Integrated Community Development Initiative (ICODI) since its inception in 2010 has implemented and continues to implement a number of programs and projects at different levels focusing mainly on HIV awareness, diagnosis and prevention especially in vulnerable communities including rural areas, urban slums and peri-communities of different districts of Uganda. The organization has also implemented projects to improve on provision of general health services, advocacy for women and adolescents’ health service provision as well as contributing to health systems strengthening.
HIV Prevention among Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW)
Adolescent Girls and Young Woman (AGYW) account for 71% of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa. Young women and girls in Uganda are twice as likely to be living with HIV as boys and men of the same age and account for one in four new infections. Funded by PEPFAR Uganda Community Grants to Combat HIV/AIDS, ICODI implemented a 2 years project to increase HIV prevention knowledge targeting 2000 adolescent girls and young Women (AGYW) in Mbarara City and Mbarara District-South Western Uganda.
The project conducted community based trainings for adolescents and young women and also conducted high school based trainings for school-going adolescent girls especially in high schools located in HIV hotspot communities providing them with information on HIV prevention and sexual reproductive health and rights. Formed groups in communities for non-school going adolescent girls and young women and trained them to work with Village Health Teams (VHTs)/Community Health Workers (CHWs) to continue extending HIV prevention information among adolescent girls and young women in HIV hotspot communities, keep adolescent girls and young women engaged in sport and physical activities as safe spaces for recreation and learning. 200 beneficiaries were also trained to use sports a tool for mobilization and as a safe platform to use to educate adolescents and young women about HIV prevention.
The project also trained and built capacity of 2000 adolescent girls and young women to address stigma, discrimination associated with HIV and we also conducted community meetings and dialogues with key community stakeholders like local, religious and cultural leaders to demystify existing cultural norms and beliefs that promote Gender Based Violence among adolescent girls and young women.
By the end of the project implementation;
- 1946 adolescent and young women had appropriate knowledge on HIV prevention (this was done through a pre and post quizzes)
- The 998 trained non-school going adolescent girls and young women were grouped according to their residences and attached to particular community health workers (formally known as Village Health Teams (VHTs). Some trainees already started volunteering with community health workers to continue educating their peers in the communities about HIV prevention and sexual reproductive health and rights. This promoted sustainability and scalability of the project’s activities and impacts.
- The trained and sensitized local and district leaders, religious and cultural leaders continued to sensitize other people in their communities about demystifying existing harmful cultural norms, beliefs and practices that promote Gender Based Violence (GBV) among adolescent girls and young women in different communities.
- Some of the identified and trained adolescent girls and young women living with HIV voluntarily continued to work towards addressing stigma and discrimination associated with HIV in their families and communities. Some of these beneficiaries continued to work with different health facilities to train other adolescent girls and boys and young women and men in HIV prevention and how to address stigma and discrimination related to HIV in their families and communities.
