Four pillars for effective HIV/AIDS programmes

Four pillars are necessary for effective HIV/AIDS programmes. If sport is part of development initiatives, it can support these four pillars, which are:

• Knowledge.
• Life skills.
• A safe and supportive environment.
• Access to social networks.

Knowledge

Knowledge is necessary for prevention: Knowledge about HIV/AIDS, knowledge about how infection takes place, knowledge about methods of treatment, knowledge about taboos, etc. Coaches and sports heroes are good 'messengers', and sports tournaments and competitions are good channels of communication.

Coaches

Coaches and sport leaders are in a good position to put across HIV/AIDS prevention activities in sport programmes. Young people who take part in sports often have a special relationship of trust with their coach. This trust puts coaches in an excellent position to discuss sensitive topics (such as sex) and to show their acceptance of people who are HIV-positive.

Athletes as role models

Athletes can play an important role for all groups in fighting the epidemic. Sport lovers identify themselves with their sports heroes and generally feel that there is a certain degree of trust between them and their hero. It is this popularity of athletes that makes them excellent ambassadors for the HIV message and thus for enhancing awareness and knowledge.

Sports tournaments and competitions

Sports tournaments and competitions often draw large crowds and much interest. This makes them an excellent place to provide information to participants or the public, mainly for awareness-raising purposes. To achieve this, however, a structured approach must be used, and the focus must continue to be aimed at sports and matches.

Life skills

Life skills are necessary to prevent young people from being infected with HIV/AIDS. Practising sports in a group involves a great many lessons in life such as fair play and teamwork. Essential lessons of life can be learned in the context of sports, supervised by trained sport instructors. They may include skills in a wide variety of fields, such as putting on condoms, teaching girls to say no and to make their boundaries clear. These skills are primarily aimed at increasing self-confidence. Moreover, research has shown that growing children who take part in sport develop a sense of self-esteem and respect for their bodies.

Safe and supportive surroundings

In safe and supportive surroundings, people feel better able to stand up for themselves, to express themselves, discuss sensitive topics, etc. The nature of sport and play is informal, social and pleasurable. Because of this the sports field and the playing field can provide the safe environment that is necessary for effective HIV/AIDS programmes and activities. Sport can offer a forum for open discussion of the disease. Sport also offers a chance to people who live in difficult or harsh circumstances to play and to express themselves. The role of the coach is very important here. There is no ready recipe for how a coach should play this role or for the requirements a coach must meet. But in the context of HIV/AIDS programmes it can be said that a coach must in any case be sensitive and socially concerned towards the participants. In principle, these are basic skills for every sports coach. Oscar Mwaanga, the president of EDUSPORT, sketches the role of the coach in his book "KICKING AIDS OUT" Through Movement Games and Sports Activities.

It is necessary to pay special attention to this in training the coaches. A coach must have knowledge of HIV/AIDS, of the local situation in relation to the illness, but also of the cultural norms and values in respect of HIV/AIDS. Sometimes the coach sets a poor example by abusing women athletes. It is also necessary to involve and train female coaches in women's sports in order to offer women a safe environment in which they can take part (IOC/UNAIDS, "Together for HIV and AIDS prevention, a toolkit for the sports community", 2005).

Access to social networks

Access to a social network is important in the struggle against HIV/AIDS. In the social network, information can be disseminated and discussed; people who live with HIV/AIDS can be included in the network; access to medical services is simplified in a social network. Sport is readily able to offer this social network, and thus to ensure access to these services. Sports competitions and matches attract and can bring together a large number of people from various backgrounds. Moreover, many people have positive associations with sport. Thus, information may find its way to target groups that cannot be reached via other channels, such as street children.

Example of a game used by Right to Play

Game: Don't Trust Your Eyes

Purpose: To promote discussion of stigma and discrimination.

Materials: Small object (ball, bottle, etc.)

Time: 10 min.

Procedure: Divide participants into two equal teams. The teams line up shoulder-to-shoulder facing one another across a 5-10 metre space. Explain that the first team will pass a small object among themselves behind their backs, while the second team claps and counts to 30. When the second team has reached 30, the first team must stop passing the object. The second team then has three chances to guess which player on the first team is holding the object. Both teams should have several opportunities to pass the object or guess.

Discussion points

What do you think this activity has to do with stigma and discrimination based on HIV/AIDS?

The object represents HIV. It can be caught by anybody, and it is difficult to tell who has it.

Do you see HIV+ people stigmatized in your community? How?

Do you see HIV+ people discriminated against in your community? How?

What causes stigma and discrimination?

How should we respond to people who are HIV+?

How can we fight stigma and discrimination?

Awareness game

This game is an example of an awareness game. In awareness games, sports and play are translated into HIV/AIDS objectives. Not only do they teach sports skills, but also life skills, which are extremely important in HIV/AIDS prevention. The object is to ensure that young people have the life skills and the self-confidence they will need if they want to change their behaviour.