Community mobilization
Benefits of HIV testing and counselling
Increasing the demand for HIV testing and counselling services is critical for normalizing HIV, i.e. increasing the acceptance of HIV as a community issue, reducing denial, stigma and discrimination and increasing the uptake of ARV treatment and prevention. Because of the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS, many people do not wish to know their status.
Community mobilization for HIV testing and counselling must therefore address stigma, discrimination and fear of disclosure as well as people's perceptions of the benefits of HIV testing and counselling. In some settings, mass media and marketing approaches have proved quite successful in improving people's perceptions about the benefits of knowing their status and increasing the uptake of HIV testing and counselling.
tools
Disentangling HIV and AIDS Stigma in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia
The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), in partnership with organizations in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia led a study of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in these three countries. This project, conducted from April 2001 to September 2003, unravelled the complexities that surround stigma by investigating the causes, manifestations and consequences of HIV and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in sub-Saharan Africa. It then uses this analysis to suggest program interventions.
Understanding and Challenging HIV Stigma - a Toolkit for Action
The toolkit evolved out of a research project on Understanding HIV Related Stigma and Resulting Discrimination in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia. The toolkit has been developed by the CHANGE Project in partnership with various research institutions and AIDS related NGOs in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia. The NGOs participated in workshops to design the structure and contents of the toolkit; and have started to use and test out some of the modules in their work.