Compendium of Christian Projects Addressing the
Diseases of Poverty
Project/Program name:
The
Salvation Army Africa Regional Program Facilitation Team For HIV/AIDS, Health
and Development
Country: Africa Region
Project
summary: Over
the last decade, The Salvation Army has worked with the concept of “integrated
mission”. People in the living
environment have the capacity to care, change and develop healthy communities
in order to have hope. This depends on active participation, shared learning
between organizations and communities, facilitation approaches, and team
formation for people in the community as well as the organization.
The Salvation Army Regional HIV/AIDS, Health and
Development Program for Africa provides regionally based program facilitation
to local field programs in the areas of HIV/AIDS, health and development in 17
countries in Africa.
At an evaluation of the International Program Team
in Ottawa in September 1992, and at a Regional Consultation on HIV/AIDS in
Zambia in November 1993, field representatives from African programs indicated
that successful programming and improved quality of program response resulted
from appropriate program facilitation.
It was felt that a Regional Team presence within Africa, complemented by
the International Team, would continue to facilitate quality program design,
increasing cost-effective support to field programs. Capacity development of field program personnel to provide
support to each other through program to program sharing and transfer of
lessons learned for energy and hope within the region was seen as
essential. This represents a process of
ongoing learning of those involved in implementation to also function as
facilitators for program expansion.
Goals: The goals or vision of
regional program facilitation include:
§
Increased
community capacity to cope and take responsibility for HIV/AIDS and the subsequent effects on health and development
§
Increased
quality of life for individuals, family and community members
§
Capacity
development through the sharing of lessons learned, transfer of ideas and linkage
with other organizations (in personnel, facilitation teams, communities, The
Salvation Army, and other government and non-governmental organizations)
§
Increased
effort to gather regional and international resource people from within field
programs with experience in community health, community development, and
commitment to the faith movement
§
Increased
‘ownership’ of the Africa Regional Program Facilitation Team and capacity
building of pastors within Africa, through attachments to the regional program
on a rotating basis
§
Enhanced
impact of program activity, through local responsibility, sensitivity and
relational growth resulting in holistic change
Objectives:
§
Provide
high quality regionally based HIV/AIDS, Health and Development Program
facilitation to field programs in 17 country locations within Africa (Uganda,
Tanzania, Kenya, DRC, Nigeria, Congo, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia,
Malawi, Ghana, South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Angola)
§
Develop
regional capacity for program facilitation through field program personnel’s
participation as part of the Regional Team, through human and information
resource gathering program to program visits within the region
§
Document
the outcomes of regionally based program facilitation through evaluation of
impact at field program level and participatory evaluations of the regional
process
§
Facilitate
discussion, understanding and application of processes involved in HIV/AIDS
program development (such as care linked to prevention, behavior change and
community agreement), and relationships between HIV/AIDS, health, development
and mission
§
Facilitate
reflection on the mission meanings and impact of our work with HIV/AIDS and
other development issues throughout the region
§
Influence
policy at national and regional levels
Who does the
work? Over
the past 7 years, a core team of 3 full-time people co-ordinate the regional
process, with 2 part-time members. Most
of their time is spent in field locations, strengthening program action and
reflection, as well as communicating between different levels and departments
of The Salvation Army.
In addition to this core team, the formation and
function of a ‘regional resource pool’ of facilitators (60+) within Africa is
being developed and utilized for program support work and knowledge and
experience transfer.
Main
activities:
Facilitation at country and field program level consists of the following
activity areas:
1.
Participatory Program Design where program development is
beginning
2.
Support during the early stages of
program implementation and throughout the program through correspondence, phone
and field visits
3.
Monitoring through communication
between field program teams, regional and international teams for information sharing
4.
Participatory Evaluation for field programs and
ongoing planning, as well as evaluation of the regional facilitation process
5.
Documentation of field program visits:
background, objectives, outcomes, as well as stories of change and community
capacity that are shared regionally and internationally
6.
Capacity Development with field program
personnel, facilitation teams, communities, Salvation Army and other
organizations in areas such as counseling, community counseling, documentation,
project writing, program design, evaluation, communication and administrative
skills, measurement of change processes and outcomes
7.
Sub-regional consultations for sharing of lessons
learned, skills development and process analysis between field program
personnel in the sub-regions of Southern, East and West/Central Africa
8.
Inter-organizational sharing of lessons learned,
experience, ways of working and outcomes being seen at community and
organizational level
9.
Co-ordination of Program to
Program visits
within region
Expected
outcomes:
§
Reduce
the rate of new infections of HIV and the impact of HIV/AIDS in communities
where the program is working
§
Increase
the capacity of communities to respond to changing circumstances brought about
by HIV/AIDS
§
Encourage
and participate in inter-organizational cooperation within the region
§
Expand
and transfer the facilitation process to reach more communities within the countries of activity, as well as transfer
to others
§
Strengthen
capacity of field people already involved in program implementation to
participate as part of regional program facilitation teams
§
Increase
capacity building activities for Salvation Army pastors involvement in the
regional process to form a concrete base for sustainability at community and
national levels
§
Encourage
the development of country level facilitation teams within The Salvation Army
Results: Some of the results of the Regional Programme
Facilitation Team process include:
§
Over
200 field program responses established in 12 countries in the Africa Region
§
Over
1000 community counselors equipped with skills to facilitate community
conversations leading to decision making and action/change
§
Country
level coordinators responsible for HIV/AIDS work for the Salvation Army
established in 9 countries
§
Documentation
of results through field level process notes of community decisions,
participatory evaluations of field programs, annual regional reflections and
participatory action research by field teams
§
Inter-organizational
sharing with groups such as UNAIDS, UNDP, HOPE worldwide (Abidjan), Enda Sante
(Senegal) that has resulted in the formation of a multi-organization Regional
Facilitation Team Network for Africa
§
A
regional resource pool of facilitators formed (40+) with capacity for regional
team leadership and support across borders
§
Documented
community to community transfer processes, as a contributing factor in national
scaling up of responses to HIV/AIDS (community transfer maps available on
request)
Lessons
learned:
§
A
facilitation team that works by invitation and in participatory ways is a
critical factor in stimulating local, national and regional capacity
development to respond to HIV/AIDS.
§
Communities
have the capacity to reflect on their concerns about HIV/AIDS, make decisions
and changes in the areas of care and prevention, name indicators of these
changes, document their response, and transfer experience and skills to others.
§
Where
responses have existed before, the facilitation team approach can strengthen
and improve ways of working to achieve desired outcomes of community-determined
change, care, prevention and transfer.
§
Where
responses have not existed before, the approach builds on existing community
capacity, resulting in qualitative, community owned initiatives, and quantitative
transfer from community to community.
§
The
facilitation team approach is regenerative, in that it multiples itself in
terms of community capacity, teams, facilitators (e.g. regional resource pool
of facilitators 60 + and territorial/national level facilitation team
formation).
§
Partnerships
that have their basis in supporting local action strengthen the individuals
participating as well as the organizations that they represent.
§
The
approach of strengthening community capacity yields many outcomes for
relatively little money.
§
In
addition to HIV/AIDS, the facilitation team approach can be used with wider and
related issues, such as migration, orphans and vulnerable children, sanitation,
and other development concerns.
Financial
and other resources:
Funding for the Salvation Army Africa Regional
Programme Facilitation Team work comes from a diversified group of donors
including: EED Germany, NORAD,
Salvation Army internal sources, UNAIDS, UNDP, HOPE HIV U.K., Alliance U.K.
Further
readings or documents:
Strengthening Community Capacity in West/Central
Africa – Volume 1 and 2: UNAIDS
Publication, November 2001.
Investing in Our Future: Psychosocial Support for Children Affected by HIV/AIDS: UNAIDS Case Study, July 2001.
Community Counseling: A Handbook for Facilitating
Care and Change – Available from the Salvation Army, 101 Queen Victoria Street,
London, U.K.
Contact
information:
April J. Foster, Regional
Co-ordinator
The Salvation Army
PO Box 40575
Nairobi, Kenya
E-mail: ajfsareg@maf.or.ke