Marseille 2007
| Abstract #131 - Sports for Peace and LIfe: Sports-based HIV/AIDS Prevention Programming with Southern Sudanese Youth (Option 2) | ||||
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Session: 26.39: Posters B (Poster) on Tuesday in Chaired by Authors: Presenting Author: Mr J Matt Streng - Mercy Corps, Kenya |
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| Additional Authors: | ||||
| Aim: ISSUE: Southern Sudan is recovering from a 21-year civil conflict and slowly moving toward social and economic development. Nonetheless, a number of issues have the potential to disrupt this development. One such issue is the spread of HIV/AIDS. The current situation characterized by increasing commercial and population movement between Southern Sudan and neighboring countries with higher prevalence rates, coupled with low levels of knowledge and a nascent health care system, threatens to disrupt this development. Likely a result of Southern Sudans isolation during the civil conflict, UNAIDS estimates that about 2.6 percent of the adult population is thought to be HIV positive. While efforts to conduct large scale surveillance are underway, risk reduction programs with groups at particular risk, including youth, are needed to stem an increase in prevalence rates. | ||||
| Method / Issue: PROJECT: The Sports for Peace and Life (SfPL) program applies a dynamic, sports-based mentoring approach to educate youth (ages 13-24) on how to reduce their risk of contracting HIV and also how to negotiate conflict without violence. The program works with young people to increase HIV/AIDS knowledge, build protective factors against risky behaviors by increasing their resiliency and supporting state-level youth sports programming. SfPL has trained more than 200 youth mentors, primarily coaches and teachers, in all ten states of Southern Sudan. These mentors are currently engaging youth in a participatory six-week curriculum developed using Social Learning Theory. Mentors anticipate reaching nearly 5,000 youth. An evaluation conducted with youth mentors pre and post training showed a 10.7% increase in HIV/AIDS knowledge and a 15% increase in conflict negotiation knowledge. Pre training HIV/AIDS knowledge was particularly low in the areas MTCT and differentiation between HIV and AIDS. Post training, large percentage increases were detected in these two areas and in general risk reduction knowledge. Pre and post test data evaluating changes in HIV/AIDS and conflict negotiation knowledge among 400 youth participants will be presented. Results from a qualitative evaluation examining the value of incorporating sports-based educational activities in youth HIV/AIDS programming will also be presented. | ||||
| Results / Comments: LESSONS LEARNED: A needs assessment prior to program implementation showed low literacy and HIV/AIDS knowledge levels among the target audience. While efforts were made to recruit coaches with English language skills, and to simplify the training manual to communicate key messages effectively, even further simplification of the training manual is needed for low literacy audiences. More attention should be given to mentor selection criteria to ensure that appropriate mentors are trained. Some mentors were not well-positioned to implement the program following the training and approximately 20% of the mentors were female. Preliminary results indicate that youth mentors and sports-based programming are very effective at enhancing youth participation in programming and teaching basic HIV/AIDS and conflict negotiation knowledge. Additional programming that utilizes peers and mentors as educators and sports and recreation activities as a medium for message delivery is recommended. The SfPL program is being implemented by Mercy Corps, an international non-governmental organization, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Government of Southern Sudan. Technical assistance for curriculum development and training was provided by Grassroot Soccer, an international health organization. | ||||
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