Namibia

Strengthening Capacity in SBCC Programming

C-Change provides training and technical assistance that strengthens the social and behavior change communication (SBCC) capacity of national and implementing partners engaged in HIV prevention. This includes strengthening their skills in developing SBCC strategies that use mass media and interpersonal communication. These efforts move beyond increasing knowledge and numbers of persons reached, and emphasize the development of quality programs that aim to change behaviors that drive the HIV epidemic.

At the national level, C-Change is an active member of technical working groups on HIV prevention, assisting the development of the National Prevention Strategy and driver-specific SBCC strategies. Among behaviors focused on are abstinence and/or being faithful; condom use; and avoidance or reduction of risk behaviors—multiple concurrent partnerships (MCP), cross-generational sex, transactional sex, and alcohol use and abuse.

C-Change also supports strengthening behavior change approaches within the mainstreaming of HIV and AIDS programs carried out by government ministries. C-Change works to strengthen the capacity of civil-society and private-sector PEPFAR partners engaged in SBCC for HIV prevention in program strategy, design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. C-Change trains trainers and assists with the collection of behavioral baseline data and the development behavior change communication/information, education, communication (BCC/IEC) tools. 

C-Change Namibia has developed, tested, and applied an SBCC Capacity Assessment Tool in a participatory process with partners. The project has also developed an SBCC Strategy Template for HIV Prevention,  and a set of behavioral questionnaires that are part of a broad strategy to build and strengthen the capacity of partners to design, develop, and evaluate effective SBCC interventions and programs for HIV prevention.

Available on C-Hub are two campaigns in Namibia that have used these tools and approaches--the "Break the Chain" campaign that addresses HIV prevention and MCP and the "Stand Up" campaign that addresses HIV prevention and alcohol use.

Picture Codes Flip Chart on Alcohol and HIV

C-Change Namibia contributed to the development of a  flip chart on alcohol and HIV that is used by field workers and volunteers to create conversations for behavior change on alcohol as a driver of the epidemic. as part of the national 'Stand Up' campaign in Namibia. The flip chart can be used as part of a comprehensive HIV behavior change curriculum or as stand-alone material. The pages of the flip chart have photos on the front and text on the back. A facilitator shows a photo to a small group or an individual, then uses the text to ask open-ended questions. The facilitator may begin by asking: “What do you see in this photo?” The text provides a summary of talking points.

The flip chart and a fact sheet on the campaign can be downloaded from C-Hub.

"Break the Chain" MCP Campaign to Prevent HIV

C-Change/Namibia developed the MCP Picture Codes, working closely with the National Prevention Technical Advisory Group on HIV and the Ministry of Health National Multiple Concurrent Partners Technical Working Group, which includes the UN, key local and international NGOs, GTZ, and others.

The MCP picture codes are branded with the Government of Namibia’s logo. They consitute a powerful tool in the multi-level, multi-channel “Break the Chain” MCP campaign and answer urgent requests from civil society and private and public sector organizations in Namibia for effective tools to address prevention of HIV. The "Break the Chain" MCP tools can be accessed on C-Hub.

Field workers and volunteers are using these interpersonal communication materials to create conversations for behavior change that focus on sexual risk behaviors—in particular MCP, transactional sex, and cross-generational sex—as well as positive and negative couples’ communication.

The picture codes function as a flip chart, organized of a series of pages with a photo on the front and text on the back. A facilitator shows the photo to small groups or individuals and uses the text on the back to ask open-ended questions and generate discussion. For each photo, the facilitator could begin with the following question: “What do you see in this photo?” At the end of each series of questions, the facilitator finds a set of talking points to use to sum up the main points of each discussion.

Partners find these materials to be useful in community, workplace, and clinical settings, and with both urban and rural target audiences. The picture codes can form part of a comprehensive HIV prevention behavior change curriculum or used as stand-alone material.