Impact assessment of HIV-AIDS education : a case study of community youth educators organization, Mburahati Ward, Kinondoni Municipality Dar es Salaam
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The HIV/AIDS epidemic is the most pressing social and health issue facing Tanzania. HIV has spread to all regions of mainland Tanzania, and at a slower rate in Zanzibar. More than 2 million adult Tanzanians are living with HIV/AIDS. Studies show that at least one out of nine adults in Tanzania is HIV positive. As establishment of CBOs in Tanzania is gaining pace, the need to build capacity becomes more evident. This project examined the HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in Mburahati ward conducted by Community Youth Educators Organization. The community based organization is conducting training to groups of youth who are at risk of contracting the disease due to lack of awareness on HIV/AIDS and unsafe sex practice. The Community Based Organization (CBO) has been perceived as appropriate desire of bringing about rapid changes in the community. This organization has been implementing different programs in the community on HIV/AIDS preventive education. An impact assessment was conducted on the impact of the HIV/AIDS education provided by the CBO. It was observed that the majority of the youth know about HIV/AIDS and the findings show that the CBO is fairly conducting its activities as 47.8% of the respondents know it and acknowledge the activities conducted by it. The study also revealed that combinations of methods were useful in bringing about HIV/AIDS education to youth in the ward through other stakeholders who provide HIV/AIDS education. Basing on this study, I urge the government to consider the weaker economic situation of women, which has greatly influenced the HIV/AIDS epidemic and extend awareness and preventive education at the grass root level. This should be done by use of AIDS committees at street level in collaboration with the community based organization. With this project in Mburahati ward, we expect to reduce the spread of the disease among the youth groups. (Author abstract)