Addressing HIV and Gender from the Ground Up in Kenya

[Guest guest]

Addressing HIV and Gender from the Ground Up

Maanisha Community Focused Initiative to Control HIV: A Program to

Build the Capacity of Civil Society Organizations in Kenya

Read or download the full case study on the AIDSTAR-One website:

http://www.aidstar-one.com/focus_areas/gender/resources/case_study_series/kenya_\

maanisha?utm_source=blog & utm_medium=social & utm_content=AGCKENYA & utm_campaign=PAR\

TKEN

In Kenya, the government's work against HIV is supplemented frequently

by civil society organizations. These organizations, however, are often

faced with a lack of available funding and knowledge. The Maanisha

Community Focused Initiative, a program that works in many of Kenya's

provinces, works to provide CSOs with both grants and capacity building

in all HIV program areas while simultaneously addressing multiple

gender-related issues.

The fishing villages situated on Lake in Kenya paint a

peaceful picture with boats dotting the water and the quiet of rural

life. But looking closer, the scene is less than idyllic. The Lake

Basin is one of the poorest regions in the country, and HIV

prevalence is high in communities where there is little access to

information or prevention programs. In fishing villages, poverty

contributes to practices such as " fish for sex, " where women trade sex

for fish they can later sell in the market, or consume. Many people

living with HIV do not know that they are infected because they have not

been tested; as a result, many do not access care and treatment.

Although the Lake Basin has some of the highest rates of

poverty and HIV in Kenya, it is hardly atypical.

Thousands of local nongovernment organizations (NGOs) are working to

help Kenyans better protect themselves and change practices that

contribute to the HIV epidemic, including sexual and gender-based

violence (GBV), early marriage, cross-generational, and transactional

sex, in addition to poor health-seeking behavior. Yet NGOs often lack

the know-how and resources to be effective in preventing HIV. They are

unable to address the many interrelated needs of women and men, and lack

the capacity or funding to address difficult issues such as engaging men

in program activities, reducing GBV and other human rights violations,

and alleviating poverty.

In 2004, the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) began the

Maanisha Community Focused Initiative to Control HIV and AIDS (hereafter

referred to as Maanisha). The program works in Western, Nyanza, Rift

Valley, and Eastern provinces to reduce the incidence and impact of HIV

by providing grants and capacity building to civil society organizations

(CSOs) to help them design and implement high-quality HIV prevention,

care, and support interventions. It builds the capacity of CSOs to

promote behavior change among vulnerable groups, promote safe sexual

behaviors, and facilitate access to home-based care and referral

services for people living with HIV. Through close linkages with CSOs

and government structures, Maanisha also strengthens the HIV programming

knowledge base to influence policy and promote the adoption of best

practices. The Swedish International Development ation Agency

(SIDA) funded the program from 2004 to 2007, and in October 2007

Maanisha was scaled up with funding from SIDA and the U.K. Department

for International Development, extending the life of the program through

2012.

This case study describes how the Maanisha program addresses multiple

gender-related issues while working with diverse CSOs on a range of

interventions and approaches. For this case study, AIDSTAR-One conducted

in-depth interviews with key informants at the UN Development Fund for

Women, the National AIDS Control Council, Liverpool VCT Care and

Treatment, and the National Empowerment Network of People Living with

HIV and AIDS in Kenya. They also conducted group and individual

interviews with program managers in Nairobi; field staff from the

Western, Rift Valley, North Nyanza, and South Nyanza regions; and

program staff at Women Action Forum for Networking (WAFNET) and the

Women in the Fishing Industry Project (WIFIP), both Maanisha

implementing partners. Additionally, AIDSTAR-One held focus group

discussions with community members accessing the Maanisha program

through six CSOs to hear their perspectives on how Maanisha was

addressing gender in the context of HIV. These focus group discussions

comprised groups of women—some of whom are living with HIV—as well

as male youth and mixed groups of men and women.

Read or download the full case study on the AIDSTAR-One website:

http://www.aidstar-one.com/focus_areas/gender/resources/case_study_series/kenya_\

maanisha?utm_source=blog & utm_medium=social & utm_content=AGCKENYA & utm_campaign=PAR\

TKEN

Pearson, MPH IBCLC

M & E Officer, AIDSTAR-One

Visit AIDSTAR-One http://www.aidstar-one.com

Follow AIDSTAR-One on Twitter www.twitter.com/AIDSTAROne

Like AIDSTAR-One on Facebook www.facebook.com/AIDSTAROne

[Guest guest]

Addressing HIV and Gender from the Ground Up

Maanisha Community Focused Initiative to Control HIV: A Program to

Build the Capacity of Civil Society Organizations in Kenya

Read or download the full case study on the AIDSTAR-One website:

http://www.aidstar-one.com/focus_areas/gender/resources/case_study_series/kenya_\

maanisha?utm_source=blog & utm_medium=social & utm_content=AGCKENYA & utm_campaign=PAR\

TKEN

In Kenya, the government's work against HIV is supplemented frequently

by civil society organizations. These organizations, however, are often

faced with a lack of available funding and knowledge. The Maanisha

Community Focused Initiative, a program that works in many of Kenya's

provinces, works to provide CSOs with both grants and capacity building

in all HIV program areas while simultaneously addressing multiple

gender-related issues.

The fishing villages situated on Lake in Kenya paint a

peaceful picture with boats dotting the water and the quiet of rural

life. But looking closer, the scene is less than idyllic. The Lake

Basin is one of the poorest regions in the country, and HIV

prevalence is high in communities where there is little access to

information or prevention programs. In fishing villages, poverty

contributes to practices such as " fish for sex, " where women trade sex

for fish they can later sell in the market, or consume. Many people

living with HIV do not know that they are infected because they have not

been tested; as a result, many do not access care and treatment.

Although the Lake Basin has some of the highest rates of

poverty and HIV in Kenya, it is hardly atypical.

Thousands of local nongovernment organizations (NGOs) are working to

help Kenyans better protect themselves and change practices that

contribute to the HIV epidemic, including sexual and gender-based

violence (GBV), early marriage, cross-generational, and transactional

sex, in addition to poor health-seeking behavior. Yet NGOs often lack

the know-how and resources to be effective in preventing HIV. They are

unable to address the many interrelated needs of women and men, and lack

the capacity or funding to address difficult issues such as engaging men

in program activities, reducing GBV and other human rights violations,

and alleviating poverty.

In 2004, the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) began the

Maanisha Community Focused Initiative to Control HIV and AIDS (hereafter

referred to as Maanisha). The program works in Western, Nyanza, Rift

Valley, and Eastern provinces to reduce the incidence and impact of HIV

by providing grants and capacity building to civil society organizations

(CSOs) to help them design and implement high-quality HIV prevention,

care, and support interventions. It builds the capacity of CSOs to

promote behavior change among vulnerable groups, promote safe sexual

behaviors, and facilitate access to home-based care and referral

services for people living with HIV. Through close linkages with CSOs

and government structures, Maanisha also strengthens the HIV programming

knowledge base to influence policy and promote the adoption of best

practices. The Swedish International Development ation Agency

(SIDA) funded the program from 2004 to 2007, and in October 2007

Maanisha was scaled up with funding from SIDA and the U.K. Department

for International Development, extending the life of the program through

2012.

This case study describes how the Maanisha program addresses multiple

gender-related issues while working with diverse CSOs on a range of

interventions and approaches. For this case study, AIDSTAR-One conducted

in-depth interviews with key informants at the UN Development Fund for

Women, the National AIDS Control Council, Liverpool VCT Care and

Treatment, and the National Empowerment Network of People Living with

HIV and AIDS in Kenya. They also conducted group and individual

interviews with program managers in Nairobi; field staff from the

Western, Rift Valley, North Nyanza, and South Nyanza regions; and

program staff at Women Action Forum for Networking (WAFNET) and the

Women in the Fishing Industry Project (WIFIP), both Maanisha

implementing partners. Additionally, AIDSTAR-One held focus group

discussions with community members accessing the Maanisha program

through six CSOs to hear their perspectives on how Maanisha was

addressing gender in the context of HIV. These focus group discussions

comprised groups of women—some of whom are living with HIV—as well

as male youth and mixed groups of men and women.

Read or download the full case study on the AIDSTAR-One website:

http://www.aidstar-one.com/focus_areas/gender/resources/case_study_series/kenya_\

maanisha?utm_source=blog & utm_medium=social & utm_content=AGCKENYA & utm_campaign=PAR\

TKEN

Pearson, MPH IBCLC

M & E Officer, AIDSTAR-One

Visit AIDSTAR-One http://www.aidstar-one.com

Follow AIDSTAR-One on Twitter www.twitter.com/AIDSTAROne

Like AIDSTAR-One on Facebook www.facebook.com/AIDSTAROne