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BACKGROUND | OVERARCHING OBJECTIVE OF THE SUPPORT UNITS | SPECIFIC AIMS OF THE CAMPUS SUPPORT UNIT | LOCATION AND AFFILIATIONS | THE WAY FORWARD | CONCLUSION

University of KwaZulu-Natal Campus HIV/AIDS Support Unit Strategic Plan

Compiled by: Dr Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala & Kerry Frizelle

1. BACKGROUND

The University of KwaZulu-Natal is located within Kwa-Zulu Natal, the province with probably the most advanced HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. A report produced by Abt Associates (1999) on the susceptibility of the University of KwaZulu-Natal to the impacts of HIV/AIDS produced projections which indicate a number of implications for the University of KwaZulu-Natal:

• People in almost all categories of staff and students at the University will be infected with HIV
  

• All staff and students can expect to be affected by HIV/AIDS through infection, illness and death of colleagues, friends and family members
  

• Around 10%, and in the future almost 20%, of all University investment in its students could be lost through unnecessary, early deaths due to AIDS.
  

• The university will have to step up production of graduates to replace people lost to the economy through AIDS.
  

• Employers may be increasingly reluctant to hire university graduates if they anticipate they are infected and will turn to less expensive or older candidates
  

• Significant numbers of staff and students will require care and support while at the university as they become infected or develop AIDS related illness

In November 1999, Mary Crewe from the University of Pretoria, argued that most University responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic were essentially conscience driven and largely passive. Crewe (1999) describes how these responses revolved around functions such as counseling and care through the campus health clinics and student support services; with sporadic attempts at education and awareness through HIV/AIDS campaigns, World AIDS Day events and the distribution of condoms and pamphlets. In addition, these programmes aim to foster multidisciplinary research in the field of HIV/AIDS. However, "these are not an answer to the question of what is to be done" (Crewe, 1999, p. 1). In response to this concern, Crewe (1999) proposed that there be an 'institutionalised' response to HIV/AIDS in Universities.

This is described as a response that is much more complex than offering counselling services or establishing research programmes. "It involves turning the whole university around to recognise the threat of HIV and AIDS both to the University and the society in which it is located, and to respond to it in a holistic and complete way" (Crewe, 1999, p.1). In its quest to institutionalise HIV/AIDS, the University of Pretoria, under the guidance of Mary Crewe, established an AIDS Unit which is committed to HIV/AIDS policy and programme development and, in addition, offers counselling and support to all those affected by this disease.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal takes seriously the findings by Abt Associates in 1999, and, over the past few years the University has affirmed it committment to the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This commitment has culminated in the development of HIVAN and its vision for the establishment of HIV/AIDS Campus Support Units across University of KwaZulu-Natal campuses.

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2. OVERARCHING OBJECTIVE OF THE SUPPORT UNITS

The overarching objective of the support units on the University of KwaZulu-Natal campuses is to move towards an institutionalised response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Achieving such a response requires transparent consultation and dialogue with all stakeholders. The following strategic plan is therefore an outcome of a number of consultative meetings with potential stakeholders; including HIVAN staff, Student Services, Campus Health Clinics, Student Counseling Centers, the Deans and teaching staff of a number of schools.

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3. SPECIFIC AIMS OF THE CAMPUS SUPPORT UNIT

The following are the specific aims of the units:

• Support, enhance, and enrich the HIV/AIDS-related activities and capacities of Student Services
  

• Provide appropriate counselling and support not available through students services (for example, volunteer peer counsellors)
  

• Provide student training (for example, peer education, counselling skills)
  

• Provide training to residence Life Officers
  

• Develop a working referral network to external service providers (long-term counselling, bereavement counselling, traditional medical practitioners, hospices and clinics)
  

• Facilitate community outreach programmes ( for example, service learning, student fundraising activities, interaction with existing outreach student societies and clubs)
  

• Conduct campus outreach (for example, HIV/AIDS Campaign, posters and brochure development, student forums)
  

• Develop student HIV/AIDS resource centers on the various campuses
  

• Provide support for HIV-positive staff and students (for example, promoting living positively with HIV)
  

• Promote women's and men's talk groups
  

• Identify and train volunteer 'HIV-Friendly Persons' in as many of the academic Schools as possible
  

• Provide support for curricula innovation in the area of HIV/AIDS

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4. LOCATION AND AFFILIATIONS

Although HIVAN reports to the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, the Support Units will operate across faculties, schools, disciplines, and all sectors of the University. The aim is to promote collaboration across the University. It is envisaged that there will be two main support units, one on the Durban campus and another on the Pietermaritzburg campus. In addition there will be two satellite Units, one on the Edgewood campus and another at the Medical School.

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5. THE WAY FORWARD

As already stated, there have been a number of preliminary meetings and consultations with stakeholders regarding the structure and functioning of the above describe Support Units. The following is therefore a compilation of all the suggestions put forward at these meetings.

5.1 Collaboration with Existing HIV/AIDS Units

• Meetings and contact with in-house initiatives elsewhere in South Africa (for example, The University of Durban Westville, The University of Pretoria, The University of Cape Town).

• Working in collaboration with other institutions with the aim of promoting excellence, efficiency and effectiveness in HIV/AIDS intervention at the tertiary level.

5.2 Staffing

• Appointment of counsellor-administrators to the Units on the Durban and Pietermaritzburg campuses. Those who fill these posts should ideally be able to provide both administrative and counselling support and should have a strong command of the Zulu and English languages.

• People Living with HIV/AIDS (PWA's) and students in various health disciplines should play a role in the functioning of these units.

• Each Unit should be given an initial pilot period for the start-up of the unit, after which the staffing complement will be assessed and recommendations made for further employment of additional personnel. This will give the current staff members the opportunity to assess what other posts need to be created to ensure that the Units operates most effectively in meeting the needs of the various campuses.

5.3 The Unit Ethos

• The Support Units aim to respond to the findings that strongly suggest that one key strategy for addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa is to challenge traditional gender constructs. The mission statements of the Units should strive to reflect the idea that the Units will exist to support men and women on campus to take mutual responsibility for fighting the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

• This ethos will be communicated through brochures that will be distributed among students and staff. In addition, posters will be posted around the campus.

5.4 Counselling and Support

• To date there have been discussions between relevant individuals at both the Student Counselling Centres and Campus Health Clinics. The agreed upon vision is that the Units will not compete for HIV/AIDS related services currently offered on campus, but will rather support, extend and enhance existing services. On-going consultation will take place with Student Services to ensure that the Units work in collaboration with existing campus services.

• On the Durban campus it has been proposed that basic information and counselling services will be provided by psychology students who have completed the third year module, HIV/AIDS and Service Learning: Transforming Theory into Practice. These students will be well-informed about HIV/AIDS and will also be trained and certified HIV/AIDS counsellors. The Unit will provide these students with the opportunity of putting learned skills into practice while at the same time offering a high quality service to students on campus. These students will be supervised by a qualified and experienced HIV/AIDS counsellor who will ensure that their knowledge and practice is kept up-to-date and of a high standard. Ten students have already been identified to be trained as counsellors and will be available to offer their services later this year when the Unit officially opens.

• It has been suggested that those students who are trained and offer their services to the Units will have this service reflected on their academic records as an incentive for them to offer their services on an ongoing basis during their academic career and to ensure that they offer a high quality service to the Unit.

• Students who are certified as pre- and post-test counsellors will also have the opportunity to put these skills into practice at the Units. However, it has been agreed that the Units, Student Counselling Services, and the Health Clinics will work together to develop a strategy that will best ensure that students consider HIV testing and that they receive adequate pre- and post-test counselling. It has also been agreed that these three services across the campuses should develop a strategy to co-ordinate their services in the best way possible.

• The Units plan to offer the Schools of Psychology with Pre-and Post-Test HIV Counselling Courses for students at honours and masters levels. In return, trainee and intern psychologists will be asked to provide counselling and more long-term therapeutic services to the Unit during their internship period. These services will be offered to those students and staff members who need more than short-term counselling. The students offering these services will be supervised by their staff supervisors in the School of Psychology.

• A PWA will be requested to run a number of support groups from the Units. These will include support groups for family members of students and staff affected by HIV/AIDS and support groups for HIV-infected students and their friends. It has been proposed that it is crucial for the Units to employ a PWA on either a full or part-time basis to offer these services to the Units.

5.5 Development of a Working Referral Network

• This will involve core members from each of the Units identifying, visiting, and establishing working relationships with people and organisations that are trained in and offer sound HIV/AIDS-related activities.

• It is envisaged that a comprehensive and regularly updated referral network will be available for students, staff, and counsellors. Two meetings will be held each year where all individuals and organisations on the list can meet to discuss developments or report changes to the network.

5.6 Health Care Services Other than those Offered at Campus Health Clinic

• This will involve core members from each of the Units identifying, visiting and establishing working relationships with various Schools on each campus and other institutions that provide training in complementary medicine or alternative health practices.

• The aim will be to encourage these Schools and institutions to use the Unit as a practical site where supervised interns have an opportunity to put their skills into practice while offering a valuable service to HIV-infected students and staff on campus. An example would be students drawn from the new Ayuvedic Medicine component at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine.

• Interns that offer these services will do so under strict supervision. This supervision will be provided by supervisors from the respective Schools or institutions.

5.7 Community Outreach Through Service Learning

• The first HIV/AIDS service learning course is currently being taught to third year Psychology students on the Durban campus. The aim of this course are twofold: (1) to offer local communities with high quality services in an attempt to curb the HIV/AIDS epidemic; and (2) to develop socially aware students who have an understanding of the likely developmental, social, and political impacts of HIV/AIDS in their local communities. It is suggested that courses of this nature will also provide the Units with well-informed and trained students who will offer counselling services at the Units.

5.8 Curricula Innovation

• This initiative has begun with an audit of existing efforts to mainstream HIV/AIDS into courses and programmes currently being offered on the Durban campus. The audit is being conducted by a Masters student as part of her research.

• A meeting has already been held with Deans at the University to introduce the idea of integrating HIV/AIDS into the curriculum. It was suggested at this meeting that follow-up meetings be scheduled with Heads of School.

• It is anticipated that once links have been established with Heads of School, the Units will facilitate a series of consultative workshops to be held with teaching staff on the different campuses to discern how best HIV/AIDS can be incorporated into the curriculum. The Unit will strive to become an exemplar and facilitating agent for other Universities in South Africa who are also wanting to incorporate HIV/AIDS into their curricula.

5.9 Development of Student Resource Centre

• If HIV/AIDS is to be incorporated into the curriculum, it is essential that the teaching staff and students have access to a well stocked resources centre - each Unit should develop an easily accessible resource centre.

• Book lists have been requested from Units of a similar nature. The information offered in these Units will be up-to-date information of a high standard. One of the responsibilities of the Unit's administrator will be to review current HIV/AIDS-related publications and to purchase relevant copies of these publications for the resource centre. In the long-term it is anticipated that someone will need to be employed on a part-time basis to administer the Resource Centres.

5.10 Student and Staff Training

• The Unit has recently run its first Peer Education workshop, a strategy that is well regarded as an HIV/AIDS education and intervention tool. It is envisaged that a number of similar programmes will be offered to both staff and students at each Unit.

• In addition, the Units will encourage all schools on each campus to have a volunteer staff member trained by the Unit in basic HIV/AIDS information and counselling skills. The objective is that students will know that there is an 'HIV/AIDS friendly' person in their School that they can approach should they need to discuss HIV/AIDS related issues, such as how it may be impacting on their studies. This process will involve consultation with Deans and Heads of Schools, after which a staff member will be nominated to be trained by the Units.

• It has been suggested that each Unit should work in collaboration with Student Counselling Centres on their campuses to identify possible partnerships in training activities.

5.11 Campus Outreach Programmes

• Each Unit will be encouraged to work closely with student organisations on their campuses. For example, the Durban Unit aims to work very closely with ActivAid. It is hoped that ActivAid will spearhead HIV/AIDS outreach on campus. The Unit will provide ActivAid with administrative support and office space from which outreach events can be organised.

• A number of student forums will be arranged for each semester. These forums will aim to engage students in lively debate around HIV/AIDS issues. For example, it has been suggested that a traditional medical practitioner talking about HIV/AIDS myths would draw students and provide an opportunity to correct incorrect information in an engaging manner. It was suggested that each Unit should explore how it can integrate their student forums into the Student Development Plan and its vision for a speakers' corner for students.

• It has been recommended that the Units and Student Counselling Centres work collaboratively on campus residence outreach programmes. Consultative meetings will be scheduled with the Director of Residences.

• It was suggested that each Unit should offer to train the residence Life Officers in basic counselling skills and HIV/AIDS information.

• The Student Counselling Centres have until now been solely responsible for an annual HIV/AIDS awareness campaign. It is envisaged that the Units will offer their support and time to assist in the design of a dynamic HIV/AIDS campaign on campuses for the year 2002. This will involve close consultation between the Units and Student Counselling Centre

• In addition, close links will be established with Music, Drama and units like Dramaid. It is hoped that they will be willing to assist in campus outreach in the form of street theatre and music during occasions like Orientation.

• A brochure should be designed and given to each student in their orientation package.
  These brochures will advertise all HIV/AIDS-related services on each respective campus.

• It has been recommended that each Unit should promote research into and evaluation of all HIV/AIDS- related activities provided by the Unit and other Student Services to ensure high quality services that adequately meet the needs of students.

• 5.12 Supporting HIV Positive People

• It is imperative that the services of a dynamic and active PWA be engaged by the Units to offer advice and other support activities on campus. This individual will also be available to all Schools on campus to speak to their students.

• 5.13 Promoting Women and Men's Talk groups

• Current literature and research findings suggest that gender constructs have to be challenged if we are to mitigate the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS. Each Unit will aim to respond to these findings by facilitating and promoting frequent and ongoing Women's and Men's talk groups. These groups will encourage open dialogue around sexual responsibility.

• Trained peer educators will be assisted in facilitating these informal talk groups, the aim being that the ethos of openness shall take root on campus.

6. CONCLUSION

After the six months pilot start-up period (January to July 2002), the Unit will host a symposium to which all interested individuals or institutions will be invited. The aim of the symposium will be to reflect critically on the work of Units of this nature, with the intention of making relevant changes to ensure that the work of these Units is contextually sensitive and appropriate.

The Campus Support Units are making progress. To date there have been a number of successful meetings and consultations amongst potential stakeholders. Meetings and contacts have been established with in-house units elsewhere in South Africa. Premises have been secured and building plans confirmed on the Durban campus. A peer education program has commenced on the Durban campus and a cadre of students has been identified to be trained as HIV/AIDS counselors for the Durban Unit. A curricula audit has been initiated and outreach media are in various stages of production. It is anticipated that a meeting will be held in the near future to clarify in more concrete terms how the Units on the different campuses will coordinate their activities and services.

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