The `Home Group Meeting` project seeks to gather small groups of homogeneous groups to discuss the issue – these will include educated and uneducated, rural and urban, women and men, as well as multiple religious and ethnic groups. A facilitator will gather 10- 12 people from his or her homestead and conduct discussions using the home group meeting guide.
The council’s national co-ordinator for female condom promotion, Simon Chikwizo, said assertiveness training was very important for women of low economic status as this could help them to negotiate use of the female condom.
“Negotiation skills are very important. Awareness of the device should include women and men in rural areas – especially very remote parts of the country,” he said.
Female condoms are the only method that offers dual protection from unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV.
The home group meetings will also target rural leadership structures like chiefs, village heads and local political leaders as they are believed to have influence on their people. “Community involvement in programming means success of this project, so we are trying to involve all levels of government and community structures so to achieve our goal,” said Chikwizo.
The project is targeting Manicaland, Masvingo and Matebeleland North, which were chosen because of their high HIV prevalence rates and high incidences of sexually transmitted infections.
According to the 2012 census, Manicaland is one of the most populated provinces in Zimbabwe with total population 1,752,698 of which 830,697 are males and 922,001 females. The population in urban areas is 296,559 (17%) and rural areas 1,456,139 (83%). “The province has a large population in rural areas where there are few family planning services as compared to urban areas, creating the need for the female condom promotion,” said Chikwizvo. He said it was important that men should understand everything about the female condom especially how it works, how it is inserted and justification for its size.
“This can help in demystifying most grey areas surrounding the female condom and is also in tandem with the expectations of patriarch society that men are the head of the family. This way men can feel involved and are more likely to accept use of the condom,” said Chikwizo.
“A number of cultural aspects are still impacting negatively on the uptake of the female condom in Zimbabwe. By empowering women, we increase uptake and reduce unwanted pregnancies, STDs, HIV and AIDS,”said Chikwizo.
He appealed for donor funding to support the initiative.
Post published in: Lifestyle