Why this Project is Important

Potential Long Term Impact

PWN currently manages 10 support groups. Due to their success, urban and rural communities want to start their own groups. Because of PWN, hundreds of women accessed treatment and manage their HIV while learning skills to support their families.

Project Message

“We will go anywhere, we will do anything to survive…and we fight for anti-retro viral drugs because we have seen the drugs change people’s lives.”
- Prudence Mabele, Director, Positive Women’s Network

Who is Running This Project

Contact

Sarah Dotlich,
IDEX Africa Program Director
IDEX
827 Valencia Street, #101
San Francisco, CA 94110
United States
415-824-8384
Email:

Project Sponsor

International Development Exchange (IDEX)

Organization

Learn more about Positive Women’s Network (PWN) and the project team.

Where this Project is Located

Country

This project is located in South Africa and can also be found under Women and Girls.

For more information about South Africa, read the Human Development Report on South Africa or the Wikipedia entry for South Africa.

When this Project was Updated

Last Updated

This project was last updated on May 18, 2007.

Date Added to GlobalGiving

This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on August 24, 2006.

Latest Update from the Field

May 2007 Update

By Sarah Dotlich - Africa Program Director, IDEX, May 18, 2007 01:38 PM

Prudence Mabele, founder of Positive Women’s Network was one of several “Core Task Team Members” who recently drafted the National HIV/AIDS and STI Strategic Plan for South Africa 2007-2011. The plan was released in April 2007. The inclusion of civil society’s contribution to this plan was critical as organizations such as Positive Women’s Network have a deep understanding of the issues facing HIV positive communities. The plan includes the context of HIV in southern Africa, the role that poverty plays in high-risk environments, as well as a detailed outline the goals for the National Strategic Plan. Here is an excerpt:

“HIV and AIDS is one of the main challenges facing South Africa today. It is estimated that of the 39.5 million people living with HIV worldwide in 2006, more than 63% were from sub-Saharan Africa. In 2005 about 5.54 million people were estimated to be living with HIV in South Africa, with 18.8% of the adult population (15-49 years) and about 12% of the general population affected. Women are disproportionately affected, accounting for approximately 55% of HIV positive people. Women in the age group 25-29 are the worst affected with prevalence rates of up to 40%. For men, the peak is reached at older ages, with an estimated 10% prevalence among men older than 50 years. HIV prevalence among younger women (<20 years) seems to be stabilizing, at about 16% for the past three years.

The primary aims of the NSP are to:
• Reduce the rate of new HIV infections by 50% by 2011.
• Reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS on individuals, families, communities and society by expanding access to appropriate treatment, care and support to 80% of all HIV positive people and their families by 2011.

The interventions needed to reach the NSP’s goals are structured under four key priority areas:
• Prevention;
• Treatment, care and support;
• Research, monitoring, and surveillance;
• Human rights and access to justice”

This plan cannot be successful without the continued support for civil society organizations including PWN.

In addition to PWN’s work as a key member of the National Strategic Plan, the organization goes about their daily work of maintaining support groups in the urban townships outside Johannesburg. Recently, PWN trained 160 women on treatment literacy and traditional healing medicine. PWN trains the women to understand that Anti-Retrovirals are the most effective treatment and they work to secure treatment for as many women as possible. However, many do not have access to ART’s and therefore need an alternative in the meantime to maintain their health to the best of their ability. This training includes information about alternative medicines and proper nutrition development couched in the understanding that these methods are not curative, nor a replacement for ART.

To read the National HIV/AIDS and STI Strategic Plan for South Africa 2007-2011, download the pdf document.

Attachments:

• National HIV/AIDS and STI Strategic Plan for South Africa 2007-2

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