AUGUST 2003

Halting the AIDS Epidemic in Africa

Launching the AIDS and Gender Inequality Workshop

This spring The Hunger Project launched its initiative to address the root cause of the spread of AIDS in Africa - gender inequality - by introducing the AIDS and Gender Inequality Workshop. Over the next year, more than 100,000 people will participate in this workshop in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal and Uganda.

AIDS and Gender in Africa

AIDS is the leading killer in Africa - with over 2.4 million deaths in 2001 alone. Despite major investments in AIDS prevention, the rate of HIV infection in many African countries is still rising. The HIV/AIDS epidemic exacerbates poverty and malnutrition. Families hit by AIDS see their food production cut in half.

Gender inequality fuels high HIV/AIDS transmission rates. Traditional gender roles enshrine male promiscuity, dominance and risk-taking, as well as female submission and objectification. Women often lack the power in relationships to refuse sex or to negotiate for protected sex. In Africa’s patriarchal societies, there is little validation of a woman’s right to control her body.

Views of one workshop participant in Uganda: “Men think that women are to blame for AIDS. This is the first time I have heard anyone say that men have an equal responsibility for AIDS.”

Male workshop participant: “As a man, my choice of a responsible lifestyle will go a long way to curb the HIV/AIDS pandemic - sticking to one partner and encouraging colleagues to do the same.”

The Hunger Project AIDS Strategy

In recognition of the devastating effect of AIDS on the continent of Africa, its people and its economy, The Hunger Project integrated AIDS into its strategy to end hunger in Africa. From this commitment, we have taken the following strategic actions:

2001: The Africa Prize was awarded to four leaders in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

2002: African stakeholders (Hunger Project global and country leadership and key African NGOs) came together to create the AIDS and Gender Inequality Workshop.

2003: The AIDS and Gender Inequality Workshop was launched.

Launching the Campaign

Over the next year, the AIDS and Gender Inequality Workshop will be held in every Hunger Project epicenter in Africa - affecting approximately two million people. The first epicenters have already conducted workshops; they have selected animators who will be trained to lead the workshops in their surrounding villages. Epicenters and their health committees will play a key role in supporting communities to implement action plans that result from the workshops.

The initiative was launched in each country at a national workshop, with high-level partners such as Prof. Fred Sai, Ghanaian presidential advisor on HIV/AIDS, and Malawi’s national minister responsible for HIV/AIDS. Experts on HIV/AIDS, government workers, village chiefs and NGOs also attended these first workshops.

AIDS and Gender Inequality Workshop

The AIDS and Gender Inequality Workshop goes beyond providing the tools to prevent HIV/AIDS. It offers the opportunity to redefine gender roles, so that both men and women recognize their responsibilities and are empowered to make safe sex choices. Individuals utilize existing prevention and treatment resources, and mobilize their communities to stop this epidemic.

In the two-day workshop, African men and women engage in a group inquiry to separate fact from cultural legacy about AIDS and gender roles in their community. With new clarity and vision, they generate new gender roles and make commitments to take action to stop AIDS and promote women’s rights.

The workshop manual is available at www.thp.org/aids.

The Curriculum

1. Basic Facts about AIDS

· How AIDS is transmitted and can be prevented (including condom use)

· AIDS in the community

· Myths and taboos about sex and AIDS

2. Gender and HIV/AIDS

· Prevalent gender-role assumptions

· Link between gender roles, sexual behavior and AIDS

· Gender inequality’s impact on society

3. A New Definition of Who We Are

· Challenges facing men and women in the 21st century

· New possible gender roles based on full empowerment of women and men

4. Commitment and Action

· New definitions generate action in communities

· Program of action for next three months

Men’s Responsibility: A Shift in Thinking

Women’s low status impedes Africa’s development. Until women realize their full human rights, and are acknowledged by men as equal partners in all areas of life, the scourges of AIDS and hunger will continue. Women’s sexual rights can be a lever to raise their status throughout society.

Men have the unique opportunity - and the urgent responsibility - to support women, not only in AIDS prevention but in every aspect of life. Through having multiple partners, men have become the primary spreaders of the HIV virus. Redefining male roles to respect a woman’s right to decide how, when and with whom she will have sex, is the key to reducing AIDS transmission in Africa.

The rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa is caused, in large measure, by exactly the same issues that cause the persistence of hunger: a lack of committed political leadership; a lack of widely available information, education and primary health facilities; and - most of all - deeply entrenched social conditions of gender inequality. Therefore, our gender-based work to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS will also contribute to ending hunger in Africa.