<p> KICKING HIV/AIDS OUT OF KENYA A proposal on supporting football for girls as a means of combating HIV/AIDS</p><p>Total Request: $300,000 Time Frame: 3 years Districts: Garissa, Kwale, Nairobi, Kilifi, Mombasa Theme: HIV/AIDS Issue The overall prevalence of HIV in Kenya for all people nationwide is in the region of 7 per cent1. Girls aged 15-19 have a prevalence of 3.5 per cent, girls aged 20-24 have a prevalence of 8.7 per cent and girls aged 25-29 have a prevalence of 12.0 per cent. 15-19 girls are seven times more likely to be infected with HIV/AIDS than boys of the same age-group, while the ratio drops to three times for youth in the age range of 20-242. </p><p>Even if a girl does not have HIV herself, she is affected if any of her family members are infected3. Girls are more likely than boys to be pulled out of school to care for their AIDS- stricken families. And once out of school, their vulnerability is compounded as they are cut-off from the life saving information and skills, and does not learn to fend for herself, economically or socially. Finally, should she be orphaned by HIV/AIDS, she is more likely to turn to “survival sex” – i.e., trading sex for food, shelter and even education – to fend for herself.</p><p>UNICEF is working with the Government Kenya and civil society organisations to engage with young girls and boys to find ways to try and help girls and boys, but particularly girls given their higher risk of exposure to HIV to negotiate their way through life and remain HIV negative. Talking about such difficult topics as HIV/AIDS and sex with youth requires appropriate – and attractive – entry points. A key element of UNICEF Kenya’s strategy is to help build up the capacity of youth centres to make them an interesting and engaging focus of a low HIV risk lifestyle for young people using sports for girls, particularly football, as a key element of the overall strategy. Sport can tackle factors that contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS by providing knowledge, life skills, access to services, and safe and supportive environments 4. The UNICEF Kenya programme has been working on a pilot basis in refining it’s strategy of using sports as an entry point for engaging with young girls for a year and is now ready to expand it’s efforts if extra resources can be found. </p><p>Rationale for the Strategy Football provides an opportunity to raise awareness among young girls and the community at large. During training, coaches lead discussions about HIV/AIDS. During tournaments, banners, the opening/concluding remarks and half-time shows can all be used to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among the public.</p><p>Football can also improve the life skills of girls. It gives them a chance to be leaders, to improve their confidence and to increase their self-awareness. It strengthens their capacities in terms of decision-making, critical thinking, and negotiating their way out of difficult situations. Moreover, by providing them with space to bond with their female peers, it helps them develop teamwork skills, thereby coping better with their own emotions and resisting pressure from men.</p><p>1 Central Bureau of Statistics. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. 2003. 2 ibid 3 http.www.unicef.org. 4 UNICEF. Sports for Development. 2004.</p><p>2 Sport also has additional benefits5. From the perspective of improving health, sport and physical activity provide young people with physical, social, and mental benefits, thereby improving productivity and psycho-social well-being. Sport provides a safe space for children and adolescents, and promotes healthy alternatives to drug, tobacco, and alcohol. Sport is a “school for life” and teaches children and youth such life lessons as the value of fair play, cooperation, teamwork, respect for self and others, and positive competition. Participation in school sport programs has been linked to higher percentages of children staying in school, and to increased learning retention rates. For out-of-school youth, whose copious amounts of free time tend to leave more vulnerable to high-risk activities, sport is a healthy diversion.</p><p>Thus, sport is both a means to achieve many of UNICEF’s core objectives, as well as an end in itself in ensuring every child’s right to play. And in a context where girls and women face heavy burdens in terms of household chores, sport also provides them with a rare opportunity to have fun.</p><p>Situation of Girls and Women Despite their different characteristics, the three main areas of focus for the work of UNICEF Kenya Country Office (UNICEF KENYA) highlight some of the challenges faced by women across the country. Garissa is an arid land populated by pastoralists; Kwale is semi-arid and rural; while Nairobi, has some of the largest informal settlements in Africa. Not surprisingly, urban women fare better than their counterparts in both Garissa and Kwale, in terms of selected indicators (see Table 1). Table 1: Selected Indicators on women 6</p><p>Garissa Kwale Nairobi Literacy Rate Male 27 57 39 Female 17 34 63</p><p>Percent of women aged 15-49 using any contraceptive method 39 8.3 3.1</p><p>However, when it comes to HIV/AIDS, the pattern is almost the same: men tend to have more knowledge about the disease (see Figure 1). The first step, then, is to improve the channels of communication for reaching out to girls and women about HIV/AIDS. Even after their levels of knowledge go up, though, there is additional work to be done in terms of empowering them to make informed decisions about their sexual activity and also to negotiate the use of condoms with partners. </p><p>5 UNICEF. Sports for Development. 2004. 6 Central Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF. Baseline Survey. 2002. Unpublished.</p><p>3 Figure 1 : Knowledge on HIV in selected areas in Garissa, Kwale and Nairobi 7</p><p>100 90 80 Men (Garissa) 70 Women (Garissa) 60 Men (Kwale) 50 Women (Kwale) 40 30 Men (Nairobi) 20 Women (Nairobi) 10 0 % who know all % who know % who have been the main ways of where to get tested for HIV preventing HIV tested for HIV transmission</p><p>Moreover, it is important to note that the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in these districts may be higher than Figure 2: HIV prevalence in Tiwi, Kwale the national average might imply. For example, Tiwi in Kwale was one of the first HIV/AIDS sentinel 10 surveillance sites in Kenya, where anonymous HIV 8 testing for mothers pregnant with their first child is 6 carried out. The results from 2002 and 2003 (see 4 Figure 2), indicate a rising HIV prevalence in the site, and by extension in Kwale district8. 2 0 2002 2003</p><p>Programming Context With a special focus on the “learning districts” of Garissa, Kwale and Nairobi, UNICEF KENYA has been a pursuing an integrated, human rights-based approach to programming. The “learning district” concept emerges from the premise that to achieve maximum benefit to the community, UNICEF must seek to address issue areas in a holistic and co-ordinated manner. This concept was further reinforced by the adoption of five interdisciplinary organisational priorities outlined in the 2002-2005 Medium Term Strategic Plan (MTSP): Girls’ Education, Integrated Early Childhood Development (IECD), Immunisation “Plus”, Child Protection and Fighting HIV/AIDS. </p><p>UNICEF in Kenya has been supporting a wide range of activities that contribute to the MTSP priorities, many of which center around strengthening the capacity of communities and district- level government officials to address the human rights violations in their midst (see Table 2).</p><p>7 ibid 8 Source: Ministry of Health/NASCOOP 2003</p><p>4 Table 2: Overview of On-going Selected Activities in Garissa, Kwale and Nairobi </p><p>MTSP Priority Selected Activities</p><p>Girls’ Education - Training of teachers on child-centered and gender-sensitive teaching - Provision of materials for creating stimulating classrooms - Support to improvement of water and sanitation in schools IECD - Sponsoring of regular Child Health Action Days - Support to feeding programs for pre-primary schools - Training of teachers on early childhood development Immunisation “Plus” - Support to immunization programs - Provision of cold-chain equipment Child Protection - Instigation of “Let’s Go to School” campaign to identify and re-integrate out-of- school children - Training on child rights as enshrined by the Children Act (2001) Fighting HIV/AIDS - Training on Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission - Support to youth friendly centers</p><p>Addressing Girls’ Education, Child Protection and Fighting HIV/AIDS are initiatives to support football for girls and youth clubs. </p><p>The funds being requested in this proposal would allow the programme to scale-up in a sustainable way a vibrant soccer league that would link-in with all the other activities the UNICEF programme is contributing to in these three learning districts. </p><p>Action UNICEF KENYA has already been supporting football for girls in selected communities in Kenya as a pilot. The initiative has taken off the most in Kwale, where over 1,700 people travelled to the Ukunda Showgrounds to watch a pilot girls’ football tournament on July 5, 2003. The guests of honour were the Honourable Najib Balala, Minister for Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services, and UNICEF Representative Nick Alipui who used the opportunity to address the community to offer support in the campaign to promote gender equality and to “Kick AIDS out of Kwale”.</p><p>Follow-up visits to the communities found that not only were the girls still continuing to play, but in some areas, women had also formed their own teams. The courage of these girls and women in a conservative, Muslim community cannot be underestimated or under-appreciated. They have also taken the initiative to use their games to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS as, in their own words, “many men come to watch our games because they can’t believe that women can play football”. </p><p>Thus, directly in response to community requests for support, UNICEF KENYA would like to expand football for both in-school and out-of-school girls – with a component for women as well – across Kwale district, and also in other focus districts, Garissa and Nairobi. As part of the expansion strategy for UNICEF KENYA activities, this proposal will also incorporate Mombasa</p><p>5 and Kilifi, which are adjacent to Kwale and where partners have been identified who could implement the activities9.</p><p> Outcomes - Girls and women playing football empowered to make informed decisions about their sexual activity and other important choices about their lives - Awareness raised about HIV/AIDS in communities throughout the three districts</p><p> Outputs - An active football association in three districts for both in-school and out-of-school girls, as well as women in community-based organizations, whereby they play football during regular training, at league matches and in tournaments - Capacity of girls, out-of-school youth, and women built to organize tournaments, referee matches and coach teams - Capacity of girls, out-of-school youth, and women built to act as peer educators on life skills and HIV/AIDS - Active youth clubs that promote HIV-free status through community theatre, videos, etc.</p><p>Activities/Budget/Time-frame The structural component of the budget covers the sports-related activities: the establishment of the league; playing friendly matches with sister teams in other areas where girls’ football has been underway already; training youth referees; and conducting a year-end district-wide tournament. There would also be a strong emphasis on content; that is, training both adult and youth coaches on HIV/AIDS and life-skills, for them to then train their players and peers respectively on the same subjects. To facilitate this, some equipment would need to be procured, including sports gear, trophies and life-skills materials. Finally, project support would cover staff time to ensure continuous monitoring, regular meetings between stakeholders, administrative support to ensure smooth implementation, and a final evaluation of the project.</p><p>To undertake the above activities, the project will need $300,000 over three years10 (see Table 3).</p><p>Table 3: Activities/Budget/Time-frame Item Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 TOTAL Structural 21,500 20,750 18,950 61,200 Referees (training of youth referees, refereeing matches and 5,500 5,500 3,700 14,700 tournament)</p><p>9 These two districts are not currently focus districts for UNICEF and were not included in the 2002 Baseline Survey. However, the situation in Kilifi is parallel to that of Kwale, while that of Mombasa, as the second largest city in Kenya, is comparable to Nairobi. 10 We estimate that we will need about $160,800 each for Garissa, Kwale and Kilifi; and about $79,200 for Nairobi and Mombasa (which are easier to traverse and where football for girls is already an established concept), with the balance going to administrative support</p><p>6 Item Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 TOTAL District-wide tournament (venue, publicity, food) 12,000 12,000 12,000 36,000 Friendly matches with sister teams in other districts/areas 4,000 3,250 3,250 10,500 (transport, lunches) Content 19,550 19,550 14,950 54,050 Training of trainers on HIV/AIDS and life-skills 4,400 4,400 3,250 12,050 Training of coaches on HIV/AIDS and life-skills 4,400 4,400 3,250 12,050 Training of youth trainers on HIV/AIDS and life-skills 4,400 4,400 3,250 12,050 Training of peers on HIV/AIDS and life-skills 3,250 3,250 2,300 8,800 Support to youth clubs on theatre productions etc 3,100 3,100 2,900 9,100 Procurement 32,000 29,500 25,400 86,900 Basic equipment for players (t-shirts, footballs, cones, whistles) 20,000 17,500 15,000 52,500 Trophies and prizes for year-end tournament 2,000 2,000 2,000 6,000 Sara materials and other life-skill publications/ materials 5,000 5,000 4,000 14,000 TV/VCRs, radios, books etc, for youth clubs 5,000 5,000 4,400 14,400 Project Support 31,000 31,000 35,850 97,850 Monitoring of activities (travel allowances) 4,500 4,500 9,500 18,500 Meetings with head teachers, teachers and coaches (travel 3,250 3,250 3,250 9,750 allowances) “Go Girls!” meetings to bring peer groups together for planning/ 3,250 3,250 3,100 9,600 networking Administrative support 20,000 20,000 20,000 60,000 Project Total 104,050 100,800 95,150 300,000 </p><p>Implementation The project will be implemented by the District Sports Officer in each of the three districts in conjunction with the District AIDS Control Officer, the District Education Officer, and the District Children Officer. The District Sports Officer will take the lead in terms of operationalising the league – i.e. meeting with the communities to ensure their participation; following up with the girls to monitor their progress; and working with the referees and coaches to organize games and tournaments. The other district officers will facilitate the life skills component of the project. Of course, all these activities would also be done in partnership with UNICEF Project Officers.</p><p>Building on lessons learned from other partners this project will also emphasise the roles of the girls and women themselves in organizing activities. Their experience has demonstrated that the best way for the girls and women to practice and develop what they have learned during life-skills training is to take on responsibilities in terms of organizing a tournament, refereeing a match or coaching junior teams. Such involvement of the players would also facilitate their sense of empowerment and of ownership of the project.</p><p>Partners</p><p>7 UNICEF KENYA will also seek to work closely with non-governmental and community-based organizations with similar activities and interests. Of particular note are Moving the Goalposts Kilifi (MTGK), which “…is a girls’ youth sports organisation in Kilifi district… which seeks to popularise football amongst girls…and also aims to help girls and young women become good leaders and educate them on their reproductive health and their rights as a woman”. MTGK already has a girls’ league up and running in Kilifi, which is close to Kwale and has similar cultural characteristics. As such, this project would benefit greatly from their expertise. The other key partner would be Plan International, which has also supported some football activities in some selected communities in Kwale. MYSA, who already have an established girls’ league in some areas of Nairobi, would be a key partner as well.</p><p>Impact and evaluation The project aims directly to impact on the lives of both in-school and out-of-school girls as well as women in community-based groups across Garissa and Kwale districts, as well as Nairobi province. Boys and men should also benefit through the awareness raised about HIV/AIDS during matches and tournaments. </p><p>The impact of the activities will be measured by the programme using core funds through the overall evaluation plan for the three learning districts, focusing on measuring the extent to which the outputs noted in the document have been achieved. </p><p>8</p>