In our continued efforts to provide comprehensive, innovative health solutions and expanding our public health mandate in 2019 we were we awarded a role of a Technical Assistance (TA) partner to PEPFAR/CDC Botswana for the Faith and Community Initiative (FCI).  As a TA provider ACHAP will provide consulting services to members of the umbrella faith organizations of Botswana Faith Based Network on HIV/AIDS (BOFABONETHA) and the umbrella of Botswana Traditional Health Practitioners.  In the role of a TA provider we are expected to provide strategic planning, project management, capacity building and financial management for a period of one year ending in September 2020. 

The project seeks with its two priorities to firstly focus on engaging communities of faith to understand the HIV epidemic, raise community awareness, and increase uptake of critical antiretroviral treatment and prevention interventions for men and children through existing and additional FBO, faith and community partners including Traditional Health Practitioners.  The goal of this priority is to rapidly increase the proportion of men and children living with HIV who know their status, are linked to care and have viral load suppression.  

This will be achieved by supporting the following objectives; to achieve transformation in perceptions about HIV by replacing old messages of fear and death with new messages of hope and life (emphasizing the benefits of early treatment, with a focus on U=U).  Another objective critical to the success of the project is to increase targeted case-finding, linkage, and retention for men and children living with HIV, by leveraging the specific and intimate social and organizational networks within faith communities. Additionally, to decrease loss to follow up by decreasing HIIV stigma and non-adherence associated with faith healing. Lastly to develop the capacity of FBOs and Faith Communities to monitor and evaluate the impact of program activities using standardized PEPFAR indicators (MER and DATIM narrative indicators).  

To realise the project goal a number of activities will be implemented in the 11 PEPFAR supported districts (Bobirwa, Lobatse, Mahalapye, Moshupa, Ngamiland, North East, Palapye, Selibe Phikwe, Serowe and Southern) with BOFABONATHA, THPs and local district health and leadership structures. The activities include engaging religious, traditional and community leaders’ national forums to incorporate and disseminate new messages of hope vertically through faith and community infrastructures, from national to district to local structures. Facilitating expansion of targeted HIV self-testing, linkage and retention in faith communities, THPs in collaboration with Expert Clients (People living with HIV) will also help achievement of the project priority goal. Lastly to decrease stigma and non-adherence related to faith healing faith leaders, Community leaders, traditional health practitioners in addressing stigma and non-adherence related issues. 

Though ACHAP with Implementing Partners will predominantly focus on Priority 1 of the project they as some activities implemented in Priority 2 particularly IMpower. Impower is Program developed by No Means No Worldwide. This is a violence prevention intervention for youth. IMpower is an empowerment approach to self-defence emphasizing early recognition of boundary testing, negotiation, diffusion and distraction tactics, and verbal assertiveness. Physical tactics and skills are also learned with the guidance that they should only be used if they are the last or best option.  

The Priority 2 of the FCI project has a large focus on the Justice Sector response, as well as broader sexual violence prevention for 9-14-year olds in support of ensuring justice for children.  There are two main goals for Priority 2 is to prevent the perpetration of sexual violence against children and facilitate disclosure, reporting, and appropriate system responses to cases of sexual violence against children with a focus on holding perpetrators accountable. The objectives of the is to engage leaders and systems who can incorporate programming and policies to change the trajectory of violence against children in areas of high HIV burden. The other objective is to identify (and encourage the use of) program and policy activities that are based on the best available evidence to prevent the perpetration of violence, and enable disclosure, reporting, investigation, and prosecution when violence occurs. This will be achieved through the following activities; Education about sexual violence against children for community leaders, implementing evidence-based interventions through faith and traditional structures to complement DREAMS and OVC, Child Safeguarding policies and engaging the Justice Sector.