In the last 20 years, HIV/AIDS has spread rapidly across Tanzania, lowering life expectancy, harming the economy and leaving one in ten Tanzanian children orphaned.
Whilst acknowledged as a national disaster, less than 10% of the country’s late teen and adult population are aware of their HIV status, rendering it impossible to contain the disease and difficult to care for those that have been already infected.
Until recently, testing was carried out with little regard for confidentiality and was followed up with ineffective and inappropriate counselling. Girls and young women are often the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and are three times more likely to be HIV positive than their male counterparts. This is partly the result of cultural traditions, which make it difficult for females to negotiate safe sex and refuse the advances of older men.
Other cultural norms provide obstacles to the fight against HIV/AIDS. For example, married couples often fail to discuss sex despite the fact that half of HIV infections occur within marriage. Parents rarely talk to their children about their sexuality. Lack of openness increases ignorance and creates stigma and embarrassment around discovering one’s HIV status.
The Angaza Zaidi project, meaning ‘shed more light’ in Kiswahili grew from its predecessor, the Angaza project ( ‘shed light’). The Angaza Project was a major contributor to the national HIV Counselling and Testing campaign.
Angaza Zaidi brings new strategies and approaches developed through years of implementation and learning while working with Tanzanian communities in rural areas, towns and cities across the country. The national campaign on Counselling and Testing led by the Honourable President Kikwete, (July 2006 – July 2007) succeeded in dramatically scaling up counselling and testing access points and expanded the number of Tanzanians who learned their HIV status.
Aims
This second phase of the project aims to rapidly expand participation in counselling and testing among those most-at-risk by:
- Increasing the number of Tanzanians, especially those most-at-risk, who learn of their sero-status, receive counselling and link them to relevant HIV care, treatment and prevention services.
- Planning and implementing innovative approaches to stimulate demand for counselling and testing.
- Ensuring high standards of counselling and testing service delivery and laboratory services of the highest quality through utilisation of supportive supervision and quality assurance approaches.
A marked change in the structure and approach used in the Angaza Zaidi programme is that of decentralisation. Following the lead of government as it strives to bring health services closer to the communities where people live, this new counselling and testing programme works through Area Support Offices (ASOs) comprised of experienced technical support teams situated out in various parts of the country working directly with our implementing partners and government colleagues. Decentralisation reaches out far beyond Dar es Salaam and other towns and urban areas ensuring that the programme is effectively responding to government and community needs while empowering rural and urban communities.
Expected Outcomes of Angaza Zaidi
- Rapidly scaled-up innovations in counselling and testing with expanded high quality services at an increased number of new locations,
- More youth and adults counselled and tested as measured through a strong monitoring and evaluation plan,
- Promotion of strong communication links between the programme and the Ministry of Health (MOH) especially the Counselling and Testing Unit,
- Catalysing regular supervision and implementation of routine quality assurance in counselling and testing,
- Creation of a close working relationship with the government to apply the National HIV/AIDS Multi-sectoral Framework to address HIV prevention, comprehensive care and referral to treatment and carry out the Strategic Plan of the National AIDS Control Programme,
- Creation of new opportunities for cost effective, decentralised counsellor training at zonal centres,
- Shortening of time in responding to requests from the MOH for outreach and mobile services
- Leadership in more effective referral of HIV-sero positive clients for care and treatment
- Skill-building and capacity strengthening among implementing partners
<< Back to AMREF's Work in Tanzania
<< Back to What We Do
