ZIMBABWE – The Republic of Zimbabwe, through the National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe (NAC-Zimbabwe), has partnered with United Nations Women to offer HIV Response training to partners implementing Start, Awareness, Support, Action (SASA!) Together programme methodology.
The National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe and UN Women collaborated to conduct a five-day national SASA! Together Support Phase Training of Trainers (ToT) in Kwekwe from 18th July – 22nd July 2022 to address the links between violence against women and HIV/AIDS.
The training exercise saw the attendance of thirty-eight participants drawn from various organizations and they will go on and train SASA! Together Community Activists on how to implement the Support Phase at community level in their respective programme districts across the country.
The notable organizations include Katswe Sistahood, Zimbabwe Association of Church-related Hospitals, Hope for a Child in Christ (HOCIC), Students and Youth Working on reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT) and Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development.
“The Support Phase TOT capacitated trainers with skills on how to move beyond shame and stigma on women experiencing Gender Based Violence, how to hold Gender Based Violence perpetrators accountable and how to support couples transforming,” UN Women said in a press statement.
According to UN Women, the training aimed to build participants’ skills and encourage community members to join power with women experiencing violence and men who are potential allies in preventing violence against women and girls and reducing the risks of HIV infections.
SASA! Together is a programme methodology with four phases (Start, Awareness, Support, Action) developed by Raising Voices to address the links between violence against women and HIV/AIDS. To date the organizations have implemented the Start and Awareness phases in 2018 and 2019 and are now moving on to Support Phase.
The HIV Response training exercise was supported by the Spotlight Initiative, funded by European Union, targeting organisations already implementing the SASA! Together Start and Awareness phases in various provinces in Zimbabwe.
UN Women highlights that SASA! Together is a programme methodology developed by Raising Voices meant to inspire, enable and structure effective community mobilization to prevent violence against women and HIV/AIDS.
“As organisations prepare to move from Awareness to Support Phase, they cross-shared information on good practices drawn from their Start and Awareness phases’ experiences and achievements,” the intergovernmental agency revealed.
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women further said that Katswe Sistahood is successfully implementing SASA! Together methodology in Mbire and Guruve districts in Mashonaland Central province.
Katswe Sistahood has trained fifty community activists using the HeForShe dialogue model in beerhalls and at sports activities particularly engaging men and boys to discuss issues of power imbalance and toxic masculinity in a bid to achieve positive behaviours change.
The agency disclosed that the implementation phase is supported by UN Women under the European Union funded Spotlight Initiative and the Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework (UBRAF).
The agency further stated that Katswe Sistahood has supported the Doma girls in Mbire district with dignity packages, 32 Gender Based Violence cases were reported and survivors were supported with women economic empowerment start-ups of either goat or piggery projects and sewing clubs.
Furthermore, UN Women is currently providing technical and financial support to various organizations that are piloting SASA! Together across Zimbabwe under the Global Fund including SAYWHAT, Katswe Sistahood and HOCIC and technical support to ZACH and the National AIDS Council.
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