta Rao Gupta, Jessica Ogden, and Linda Sussman. The dedicated ICRW team brought the document to fruition, demonstrating real commitment to this effort. Team members include: Saranga Jain Anne Stangl Katherine Fritz Zayid Douglas Traci Eckhaus Noni Milici We would also like to thank the ICRW Communications team for their editorial support and finishing touches: Margo Young, Sandra Bunch, and consultant, Jennifer Nadeau. At AIDSTAR-One, we would like to thank Sharon Stash, Ed Scholl, Andrew Fullem, Frank DeSarbo, and Deborah Roseman for their ongoing support. We would also like to thank the USAID Cognizant Technical Officer manager of AIDSTAR-One, Shyami DeSilva.
We are grateful to the technical experts, who generously gave of their time and expertise in reviewing a draft of the Compendium, including:
Michal Avni (USAID) Elizabeth Benomar (UNFPA)
Dr. Lynn Collins (UNFPA) Nazneen Damji (UNIFEM)
Andrew Fullem (JSI) Geeta Rao Gupta (ICRW)
Karen Hardee (Population Action International) Julia Kim (University of the Witwatersrand; London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine)
Purnima Mane (UNFPA) Manisha Mehta (EngenderHealth)
Ken Morrison (Constella Futures) Ben Ochieng (Population Council)
Jessica Ogden (ICRW) Dr. Mary Otieno (UNFPA)
Julio Pacca (Pathfinder) Deborah Roseman (JSI)
Ed Scholl (JSI) Kathleen Selvaggio (ICRW)
Sharon Stash (JSI) Richard Strickland (USAID)
Ellen Weiss (ICRW) Terri Wingate (CDC – Côte d’Ivoire)
Most of all, it is with a great deal of respect and admiration that we thank the dedicated colleagues who are implementing the programs that are represented in this compendium. They are a visionary and dedicated group of thought leaders who are demonstrating how gender approaches can be incorporated into HIV/AIDS programs. We thank them for taking the time from their extremely busy schedules to share program details and lessons they have learned in implementing these programs.
Last Modified: November 8, 2012
