Eswatini
Projects in Eswatini
Health
Community HIV/AIDS Mitigation Project (CHAMP)
The Community HIV/AIDS Mitigation Project (CHAMP) goal is to promote an AIDS-Free Generation through comprehensive HIV prevention and mitigation amongst youth, aged 9-24, especially orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) and out-of-school youth outside the school setting. CHAMP reaches the most vulnerable youth groups through the direct provision of health promotion, education and referral services.
Peace Corps Volunteers are be based in rural communities, partnering with health facilities, Ka Gogo Centers and community based workers to promote HIV prevention and mitigation amongst out-of-school youth, young men and boys, AGYW and OVCs. Utilizing evidence-based, innovative and comprehensive programming, Volunteers promote HIV prevention and life skills messages that empower youth to take command of their own health, and build resiliency to pursue educational opportunities and employment.
In addition, Volunteers also work with health service providers in health facilities to improve the supply chain processes to deliver and manage commodities. Within these facilities, Volunteers also establish or strengthen existing support groups and teen clubs for youth living with HIV and AIDS in order to promote their care, treatment, and overall wellbeing. They also work with health service providers to promote an enabling environment for youth through the establishment of youth-friendly spaces.
Youth in Development
Youth Development Engagement & Empowerment Project (Y-DEEP)
The Youth Development Engagement & Empowerment Program (Y-DEEP) goal is to aid youth to effectively transition to becoming healthy, productive, and community engaged adults. Volunteers help increase the knowledge and skills of the youth to use life skills to address HIV mitigation and sexual and reproductive health, for livelihood preparedness for the workforce and be civically engaged in non-political activities that benefit their community.
The Y-DEEP’s primary focus is the youth aged 9-24 years old. Eswatini through Vision 2022, has identified youth as an integral instrument to the achievement of the vision as they form more than half of the country’s population. In order to harness the capacity of youth, the country has stated an urgent need for investments into youth’s health, education, employment, and leadership. Worth noting is that 15.6% of women between the ages of 9-24 are HIV positive compared with 6.5% of their male peers.
The YDEEP project partner is the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and Y-DEEP Volunteers are strategically placed in rural communities that have secondary and high schools.
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
Through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Peace Corps works collaboratively with communities to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Eswatini and aid the country in reaching PEPFAR’s 95-95-95 targets, wherein 95% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 95% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy, and 95% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.
To help address the 1st 95, Volunteer’s provide HIV-prevention services for youth aged 9-24 by providing age-appropriate HIV-education and psychosocial support messages through life skills and youth empowerment messaging, both in and out of school through Camps, Clubs & Safe Spaces (for example, Girls Leading Our World - GLOW Clubs, Grassroot Soccer Clubs, after school and community peer groups). Volunteers will also support healthy decisions and work to create enabling communities for youth and young adults. Volunteers will link youth/young adults to facilities and PEPFAR partners for testing, VMMC (Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision), PMTCT (Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission) and other services.
To address the 2nd 95, CHAMP Volunteers will work within health facilities in rural areas to support the management of supply chain processes in Eswatini. Volunteers and their health facility counterparts will help improve inventory management and logistics management.
To address the 3rd 95, Volunteers will partner with health facilities to either establish or strengthen existing adherence support groups for youth living with HIV and AIDS in order to promote adherence and overall wellbeing.