ADDIS ABABA DECLARATION ON HIV AND ALCOHOL, GENDER NORMS AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

We the delegates of this practicum:

• Recognize that as the AIDS epidemic has evolved in Africa, so has understanding of the root causes of HIV transmission and poor uptake of services. It is now accepted that an effective response to HIV and AIDS in Africa cannot be limited to awareness campaigns and expanded HIV care, support and treatment. The response must also address critical but often overlooked social factors that continue to drive the spread of HIV and inhibit prevention, care, treatment and mitigation. These include gender norms, gender-based violence and alcohol and drug abuse.
• Re-affirm that strategic communication can address these underlying factors through a variety of unique and powerful ways. The following techniques and tools can be used singly but are more effective when used in combination as an integrated approach.
  • Advocacy to promote social and economic policies and programmes that discourage alcohol and drug abuse, gender-based violence, and other cultural and social practices that put men, women, youth and children at increased risk of HIV and AIDS.
  • Mass-media to inform and sensitize the general public on current issues and shape social and cultural norms by illuminating negative and destructive behaviors and modeling positive, sustainable social and health behaviors.
  • Community-based interventions to stimulate community discussion and set a local agenda for addressing alcohol and drug abuse, gender-based violence, and gender inequities.
  • Interpersonal communication to positively influence individual choices, decisions and practices that impact on the person as well as their family, friends and broader community.
• Acknowledge that there exist small-scale, isolated examples that can inform the design of broader programmes. Resources and commitment are needed to scale up these successful interventions to increase their reach and impact in order to accelerate social change and development;
• Will disseminate promising and better communication practices and interventions as well as lessons learned around gender norms, gender-based violence and alcohol and drug abuse that influence HIV and AIDS prevention, care and treatment practices. We are convinced that HIV and AIDS programmes would benefit greatly if they knew about such examples;
• Recognize that there are cross-cutting, operating principles including the:
  • Importance of partnering with communities to identify salient issues and involving them in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of communication interventions addressing alcohol and drug abuse, gender based violence and gender norms;
  • Use of evidence-based practices, driven by research and other valid data, to inform programme design and assess its replicability and relevance in different settings;
  • Need for public private partnerships that will help to enforce national policies and laws to reduce hazardous drinking and alcohol-related gender-based violence and HIV risk behavior.
• Will lobby governments in Africa through regional agendas such as the Commonwealth Ministers of Health meetings, to seriously address the issues of alcohol and drug abuse, gender-based violence and gender norms in the context of HIV and AIDS.

Approved by the AfriComNet delegates

On This Day 9 August 2007______________________