The UNFPA-supported Africa Regional Project 2006-2007 “Community Participatory BCC and Advocacy in the Fight against HIV/AIDS with HIV/AIDS Total Management Model ( ATOMM ) Concept” (RAF5R303) 2007 Dissemination Meeting was held from 30 th October to 1 st November in Elimna, Ghana.

The meeting aimed to:

- Share experiences and achievements from the BCC and advocacy interventions at the country level with the stakeholders

- Share results of the end-line survey conducted in each country

- Identify strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities of the interventions

- Identify program needs and priorities at country and regional levels and make recommendations for the future

Thirty-five representatives from the project sites in Ghana and Zambia , UNFPA Country Offices, JICA and JOICFP attended.

At the opening of the dissemination meeting

As well as explaining project activities, presentations by both Ghana and Zambia emphasized the key aspect of community mobilization strategies and activities, especially intensifying peer education programs on behavioral change and empowering and incorporating PLWHA into project activities to strengthen project success.

Field visit

In a field visit to the project site in Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira District in Central Region , the participants observed a community public address system being used for H IV/AIDS prevention, followed by a discussion among a District Health Management Team nurse, PLWHA and a youth peer educator.

Discussions take place in the community
public address office

It has taken a lot of courage for PWLHA to make their status public, but now that some have, stigma is being tackled and more people are willing to go for voluntary counseling and testing (VCT).

The meeting participants also observed the picture drama The Endless Goodbye being delivered by a youth peer educator, and saw how questions from the audience were handled.

Youth peer educator delivers
The Endless Goodbye picture drama

The group discussed the field visit and made recommendations for future plans, such as increased opportunities for discussion to benefit activities, including youth programs.

Discussing future plans, including linking activities with UNFPA country-level youth programs for scale-up , the end-line survey report revealed some of the successes of the project, such as increased condom use, a rise in abstinence and greater risk awareness.

The recommendations were raised that Ghana and Zambia can use information from the project to refine their approaches, and the lessons and experiences of interventions will be disseminated at the country, sub-regional, and regional levels.