Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS)
SAfAIDS is the Focal NGO for Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Lesotho 

BACKGROUND:
Established in 1994, Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) is a regional non-profit organization based in Harare, Zimbabwe.  SAfAIDS’ core activities include capacity development for other HIV and AIDS Intermediary Organizations (IOs), information production, collection and dissemination, networking and building partnerships and leadership in promoting dialogue on cutting- edge issues related to HIV and AIDS.

SAfAIDS promotes ethical and effective development responses to the epidemic and its impact through HIV/AIDS knowledge management, capacity development, advocacy, policy analysis and research with special regard to gender, human rights, and other development concerns. SAfAIDS uses information and communication strategies as tools to bring about changes that will reduce people’s risk and vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS, increase their coping abilities and contribute to the reduction of HIV/AIDS prevalence in the southern Africa region.

SAfAIDS strives to be a leading southern Africa regional HIV/AIDS centre of excellence, organising, analysing, repackaging and disseminating HIV and AIDS information in response to the information needs of communities.

OBJECTIVE:
Women and girls remain the most highly affected and most vulnerable group for new HIV infection in southern Africa.  Through its work, SAfAIDS is making significant efforts to ensure the special needs of women and girls are accounted for in programmes designed to increase access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. SAfAIDS recognises Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Violence Against Women (VAW) as critical social ills calling for urgent and consistent response via a twinning response to the direction of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Meaningful Involvement of People Affected or Infected by HIV/AIDS (MIPA) remains core to all of SAfAIDS programming and interventions, and is pivotal to sustainability, added value and success of its regional efforts. Furthermore, the need to strengthen targeted prevention for PLWHA and the uninfected should remain a top priority in the region.  As an expert in the development of HIV/AIDS materials in southern Africa, SAfAIDS has committed itself to ensuring community-level ART literacy through the development and distribution of targeted treatment literacy, preparedness and adherence materials.

MISSION/VISION:
The impact of HIV and AIDS continues to be felt upon social, political and economic spheres across southern Africa.  To adequately address such impacts, the use of one strategy, one medium or one target audience is not be enough.  Consequently, SAfAIDS strives to employ innovative, cutting-edge approaches to disseminating information on HIV and AIDS.

PROGRAM AREAS/ACTIVITIES:

1. SAfAIDS produces relevant, accurate and creative information tools to increase HIV/AIDS knowledge and improve quality of information.
2. Public debate on HIV/AIDS among media personnel and information providers promotes accuracy in coverage and communication of HIV/AIDS issues and strengthens partnerships on HIV/AIDS communication in the region.
3. Building on SAfAIDS research, the advocacy team conducts incisive policy analysis and produces policy statements and briefs to better inform the advocacy efforts of its partner organisations.
4. The Research team supports every stage of capacity development, policy analysis and advocacy initiatives, with well researched and analyzed information on issues and trends in the area of HIV/AIDS. 

A state-of-the-art HIV/AIDS Resource Center, complete with e-bulletin, e-collection, Internet and video viewing facilities.

1. SAfAIDS’ Treatment Literacy programme strengthens the capacity of non-health community workers and volunteers in mobilising communities for access to treatment services (VCT and ART), increases treatment literacy at community level, and documents efforts as Good Practice case studies around systematic community treatment literacy, particularly addressing anomalies faced by women and girls.
2. SAfAIDS is committed to delivering the highest possible standard of training and evaluation of current knowledge, skills and techniques within workplaces.   
3. Its gender-geared interventions acknowledge the rights of women and girls, ensuring that gender dimensions remain mainstreamed in all its operations.
4. SAfAIDS develops human rights based approaches to HIV/AIDS responses, by innovatively mainstreaming various facets of rights into programs, policies and projects.
5. Equitable and timely distribution of HIV/AIDS information to intended audiences is crucial in ensuring effective responses to topical HIV/AIDS issues.
6. Collaboration with strategic partners  distribution hubs, satellite Resource Centres, joint-activity, implementing, funding and networking organizations) to promote effective and ethical responses to the epidemic.

Resources about or by SafAIDS:

• Demanding a Sovereignty: Gender Based Violence and HIV/AIDS Must Be Reversed, By Rouzeh Eghtessadi, SAfAIDS. This article was written especially for the GBV Prevention Network and has not been published previously. [view]
  

• Shifting the HIV/AIDS Burden of Care - Involving Men and Boys, by Godfsway Shumba  & Rouzeh Eghtessadi, SAfAIDS. This article was written especially for the GBV Prevention Network and has not been published previously. [view]
  

• Counseling Guidelines on Disclosure of HIV Status, SAfAIDS, Zimbabwe, 2000. [view]
  

• Women’s Treatment Literacy Toolkit, featured in the February 2007 issue of “Perspectives on Prevention.” [view]
  

• 16 Days of Activism 2006 campaign report [view]
  

• 16 Days of Activism 2005 campaign report [view]
  

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Address:  17 Beveridge Road,  PO Box A509, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe
Telephone: (263-4) 336193
Website: www.safaids.org.zw
Focal Contact: Cecilia Mhiti cecilia@safaids.org.zw

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