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The Behaviour Change Program (BC) – HIV Prevention

The Behaviour Change (BC) program focuses on transformation of individual and group behaviour as a means to reduce new HIV incidences. The overall goal of the program is to create demand and uptake for health related service and contribute to improved sexual and reproductive health outcomes through reducing incidences of maternal morbidity and mortality, cervical cancer, HIV and GBV for women and girls as well as the community at large.

Under the program, people and communities are sensitized to promote responsible practices, communication and behaviour change in sexual relationships. In 2016, the BC program continued to be implemented in all the seven districts covering 260 wards of Manicaland Province. FACT constantly enjoyed the voluntary services of its 234 Behaviour Change Facilitators (BCFs) and 30 Sista2sista mentors. The BC program is dually funded by Global Fund under the New Funding Model and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) under the Integrated Support Program. Both programs offered Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), HIV and Gender Based Violence (GBV)  prevention used the home visit approach to reach families, couples and individuals to deliver messages aimed at creating demand and making referrals for uptake of health related services. The Sista2Sista Girls’ Clubs is a component of the Integrated Support Program that targets girls and young women. The club mentors provide information on SRHR, HIV and GBV prevention and social support network for vulnerable girls through scheduled meetings on various themes which enhance their self-efficacy and life skills.

The objectives of the BC program include:

• To generate demand for people to access HIV and AIDS and SRHR services and products.

• To improve availability of services and products for HIV and AIDS and sexual reproductive health.

• To integrate SRHR and GBV services into existing HIV prevention services and reproductive health care delivery.

• To strengthen community’s access to, uptake and utilization of Family Planning, HIV, Cervical Cancer and GBV services

• To increase community awareness of gender responsive laws, services and women’s rights

• To create awareness and strengthen the capacity of girls and young women to seek SRHR, HIV and GBV prevention services.

In the New Funding Model districts, FACT reached to 207 773 people with various services against a target of 137 088 whereas in the Integrated Support Program districts, a total of 132 026 people were reached against a target of 134 784. Services offered include information on maternal morbidity and mortality, cervical cancer screening, HIV and GBV prevention and sexual reproductive health.