ZAMBIA
Community Mobilization
Activity Dates
August 2004 – September 2009
Activity Summary
Community mobilization is the backbone of HCP interventions. Within this mandate HCP aims to strengthen the capacity of targeted communities to better access and manage existing and new resources available to them to effect positive behavior change at the individual, household and community level. To do this communities are assisted in developing a collective vision of a healthy community. This helps them identify and prioritize the necessary changes that will be needed to improve their health and quality of life and to both effectively respond to the immediate health threats that confront families and households as well as build collective community efficacy to ensure ongoing well-being and sustainability. HCP works to strengthen and help build the capacity of district and community systems and structures , traditional, religious, and de facto local leaders and youth groups and promotes the change of harmful social and gender norms.
Activities and Highlights
Capacity Strengthening and Training for NHCs and CBOs
Members from Neighborhood Health Committees (NHCs), CBOs and NGOs received training in leadership skills, conflict resolution, financial management, proposal writing, participatory methodologies, strategic planning and project implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. Strong partnership with the District Health Management Team (DHMT) and health centre personnel enables the connection with community members to be established and on-going mentoring to continue.
Building and Linking Communities
Exchange visits are arranged between communities who have successfully overcome challenges to improve health and other communities facing similar situations. This sharing has resulted in successful replication and adoption of “best practices” as defined by the communities.
Peer Education and Outreach
HCP has trained a number of peer educators serving different population groups. Uniformed services personnel (police, prisons guards, game wardens, immigration and tax officers) are trained as Peer Educators and reach out to their communities to promote HIV/AIDS prevention activities with a focus on partner reduction, correct and consistent condom use for discordant couples and those who do not know their HIV status, as well as encouraging community members to go for VCT. In several provinces, peer leaders are being trained in local fishing villages. The HEARTLife Skills Toolkit was developed in response to the need for age appropriate, user-friendly, entertaining activities which openly address the complexity of pressures on youth and, through tested interventions, increase their awareness and self-efficacy in order to enable them to make healthy lifestyle choices.
Living and Loving
Living and Loving is a radio learning program that provides information and testimonies regarding challenges facing those living with HIV and AIDS and their caregivers. Living and Loving reaches out to PLHA and caregivers with information that will enable the PLHA to lead positive lifestyles as well as equip caregivers with information to effectively care for people who are chronically ill due to AIDS. More than 100 radio listening groups exist in Zambia. In many communities, local leaders report the program as having a positive impact on reducing stigma associated with PLHA as well as in increase in the number of people revealing their HIV status.
Community/Folk Theatre for Health Promotion
HCP trains theatre groups in how to effectively promote health messages in their performances as well has how to facilitate discussions after it has ended. There are 66 active theatre groups that are performing health-related programs, and these have been able to reach 62,000 community members on issues such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, child health, maternal health and reproductive health.
Addressing Gender
HCP Zambia activities also promote the change of harmful social and gender norms such as low representation of women in key decision making positions, low participation of men in family planning, maternal health and child care and men’s non-acceptance of remedies to control fertility rates. HCP addresses such issues in ways tailored to individual districts and communities. One such intervention is Africa Transformation, videos which depict stories of men and women in untraditional roles. These videos are used to spark discussion at the community level about feelings about roles and ways to improve daily life through shared responsibilities between husband and wife. These videos are available in English, Bemba and Nyanja.
Materials and Tools
Research Reports/Publications
Audience
Community leaders, general
Partners
NHCs, CBOs, NGOs, DHMTs
Back to Zambia
Note about materials: Some of the materials and resources listed on each page are available in their full form, others are represented by image or citation only. For more information and resources, go to www.jhuccp.org
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