This document summarizes a case study of a rural South African community called Entabeni that was burdened by HIV/AIDS. A multi-stakeholder partnership was formed to empower community stakeholders to lead HIV prevention and care efforts. Over six years, the partnership built the capacity of community health volunteers, facilitated access to resources, and developed the understanding of service providers. As a result of intensive community involvement and capacity building, the community stakeholders ultimately assumed ownership of the HIV/AIDS project and put bottom-up pressure on local service providers to become more directly involved.

1. Putting Communities at the
centre of Multi-
Stakeholder partnership
approaches to HIV and
AIDS management: A
Rural South African case-
study
Dr Yugi Nair

2. Introduction
•Report on intervention research (case study) in Entabeni
•Presentation-one part of a holistic intervention –facilitating acccess to
skills and services required to address HIV in community
•Rural communities in SA burdened by the impact of AIDS epidemic
•Often lack the skills, confidence, networks and political & economic
influence & resources to drive forward health projects without
significant outside support
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3. Context
•80 000 people
•30km from nearest town or hospitals
•Access to health & welfare services limited- few roads, people often
lack money for transport
•Cholera, TB & HIV/AIDS rife (43% of pregnant women are HIV
positive)
•High rates of adult illiteracy, unemployment & poverty
•Droughts & hilly landscape
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4. Context
•Area controlled by Inkosi
•Power structures patriarchal
•Men practice polygamy
•Informal care-overextended women
•Patients & carers lack money, food, transport to hospitals & basic
resources for home nursing
•CHWs only community response to HIV & AIDs
•Patients and Carers isolated-stigma
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5. Aims of the Partnership
• Empower community stakeholders to lead HIV-prevention and AIDS-care
efforts through the support of local government departments, NGOs and the
private-sector
• Achieve ‘collective ownership’ for meeting the challenges posed by HIV &
AIDS within Entabeni & the strategies required to manage & limit the
negative impacts of this pandemic by:
-supporting the work of the health volunteers or home based carers
(HBCs) & community stakeholders in the community;
-facilitating community access to resources & services needed for
the effective care and support of PLWHAS, especially grants and
skills building;
-developing service providers’ understanding of the community’s
challenges & needs;
-securing community & external partners’ commitment to their time
& resources to meeting small practical goals
• Build sustainability into process of project implementation
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6. Methodology
• A longitudinal, qualitative case study involving intensive field work,
participant observation, constant monitoring, introspection and regular
evaluation (6 years)
•180 interviews and focus group discussions
•Partnership building-4 phases
•‘Learning by doing approach’ adopted
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7. Methodology
•Ensuring their active participation in planning and decision making
throughout the six year partnership building process
•Women and youth focus
•Strengths based approach
•Intensive training of community stakeholders by partner organisations
to empower and capacitate stakeholders (e.g. board management skills,
facilitation, advocacy)
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8. Results
•External service-provider support limited & constrained by resource, capacity
and transformational challenges- prevented them from fully committing to the
partnership or assuming long term ownership for jointly managing HIV & AIDS
in the community (Nair & Campbell, 2008)
•Community stakeholders ultimately assumed ownership of the project because
of their involvement in the process from the very beginning
•Strengthening the capacity of community stakeholders created bottom-up
pressure on local service-providers and ensured their direct involvement in
shaping the enabling environment
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9. Results cont.
•Role of the external change agent (researcher) crucial to the facilitation
of the partnership & achievement of key outcomes (formalization of
partnership committee, outreach centre, capacity building,
empowerment, etc.), despite the challenges encountered
•Researcher’s focus on building trust & nurturing relationships-
compliance with, & respect for community protocols and norms in the
process of entry, community engagement, and partnership facilitation-
key to success of project
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10. Conclusions
Community involvement is crucial in:
i/planning and facilitating HIV and AIDS interventions,
ii/ensuring ownership for the sustained positive impacts of such
interventions and,
iii/the assumption of responsibility for the continued facilitation of
innovative interventions that are inclusive and based on the reality of
the changing experiences and needs of the community.
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11. Contact Details
Dr Yugi Nair
Telephone: (w) 27-31-2601736; (cell) 083 640 7136
E-Mail: nairy3@ukzn.ac.za
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