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HDA has been contracted to conduct the Mid-Term Review of South Africa’s National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS. A large team, led by Cindy Carlson, has conducted a literature review and held interviews and workshops. Their findings will be reported at the end of November 2009.
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HDA was commissioned by SADC to conduct a needs assessment in 14 member states, particularly in terms of technical skills and institutional (systemic) capacity. On this basis it will produce a clear statement of the priority capacity and skills gaps in the region and develop a strategic framework to remedy these gaps. These deliverables will be presented to SADC in the first quarter of 2010.
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HDA is assisting the Department of Social Development at national and Gauteng provincial levels to develop training materials on child protection, specifically identification, referral and assistance protocols for practitioners during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. HDA staff members are actively participating in provincial stakeholder meetings geared at child protection preparedness for this event.
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Star for Life is a school based initiative based in Northern KZN, Durban and Namibia. HDA has completed the final evaluation of the Star for Life Project in KZN. The results will be used to inform various Star for Life Stakeholders on how best the programme can be improved or used to design other school based initiatives.
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Community Surveys for John Hopkins Health and Education in South Africa (JHHESA): Community surveys have been conducted in 4 community sites in South Africa. Findings were used to help local level organisations to refine their HIV/AIDS programming. The project used both quantitative and tailored complementary qualitative research with key groups such as men who have multiple partnerships, in- and out-of-school youth, hostel dwellers, taxi drivers, traditional health practitioners and tavern owners. The findings have been presented to the local organizations and to stakeholders in larger community dialogues. In 2010 HDA will conduct a community study in a fifth site at district level, with a particular focus on men’s health.
Johns Hopkins Health and Education South Africa Thematic Reports: In 2010 HDA will produce five thematic reports on the following topics: male circumcision; alcohol, sex and HIV; multiple and concurrent partners; PMTCT; and male sexual and reproductive health.
Field work for the National Communications survey has been completed and the data for this 10,000 person household survey is being analyzed. The roadshow for the National Communications Survey will take place at the end of January 2010. In addition to an overall national report, 9 provincial reports will be developed. This South African survey, funded by PEPFAR, Soul City and the Department of Health, is being managed by HDA, in a contract from Johns Hopkins Health and Education South Africa
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HDA is finalizing a report for the South African Department of Health’s Polio Laboratory Containment project. This project aims to determine the labs which could potentially store wild polio virus, and to educate those labs about the biosafety measures used for the containment of polio. The exercise was undertaken in fulfillment of South Africa’s obligation to certify as a polio-free country – a step towards the eradication of polio.
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Thogomelo OVC Caregiver Support and Child Protection Training: Funded by the US Agency for International Development, this 5-year project is now entering year two of its operations. The project has a dual focus on caring for community caregivers and strengthening the state and civil society response to Child Protection. The registration of the 8 module Psychosocial Support Skills Development Program for Community Caregivers with HWSETA is imminent. During September 2009 training was offered to a total of 607 community caregivers across all 9 provinces of South Africa.
Training is supported by a materials package aligned to SAQA requirements. A curriculum in Child Protection will be field tested with the supervisors of community caregivers early in 2010. Year 2 will focus on capacity development of provincial training service providers responsible for rolling out the accredited curricula. This project is a partnership with the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) as prime contractor and The International and AIDS Alliance.
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HDA in partnership with the Free State Department of Education in South Africa is running the Circles of support project to support vulnerable children in the Lejweleputswa District. The project which is funded by USAID (PEPFAR) is targeting to reach over 12000 children with a comprehensive package of services. The project will train and support School based support teams as well as community members to ensure that schools and communities are responsive to the needs of vulnerable children. The project emphasizes the importance of systems strengthening which will ensure that caring and support for children is inculcated into the school norms and thus promoting sustainability beyond the funded phase.
