Partnerships

Community representatives gathered on the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Durban campus at HIVAN's Community Symposium in January this year

HIVAN and the BCP are partnering to assist communities in their responses to HIV/AIDS

The Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking (HIVAN), based at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Durban campus, facilitates partnerships of all kinds between organisations working in the HIV/AIDS field in KwaZulu-Natal. HIVAN works to bring together communities, researchers, policymakers and service-providers so that they can work jointly on addressing the many problems brought about by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

HIVAN's networking tools include: a database of individuals and organisations, literature around HIV/AIDS and regular workshops and seminars drawing together many different stakeholders. HIVAN will also foster Job Shadow programmes which will sponsor visits by KZN-based NGO and CBO staff to similar organisations elsewhere in Africa and vice versa, to facilitate exchanges of experience and knowledge.

HIVAN also works closely with the Behaviour Change Programme (BCP) Provincial Network that forms part of the wider KZN Community-Based Organisations (CBO) Network. The BCP is directed at implementing a wide-sweeping programme on behaviour change that, although focusing on HIV/AIDS, is broader in its scope.

HIVAN, in partnership with the BCP and the KZN CBO Network, held its first Community Symposium on 28 and 29 January 2002. Community-elected delegates gathered on the University's Durban campus to share their collective experiences of the struggle against HIV/AIDS. Representatives came from all regions of KwaZulu-Natal as well as three communities in which HIVAN is piloting its Community Engagement programme: Embo, Cato Manor and Bergville/
Winterton.

The meeting enabled representatives from different regions of the province to describe to each other their HIV/AIDS activities, strengths and concerns, prioritise their needs, identify stakeholders and solutions, and plan a way forward for community-based action against HIV/AIDS.

Clearly, much good work in a wide range of fields is being undertaken by community HIV/AIDS activists and volunteers in the regions represented. Most of the delegates requested help with training, fundraising, communications and co-ordination of activities and HIVAN is linking them with appropriate service-providers for this purpose.

A HIVAN/BCP Task Team has been formed to liaise with relevant roleplayers and to facilitate joint regional meetings involving local government, CBO and NGO representatives on key HIV/AIDS issues in communities.

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