SAfAIDS Partnership Approach through Documentation

This post highlights how we use materials to support our partners to grow and do more, and use our skills in communication for development to provide services to like minded organisations to create greater impact. 

SAfAIDS Publications and Documentation Team supported several of our partners to communicate better who they are and what they do in the last year. That is just good business no matter who you are!

With support from Irish Aid we helped five Zimbabwean civil society organisations improve their visibility. Under more general support, we are currently supporting two emerging CBOs; Deaf Women Included and Transgender and Intersex Rising Zimbabwe with the same.

The Team was also invited by UNFPA Botswana and the Botswana Government to assess and then document two best practice models at state run health facilities under a regional initiative to support improve integration of HIV and SRHR services.


These documents detail the models used, the spirit that led to success and the lesson learned for sharing across the region for others aiming to do the same.


An exciting success has been our work with important regional stakeholders. This year SADC Parliamentary Forum contracted the Team to research and produce an SRHR & HIV Information and Visibility Pack for MPs across southern Africa. A comprehensive package with 11 information booklets with knowledge sessions, info graphics, implementation advice and lesson learning case studies was published online, and should be in print very soon.

Those agencies with Pvt. Ltd at the end of their names are also very important in the journey to Better Health for ALL! Quantum Mines in Zambia got back to use to boost their IEC once more and produce new posters and take-home leaflets (our SAfAIDS Zambia Office also did educational outreach to operational sites, and following edutainment sessions these take-homes were available to all who attended and the posters a info-footprint in the community).

A longer term collaboration with UNFPA ESARO office finally came to fruition this year with a really exciting resource package focusing on life skills for young people living with HIV. It is a beautiful book set, facilitator led and ideal for class or club settings. Book sets are being sent to 22 countries and are available in soft copy from our website. Our dream with this one is to find a supporter to expand the print run (and translate) so that more young people and their teachers/mentors can receive them.

Two very recent commissions are also worth sharing.

ILO Zimbabwe this year supported the Government of Zimbabwe to launch an HIV prevention plan for the Informal Sector Economy.

Together with NAC they engaged SAfAIDS to train Informal Sector Economy movers and shakers in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, which was followed up  with IEC that those trained could take with them across the country to promote HIV Testing and GBV prevention.

J F Kapnek Trust, a partner under the Zimbabwe NAP for OVC Programme and funded through UNICEF, partnered with SAfAIDS to produce a sign language dictionary that was child friendly and included important terminology around child protection. Did you know Sign Language is not universal? In Zimbabwe the Sign Language Dictionary that SAfAIDS helped to produce in 2012 was the first of its kind. 

The new updated dictionary came hand-in-hand with an adaptation of SAfAIDS Y4R Rights in Pocket booklet tailored for young people living with disability and their circle of care.

It is exciting to work on these materials to support the rights of those living with disability, and make access to critical health rights information more accessible. If you want to get involved, let us know.

All these materials and more can be found via our new website www.safaids.net