The National AIDS Coordinating Agency will this week sign grant agreements with Civil Society Organizations as a first step of the Botswana National HIV and AIDS Prevention Support program to support and capacitate communities to implement HIV prevention activities.
During the last few months, NACA in cooperation with CSO’s and ministries, called for proposals targeting multiple concurrent partnerships intervention from five districts. The five districts, South East, Kweneng East, Francistown, Selibe Phikwe and Goodhope Sub-District will be targeted in the first two years, while the final three years of the project will be nationwide.
The decision to begin with the five mentioned districts was informed by the fact that the majority of the national population, about 80 %, resides along this corridor. The said districts also have the country’s highest prevalence of HIV-Aids.
After evaluation of the CSO’s proposals, 17 were selected, and a total P11 million will be disbursed.
4 out of the 17 proposals will have a multi-district focus, as they will implement MCP interventions simultaneously in more than one district.
Theaters groups will deliver key MCP messages to the young population, outreach groups will sensitize men and women on the links between alcohol consumption, MCP and HIV risk, while support and discussion groups will be established between men and women to discuss on HIV prevention and gender issues.
At the same time, CSO’s will also target schools where they will discuss the root causes of MCP’s. There will also be intergenerational discussions, in which young and elderly women will hold discussions. The objective of this initiative is to establish mentoring and role model relationships in the fight against MCP’s.
In the future NACA will announce more call for proposals that will not only address MCP’s but also tackle other HIV prevention thematic areas, in accordance with the Botswana National HIV/AIDS strategic framework. The next call for proposals is planned for April 2010. April 2010.
The Government of Botswana recently signed a 5 year grant agreement with the World Bank to implement the Botswana National HIV and AIDS Prevention Support Program (BNAPS). The mentioned program has a budget of US$50 million which will be invested in strengthening the institutional capacity of NACA, funding HIV/AIDS prevention activities at ministerial level and at CSO and Private Sector Organization level.
