After conducting starting points analysis research to gauge the level of understanding of church leaders and Church Health Services (CHSs) to HIV/AIDS treatment literacy, EPN recognized a need to conduct HIV/AIDS treatment literacy workshops for church leaders.
For more information on the workshops, click on the links below:
The first treatment literacy workshop, which was convened in collaboration with the Ecumenical HIV/AIDS Initiative in Africa (EHAIA), was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 23rd – 27th January 2006. The objective of the workshop was to enhance the knowledge and capacity of church leaders in Africa to deal with HIV/AIDS treatment, related organizational management issues as well as the challenges of making the HIV/AIDS drugs available through the church networks.
The workshop was not geared at medically qualified personnel but to church leaders and sought to address themes and questions such as:
By the end of the workshop it was expected that the Church leaders would assess the HIV/AIDS treatment capacity gaps in their churches and form core leadership teams in their countries that would initiate similar work at national level. In areas where the working groups were in place, the participants were expected to participate by contributing effectively to assist other participants in ways to develop the groups. During the workshop the participants discussed critical issues and areas that they had identified for possible action.
More details can be viewed in the HIV/AIDS Treatment Literacy Workshop Report, Kenya - January 2006 in Word [.doc 655 Kb] or PDF format [385 Kb]
Following the success of the HIV/AIDS Treatment Literacy Workshop held in January 2006, a second workshop has been organized from 13th - 18th November 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya. Participants are expected from Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Ethiopia and one French speaking country.The aim of the workshop is to equip church leaders as opinion leaders in the community and as owners of health care institutions to understand the issues around HIV/AIDS treatment and the key role they can play. The pastors, priests and other church leaders involved in their church's HIV/AIDS programme who attend the workshop are expected to commit to going back to their communities and actively using the knowledge and skills they gain.