| Traditional leaders key partners in the fight against HIV and AIDS |
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| July 13, 2009 | |
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A pioneering research project undertaken by the Ubuntu Institute that examined the current and potential roles of traditional leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa has resulted in some useful findings that could assist in education and information dissemination on the disease, ultimately helping to prevent its spread, especially among the youth.
The Ubuntu Institute study was funded by the Ford Foundation and the WK Kellogg Foundation in Southern Africa in partnership with Harvard University's AIDS Prevention Research Project. A total of 144 traditional leaders and members of royal families participated in the research, which included focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, in South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana and Lesotho.
The study had a particular emphasis on investigating the role of men, the role of culture, customary law and institutions of traditional leadership in addressing the key drivers of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa. These include gender-based violence, multiple concurrent partnerships, intergenerational and transactional sex and a decline in moral values. The focus was on socio-cultural issues that contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS in Swaziland, South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho. "Most AIDS prevention programmes focus on risk reduction technology like condoms, VCT and treating the curable STIs and not the socio-cultural aspects. Nearly 25 years into the epidemic, current AIDS responses do not, on the whole, tackle the social, cultural and economic factors that put women at risk of HIV for example. In the hyper-epidemics of Southern Africa, we need to urgently address the socio-cultural aspects of HIV/AIDS and not only focus on risk reduction technology that largely comes from the West," he says. Evidence suggests that traditional leaders can play key leadership roles in HIV and AIDS awareness, prevention campaigns and in supporting treatment and care as they are the closest to the people on the ground. "In Uganda for example, the only African country that was successfully able to reverse its HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, President Museveni was successful in engaging various sectors of the communities, which included traditional leaders, traditional religious groups and civil society to drive sexual behaviour change using an approach that was based on the premise that AIDS is more a behavioural problem than a medical problem or challenge," he says. The South African National 2007-2011 HIV/AIDS strategic plan recognises traditional leadership structures and religious groups as key implementing partners in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Traditional leaders from Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana and other African countries, such as Ghana, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe are also recognised as key partners in their countries' national HIV/AIDS strategic plans. "But more needs to be done," says Prince Cedza. "Part of the problem has been a failure to recognise the positive aspects of African culture that could be built upon and incorporated into HIV prevention programming." Over 18 months, the study found parallels between the institutions of indigenous leadership and the relationships of these institutions with national governments in the four study countries. The study found that traditional leaders felt marginalised and circumvented by government and donors and all were eager to become more involved in the development and health improvements in their areas. Traditional leaders felt there had been limited engagement in both design and implementation of their countries' national HIV/AIDS strategic plans. This is partly due to the tensions that exist between indigenous systems of traditional leadership and the modern political systems of governance.
The study also found that traditional leaders felt most mass-media campaigns did not reach the rural areas, and if they did, they lacked a cultural context. Ceremonial rites of passage, which attract thousands of young people every year, should and could be used for HIV/AIDS education in a way that is currently unexplored to its full potential. The study also found that communication methods using local languages, idioms, metaphors, phrases and storytelling should be used to account for local contexts. Traditional leaders cited a breakdown in family values and morals in society. These should be revived at community level and family units strengthened to promote social cohesion and a good platform to educate young people. The study also found that female traditional leaders, such as wives of chiefs and members of royal families, could be used as an untapped resource for HIV/AIDS education, especially for young girls, and providing treatment support and care to the community as they were the ones that usually dealt directly with the sick in the community. In terms of its recommendations, the Ubuntu Institute research recommended that existing traditional leadership structures should be built upon and used rather than creating new structures for HIV/AIDS education. It also recommended culturally based approaches for HIV/AIDS utilising existing cultural platforms and initiation ceremonies in all four countries. In addition, it recommended that the capacity of traditional leadership should be supported to better respond to HIV/AIDS and work collaboratively with other stakeholders such as governments, donors and civil society. "The vision of the Ubuntu Institute is to see an African continent free from poverty; an African continent free from HIV/AIDS and violence against women; an African continent where traditional leadership drives social change and sustainable development; a world that benefits from African indigenous knowledge systems and a world that treats these systems with dignity and respect," he concludes. The study was discussed at a seminar hosted by SABCOHA on 8 July 2009. Guest speakers at the event included Jackie Tau, the chairman of SABCOHA; Prince Cedza Dlamini, the chief executive and founder of the Ubuntu Institute; Emily Sikazwe, of Women for Change; Zolani Mkiva, of the Institute of Royalty; and Sicelo Shiceka, the minister of provincial and local government. - Press release issued by the Ubuntu Instititute Submitted by: Bontle Tsikwe: Redline, a division of DraftFCB (SA) . Telephone: 011 566 6826 About the Ubuntu Institute The Ubuntu Institute is a South African based, non-profit Section 21 development organisation, focused on promoting the role of culture, heritage and indigenous knowledge systems towards achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals in Africa. Click here for the Ubuntu Institute website.
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"The purpose of the study was to investigate the role traditional leaders in the SADC region could play in reducing the spread of HIV in a region where about 18,8 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and to explore avenues in which traditional leaders could influence behaviour change, especially in rural areas where indigenous leaders and traditional structures are influential and yet most HIV/AIDS campaigns do not reach," says Prince Cedza Dlamini, the chief executive and founder of Ubuntu Institute.
"Some traditional leaders feel that local government officials, operating within Western-style political parties, undermine the importance of traditional leaders in their communities and do projects without their consultation," he says.
Ubuntu Research Report