Year: 2016
HIV/AIDS AND STIGMATIZATION: THE FIGHT OF THE ATFS
HIV/AIDS AND STIGMATIZATION: THE FIGHT OF THE ATFS
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The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) actively supports organisations working for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in Africa. As such, AWDF provided a grant to the Association Togolaise “Femmes et Sida” (ATFS) to finance its economic empowerment project of women and young girls living with HIV/AIDS and also organise an anti-stigmatization campaign in the district of Agoè, Lomé, Togo.
In Togo as in lots of places, despite many years of fighting HIV/AIDS, the disease continues to spread and cause havoc, which is a hindrance to the country’s development. Because of inadequate access to health-care and lack of awareness on prevention, HIV/AIDS is a serious threat to public health, and also causes the discrimination, stigmatization, refusal of medical care or even the right to have a family, professional and social exclusion of affected people. It is more obvious that challenges to this scourge still persist.
With this background, the ATFS has chosen to focus on two main objectives: the awareness and the education of the community to reduce stigmatization and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS and also the reduction of the socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS on women who are living with it.
Thus, thanks to AWDF and the close cooperation of other local partners, an important campaign of awareness has been established by the ATFS. The creation of posters, prospectus and radio campaigns against the stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS and also direct discussions with the community have helped to decrease the discrimination of people who are affected by the disease.
Furthermore, in an effort to strengthen the empowerment of people who are affected, the ATFS selected thirty women and young girls living with HIV/AIDS in a precarious situation. These women took advantage of a learning experience and micro-credits which gave them access to the management of an income-generating activity.
Concretely, at the end of this project, it must be noted that there is a better fulfillment of women living with HIV/AIDS. Because of the opportunity to manage an income-generating activity, the status of women has improved. As a result of this, husbands give more regard and respect to their wives since they are now able to provide for their basic family needs. For example, thanks to this help, one of beneficiaries has been able to pay the health-care of her sick son.
Furthermore, within the community, a real change in mentality took place in the district of Agoè. As a result of the decline of stigmatization and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS, life for affected women is better. The community has realized their human value and their rights which makes them more confident. One of beneficiaries has stated that: “we’re going out of a situation of fear knowing that there are some struggles for our legal, social and economic protection”.
Finally, even if there are some laws and policies aimed at combating the spread of HIV/AIDS, actions like this one are essential. To illustrate, after a meeting with the community during the prevention campaign, a man said that: “Ladies, this is gold that you are giving to us and this is human lives that you are saving”.
The great public mobilization and the beneficiaries’ goodwill have helped to realize significant improvements, both in terms of awareness of the community and improvement of the quality of the lives women living with HIV/AIDS.
However, the fight is not over, it must be continued and scaled up to improve the lives of the entire population of people living with HIV/AIDS.
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SIDA ET STIGMATISATION : LE COMBAT DE L’ATFS
Le Fonds Africain pour le Développement de la Femme (AWDF) soutient activement des organisations œuvrant pour la prévention et la lutte contre le VIH / SIDA auprès des populations africaines. A ce titre, l’AWDF a octroyé une subvention à l’Association Togolaise “Femmes et Sida” (ATFS) afin de financer son projet d’autonomisation économique des femmes et jeunes filles vivant avec le VIH/SIDA ainsi que l’organisation d’une campagne anti-stigmatisation dans le canton d’Agoè à Lomé au Togo.
Au Togo comme dans de nombreux endroits, malgré des années de lutte contre le VIH/SIDA, la maladie continue de se propager et de causer des ravages, freinant ainsi le développement du pays. Du fait d’un mauvais accès aux soins et d’un manque de prévention, le VIH/SIDA est un véritable problème de santé public qui entraine également la discrimination, la stigmatisation, le refus de soins médicaux ou encore l’exclusion familiale, professionnelle et sociale des personnes touchées. Force est de constater que les défis à relever face à ce fléau restent importants.
Dans ce contexte, l’ATFS a choisi de mettre l’accent sur deux points essentiels : la sensibilisation et l’éducation de la communauté en vue de faire reculer la stigmatisation et la discrimination des personnes vivant avec le VIH/SIDA ainsi que la réduction de l’impact socio-économique du VIH/SIDA sur les femmes vivant avec le virus.
Ainsi, grâce à l’AWDF et en étroite collaboration avec de nombreux partenaires locaux, une importante campagne de sensibilisation a été mise en place par l’ATFS. La création d’affiches, de prospectus et de campagnes radio contre la stigmatisation des personnes vivant avec le VIH/SIDA mais aussi des discussions directes avec la communauté ont permis de freiner la discrimination des personnes touchées par la maladie. De plus, dans une volonté de renforcer l’autonomisation des personnes atteintes, l’ATFS a sélectionné trente femmes et jeunes filles vivant avec le VIH/SIDA et en situation précaire afin de leur faire bénéficier d’une formation et de micro-crédits leur permettant d’accéder à la gestion d’une activité génératrice de revenus.
Concrètement, à l’issu de ce projet, on note un meilleur épanouissement des femmes vivant avec le VIH/SIDA. Ayant pu accéder à des activités génératrices de revenus, la condition des femmes se trouve améliorée notamment parce que leur époux les prennent d’avantage en considération, celles-ci pouvant subvenir aux besoins élémentaires de leur famille. A titre d’exemple, grâce à cet appui, une des bénéficiaires a pu économiser suffisamment pour faire soigner son fils souffrant.
De plus, au sein de la communauté, un véritable changement de mentalité s’est opéré dans le canton d’Agoè. Du fait du recul de la stigmatisation et de la discrimination des personnes vivant avec le VIH/SIDA, le quotidien des femmes touchées est meilleur. La communauté se rend davantage compte de leurs valeurs humaines et de leurs droits ce qui permet à ces femmes de reprendre confiance en elles. L’une des bénéficiaires a d’ailleurs affirmé : “nous sortons d’une situation de peur sachant que des luttes se mènent pour notre protection juridique, sociale et économique”.
Finalement, même si certaines lois et politiques visent bel et bien à lutter contre la propagation du VIH/SIDA, des actions comme celles réalisées par l’ATFS avec l’appui de l’AWDF apparaissent plus qu’essentielles, elles sont indispensables. Pour illustration, à la suite d’une rencontre avec la population dans le cadre de la campagne de prévention, un homme a déclaré : “Mesdames, c’est de l’or que vous nous donnez et c’est des vies humaines que vous sauvez”.
La grande mobilisation du public et la bonne volonté des bénéficiaires ont permis de réaliser des avancées notables, aussi bien en termes de prévention et de sensibilisation auprès de la communauté qu’en termes d’amélioration de la qualité de vie des femmes et jeunes filles atteintes du VIH/SIDA.
Toutefois, le combat n’est pas terminé, il doit être poursuivi et intensifié afin d’améliorer le quotidien d’une part plus importante de la population.
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Call for Proposals: 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER BASED VIOLENCE.
Call for Proposals: 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER BASED VIOLENCE.
African women and tech activism (25 November – 10 December)
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
We live in a world increasingly shaped by mobile and online communication technologies. African uptake and participation in social media and mobile-technology platforms continues to grow. What does this mean for African women and girls?
For the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence this year, AWDF is looking to support African women’s rights organisations to organise initiatives that focus on women, communication technologies and activism against violence. Applications should be for up to USD$1,000. We are interested to receive applications from initiatives that engage young women and girls- in particular those led by young women themselves.
We encourage innovation- so send in your great ideas! Some ideas for projects include:
- Addressing cyber-harassment and online abuse of women
- Building women’s skills around privacy, security and activism against GBV online and in social media
- Supporting coding and app development around ending GBV
- Using online/social media tools for advocacy and changing mind-sets around violence against women
- Creating space for young and marginalised women to build community and discuss issues of bodily integrity, autonomy and freedom from violence using communication technologies.
How to apply
Please follow the guidelines below. Note that the maximum amount of grant allowed is $1,000. If you are awarded a grant, you will be expected to send in a report of your activities that contain concrete outcome(s) of the activities implemented.
Applicants must fit AWDF’s general grantee guidelines (women-led, African women’s rights organisations).
Questions to answer:
1. CONTACT INFORMATION
- Name of Organization
- Address (Postal and Physical)
- Telephone and Fax number
- E-mail address, and World Wide Web address (if any)
- Contact person’s name and title
- Who completed this proposal? Please sign and date
- How did you learn about the African Women’s Development Fund?
2. ORGANISATIONAL INFORMATION
- What are your organization’s main goals?
- When was your organization formed/
- Who started your organization and why?
- Is your organization local, national, sub – regional, or regional?
- Who are the main beneficiaries of your organization’s activities?
- Is your organization women-led?
- Is your organisation a women’s rights organisation? Do you identify as feminist? (please explain some characteristics that proves it)
3. Activities and / or programs
- What are your organisations key programme areas?
- Describe your organizations present activities and /or programs
- How does the project you are apply for fit into those plans?
4. Structure
- State number of board members, staff, volunteers and members if any. How many are women?
5. Finance
- What is your annual operating budget for the last 3 years?
- Who are your donors for the current year?
6. Grant Request Information
- How much money are you applying for?
- For what purpose are you seeking a grant for 16 Days of Activism against Gender based Violence from the African Women’s Development Fund? Please tell us specifically and clearly what activities the grant will be used for.
- What are the objectives of the project?
- What are the expected outcomes?
- Expected number of direct beneficiaries and how they will benefit.
- Expected number of indirect beneficiaries and how they will benefit.
- Where will the project take place?
- Provide a detailed budget for the project, if you have prepared the budget using your local currency; please include the US dollar equivalent.
APPLICATIONS SHOULD NOT EXCEED 4 PAGES
NOTE:
- Please attach a reference letter from one of your donors, an AWDF grantee or a government agency or local authority where the project will be implemented.
- You also must complete a financial management form and an outcome forms
Applications are due by September 5th 2016
Applications should be submitted to the following addresses:
The Grants Administrator
The African Women’s Development Fund
Plot 78 Ambassadorial Enclave, East Legon
PMB CT 89, Cantonments
Accra, Ghana
Tel: + 233 289 669666; +233 242 700881
Email: awdf@africlub.net/awdf; shirley@africlub.net/awdf
Website: www.africlub.net/awdf
TO DOWNLOAD THE CALL PLEASE CLICK HERE: 16 DAYS Guidelines 2016