Release Type: News Article

The recent pace of economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa has undeniably been of enormous benefit to the continent. Countries such as Angola, Ghana, Mozambique, and Nigeria have profited from high levels of foreign investment and commodity exports, enabling them to invest in much-needed infrastructure. While this has certainly led to societal transformations, it has also exacerbated the gap between new technologies and old, often defective systems. Much of sub-Saharan Africa continues to be plagued by poor access to electricity, sporadic Internet coverage, and weak governance—none of which is promising for the development of the latest technologies. These obstacles, while challenging, have nevertheless provided fertile ground for innovations using an already widespread technology: the mobile phone.

One of the most important advances in mobile technology has been the rapid growth of mobile banking. Africa has been and continues to be one of the most un-banked populations in the world. Millions of Africans are paid in cash, have no access to social security or financial services, and don’t pay taxes. Mobile banking works to alleviate this problem by offering individual users a convenient way to make payments at retailers with only a basic mobile phone that uses near field communications (NFC), meaning that no Internet connection is necessary. Likewise, in Kenya, Safaricom pioneered mobile money transfers, enabling individuals to easily transfer money to a friend or relative via SMS. The service, called M-Pesa, has reached millions of people who previously had no access to financial services. Such services, while basic, help to improve security, offer a more flexible way to manage funds, and allow individuals to manage their income in a structured way.

Mobile payments also enable consumers to make long-distance purchases, thereby opening retailers up to a diverse body of consumers, irrespective of geography. Since payment is made through a mobile phone, the transactional cost to the retailer is much lower than debit or credit card processing fees. Banks across the continent are also opening their doors to new customers. For instance, in Angola, Banco Angolana de Investimentos (BAI) launched the e-Kwanza, a phone application through which new customers can register and set up their accounts for free.

SMS is also becoming an increasingly invaluable tool in the provision of health care services for those living outside of major urban areas. In Kenya, health care professionals are able to stay in touch with individuals living with HIV through the Weltel Project, while in Nigeria, SMS is being used to track the distribution of mosquito nets.

Mobile technology is also creating business opportunities for entrepreneurs working to develop new health care solutions. Health insurance is one such industry sector. One of the world’s largest “micro-insurance” companies, MicroEnsure, has built a business through the provision of mobile-based health insurance in collaboration with mobile network providers. The company has offices in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Tanzania, and provides insurance services to some of the poorest people on the continent—even those living on less than $4 a day. To date, the company has around 4 million customers.

It is in the business arena that mobile technology is proving to be especially fruitful from a socio-economic perspective. A recent research paper from Forbes Africa in collaboration with Djembe Communications showed that the vast majority of young Africans (around 80 percent) would rather work for themselves than for an existing company—a prospect made more viable by access to mobile technology. In the agricultural sector, which accounts for roughly 60 percent of the continent’s export revenues, young entrepreneurs are creating new solutions for farming industries. M-Farm delivers real-time market information to farmers, helping them to better understand the true market price of crop supplies, as well as to negotiate more advantageous prices with wholesalers and importers. Other simple mobile phone ideas include iCow, which delivers a breeding calendar for cows’ gestation periods, in addition to providing farmers with advice on the best breeding practices.

The mobile phone’s educational capacities aren’t limited to the farming sector. A pilot program in Uganda called MobiLiteracy Uganda uses SMS and audio technology to support home learning, offering daily reading lessons in local languages via the parent’s mobile phone to students who are unable to physically attend classes. Because the lessons are delivered by SMS and audio, illiterate parents are also able to participate. In Kenya a 32-year-old teacher has created a mobile phone-based teaching platform, which acts as a virtual tutor and teacher’s assistant, enabling students to access all of their courses outside of the classroom. It is a for-profit business whose success is based on a high volume of low-cost users. As of November 2015 the service had 500,000 customers.

Utilizing existing technology is a smart way for entrepreneurs to create much-needed solutions across Africa. Foreign direct investment and top-down government investment will continue to improve infrastructure, but in the meantime there is money to be made through the most basic mobile phones. Young business leaders across the continent are creating new solutions, but they remain frustrated by poor access to capital, which prevents them from investing in order to expand. Lack of capital is an ongoing issue in Africa, which is why many young businesses look towards foreign investors for help. There are an increasing number of solutions, such as one provided by the pairing service FACRA, a government-backed venture capital fund in Angola. It acts as a conduit between successful Angolan businesses and foreign investors—an introduction that makes it easy for home-grown businesses to source capital from a range of potential suitors. It also provides an easy-access route for foreign firms looking for opportunities in the country, offering cultural and business initiation services and attractive financial terms for direct investment.

Organizations such as FACRA are supporting enterprises and making it much easier for growing businesses to find ways of expanding nationally and across borders. It is especially important for mobile-based businesses to succeed because they deliver low-cost solutions that have the potential for high returns, not to mention the socioeconomic benefits they provide to communities.

Over the next few years, it is likely that the use of mobile technology—even basic SMS services—will grow. The cost of basic phones has fallen dramatically over recent years and even smartphones are becoming commonplace. Foreign investors now have an opportunity to look at this fast-growing sector as a way of securing long-term gains through businesses that have a strong socio-economic impact, which could provide a win-win scenario for African economies, entrepreneurs, and foreign investors.

Under the Local Capacity Initiative (LCI) Project, the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors (CYAs) completed a two day Youth Consultative Workshop from the 26th – 27th October 2017 at the Coco Palm Resorts, Saint Lucia. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss existing HIV/AIDS knowledge and sexual behaviour among CARICOM youth, learn strategies for developing targeted health (HIV/AIDS) messages and enable CYAs to acquire skills in developing briefs to advocate with policymakers at the national and regional level on the priority issues affecting youth. The advocacy strategies developed at the meeting will be incorporated into the PANCAP Regional Advocacy Strategy which is being developed.

The CYAs participated in the LCI Project capacity building training and were awarded a small grant (US$50,000) to implement policy and advocacy activities. The CYAs designed a two-phase project targeting young people aged 15 – 29 to (i) increase knowledge and influence behaviour surrounding HIV/AIDS and (ii) address stigma and discrimination, and advocate for key populations. In the first phase, an electronic Knowledge Attitude and Practices (KAP) survey was conducted to inform the repackaging of HIV prevention messages to reach the target demographic. Whilst in phase two, an assessment to determine the needs of the target group is currently being conducted. The findings from this assessment will complement the advocacy needs identified at the Regional Youth Leaders Meeting held in April 2017.

The advocacy strategies developed at this meeting will be incorporated into the PANCAP Regional Advocacy Strategy which is being developed.
The CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Programme (CYAP) provides a unique platform for leadership development and collaboration that can strengthen the participation of a more diverse and better-informed youth constituency in CARICOM decision making. The CYAP works within 18 Member States through their CARICOM Youth Ambassadors (CYAs), community Institutions, and other regional and international stakeholders to design, implement and execute programmes and projects to address youth issues (including HIV/AIDS) at the national level within a regional strategic framework.

Read more about the LCI Project here.

Contributor: Dr Allyson Leacock, Executive Director, LIVE UP: The Caribbean Media Alliance

Regional Testing Day (RTD) 2017, the 10th Anniversary of this innovative regional movement, has already exceeded its target of 100,000 tested over 10 years. With 13 thousand 8 hundred and 13 (13,813) people getting tested from results reported from 14 of the 20 participating countries. The aim is to have tested 100,000 people in the Caribbean by the end of this campaign. In 2016, we had tested cumulatively over the years ninety thousand (90,807) people. Therefore with the totals in so far for 2017, we have met and surpassed our target and have tested 1 hundred and 4 thousand 6 hundred and 20 (104,620) people. This is a significant contribution to the fight against HIV in the Caribbean and Scotiabank and Ministries of Health across the region must be commended for their role in the success of this initiative in partnership with PANCAP and LIVE UP: The Caribbean Media Alliance.

For the 10^th Anniversary campaign LIVE UP: The Caribbean Media Alliance created a buzz across the region about the status of HIV in the Caribbean today and throwing the spotlight on the hardworking stalwarts who have worked tirelessly over the last decade to raise the awareness about the need to get tested. This strategy was used in addition to the coordination of the promotion the LIVE UP PSA which was provided free of charge through the 112 radio and TV member stations in 24 Caribbean countries. LIVE UP also created a special 10th anniversary logo and social media campaign providing live steams of major events including the Caribbean wide media launch on May 26th in Barbados at the Hilton Hotel.

LIVE UP managed the overall coordination of the promotion campaign and the initiative in all 20 participating countries through the facilitation of interviews and other programming, to educate the public and encourage them to get tested and know their status. This year’s activities were covered widely in the regional media with the presentation by the United Nations Special Envoy on HIV to the Caribbean Dr. Eddie Greene at the Media launch and Awards Breakfast on May 26^th in Bridgetown Barbados generating major buzz throughout the region and beyond.

The LIVE UP Facebook Page continued to be an important instrument in our toolkit given the proven beneficial impact that Social Media has had on the RTD campaign with the Facebook data collected from our page showing the increasing use of social media by younger audiences to get information about Regional Testing Day. The entire 10^th Anniversary Launch generated more page likes.

The LIVE UP media promotion was also enhanced by the refreshed and remixed RU+UR- (Are you positive you are negative?) popular jingle that was brought back by overwhelming demand, with Bajan talent in LIVE UP Champions: Biggie Irie, a Groovy Soca Monarch, Mahalia Cummins from the dynamic Bajan band Two Mile Hill, and Tamara Marshall formerly with Spice Band.

An innovation in the RTD promotion Campaign this year was the establishment of strategic Alliances with two LIVE UP partner stations in Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda; the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica (PBCJ) and the Antigua Broadcasting Service (ABS). Under this arrangement special programming was mounted between May 26th and June 30th that included interviews with representatives of the Ministries of Health, Scotiabank and NGO’s working in the fight against HIV. As a LIVE UP partners these stations also broadcast the TV and Radio PSAs across the broadcast day between May 26th and June 30^th as well as promoting RTD 2017 on their social media platforms.

The National AIDS Co-ordinating Committee (NACC), Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, has been mandated by Cabinet to deepen multisectoral partnership in an attempt to achieve increased national commitment, support and ownership of the response to HIV and AIDS. The Government through its National Development Strategy 2016-2030 has also signalled that there should be ‘consultative mechanisms to sustain strategic focus, co-ordination and improved efficiency in the execution of development interventions through key stakeholders. As a result, on September 20th 2017 the NACC held its first NGO Forum and statutory monthly meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister, Central Administrative Services Tobago (CAST).

Representatives from five NGO Organizations attended and vibrantly participated in the Forum. The participating NGOs were informed about the work of the NACC including its membership, the success of activities undertaken in 2017 and future plans such as the re-establishment of the Tobago HIV AIDS Coordinating Committee (THACC).

The NGOs were welcomed to openly discuss key challenges faced in Tobago. NGOs were also encouraged to share some of their proposed activities for the rest of the year along with areas in which they needed capacity building and assistance.

The representatives present expressed that they were looking forward to the re-establishment of the THACC. It is anticipated that it would open channels for NGOs to express their concerns, directly access resources and provide a mechanism for more effective collaboration. The Chair of the NACC Ms. Heather Rodney informed participants that in the interim they may address their concerns to two representatives for Tobago on the NACC – Dr Tiffany Hoyte and Mrs Margaret Wright – as well as the NACC Secretariat. Participants were further encouraged to work together as this will increase the likelihood of overcoming some of the challenges faced by individual organizations. Lastly, the NGOs were reminded to access the HIV AIDS NGO Online System (HANOS).

After the NGO Forum was concluded, the NACC held its monthly statutory meeting at the same venue. The meeting was addressed by Dr. Agatha Carrington, Secretary of Health, Wellness and Family Development at the Tobago House of Assembly and former NACC member, who indicated that the THA is committed to re-establishing the THACC. Highlighted were the NACC’s upcoming activities, challenges and concerns surrounding the current economic situation and its effect on the national response to HIV and AIDS.

The National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC) Secretariat, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, hosted a two-day workshop from September 8-9th on Treatment Adherence and Nutrition at the Old Fire Building in Port of Spain. The workshop targeted Persons living with HIV and AIDS, newly diagnosed persons with HIV, Persons caring for PLHIVs, Support networks for PLHIVs. Representatives from ten NGOs attended including CBOs, FBOs, Key Populations. Ten NGOs were represented at the workshop.

The objectives of the workshop were:-

i. To sensitize participants as to the importance of medication adherence and nutrition for persons living with HIV/AIDS.
ii. To help participants understand the medical and psychological issues associated with PLHIV is adherence to medication and their nutritional needs.
iii. To provide medical and social perspectives on medication adherence barriers for patients with HIV and to discuss strategies for promoting adherence to antiretroviral medications.
iv. To identify the unique role that support networks and caregivers play in the promotion of medication adherence and nutrition for PLHIVs

This workshop would contribute towards achievement of the 90-90-90 targets through, improved treatment adherence rates and literacy among PLHIVs and their support networks, increased capacity of PLHIV to adopt healthy lifestyles, strengthened support network for the promotion of treatment adherence and healthy lifestyle and improved understanding of the medical and psychosocial issues associated with client’s adherence to medication and their nutritional needs.

The workshop was facilitated by experienced physicians and the Senior Dietician in the Ministry of Health as well as one NGO. The facilitators leading this workshop were:

Mrs Kitesha Francis-Jack – Registered Dietician, Ministry of Health
Dr. David Musa- Medical Research Foundation,
Dr. Aboh – Treatment Physician- Ward 2 Clinic San Fernando General Hospital and
Ms. Beverly King – Founder of ComTalk International

The workshop was highly interactive with many team-based activities and included topics such as:

• Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyle
• What is nutrition?
• Why nutrition?
• The importance of nutrition
• Malnutrition
• HIV & Malnutrition
• Objectives of nutritional care and support
• Nutrition required
• Eating a balanced diet
• Healthy Meal Plan
• Undesirable significant weight loss
• Coping with nutrition-related problems

Treatment and Adherence

• Brief history of HIV & AIDS
• Understanding HIV and AIDS
• HIV Transmission
• To do list when one finds out they are HIV positive
• What is treatment and adherence?
• Reasons why clients do not respond to medication?
• Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART)
• What is medication adherence?
• Barriers to adherence
• How do HIV medications work?
• Reasons for Non-Adherence

One participant noted that Mrs Francis Jack was very well informed and produced a comprehensive outline of diet and nutrition considerations for PLHIV. In addition, Dr. Aboh and Dr. Musa provided a great deal of medical insight on the subject of treatment adherence and there was a lot of discussion around the topic of drug-resistance testing and the development of drug-resistant strains of the HIV virus. Participants were so pleased with having the opportunity to speak with such experts that several sought direct counsel from the doctors for themselves and/or other PLHIV to whom they provided support.

Participants also expressed their satisfaction not only with the added information provided by both Dr. Musa and Dr. Aboh but also with the facilitating of Ms. King was able to smoothly and efficiently manage the event procession. Participants were pleased to have been allowed such an interactive discussion space.

He is accustomed to hearing the Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL) being referred to as a gay lobby group, but Anglican priest and chairman of the board of directors for the human rights organisation, Canon Garth Minott, said, like Jesus, they are simply embracing diversity.

“Any churchman, woman, boy, child, leader, follower who takes the life of Jesus seriously would come at it from a different perspective because certainly the Jesus who represents the core persons in the faith, is a person who dealt with differences of gender, age, sexual orientation etc,” he told editors and reporters during a Gleaner Editors’ forum at the newspaper’s North Street headquarters on Thursday.

He pointed to the woman in the Bible who was caught in adultery and was almost stoned to death until Jesus stepped in. While the law required that she be stoned, Jesus took into consideration other factors.

“So the more I read about Jesus and think about his life, the more I see him embracing diversity, embracing difference and in particular embracing those who are on the margins of society. There is a critical mass of the one percent that are usually left out in society and those of us who follow Jesus knows that he is very much with them and we can’t leave them alone,” he said.

The JASL is a non-governmental organisation that provides HIV education, treatment, care and support to persons living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, and persons vulnerable to HIV infection. Among its target population are men who have sex with men and the transgender community.

Given the work of the organisation, Minott who is a lecturer at the United Theological College of the West Indies, admitted that the group has often been accused of trying to normalise homosexuality in Jamaica.

“It (JASL) has been called all kinds of name,” he said.

“Anybody who stands up for anything, of course you are going to be called all kinds of names, but the key is that the evidence suggests that we are doing work and the data is there to substantiate what we do,” he asserted.

(Georgetown, Guyana) A twenty-one-year-old National Football Player has been living with HIV since he was 17-years-old, and now he wants to find a way to break the news to his teammates of his status. However, as much as he believes it’s the right thing to do, he fears being discriminated against, simply because football in Guyana isn’t welcoming to his ‘type’.

To protect his identity, Chronicle Sport will refer to the player as ‘John’.

When ‘John’ was 17, he was invited by some friends to party, but, what he didn’t know was that he was being set-up by his friends. John was raped, repeatedly by a group of men.

“My mother use to ensure that my life was just about school and football, nothing else. I never got the chance to really socialize and so on, but then, mom decided to leave the country for a quick spin and asked that I stay with a family member for the period of time” John said.

“I went with my friends to this party in Kitty, they said it will be fun and I should learn the streets, because I was mommy boy. To make a long story short, I remember being undressed by some men, and got up feeling sore in my a**” John said, in relating his gruesome ordeal with some men he deemed as homosexuals.

The talented player, who represented Guyana at the youth level, including twice at the Inter Guiana Games (IGG), said football is an escape from the ‘noise’ around him. In fact, he said it was football which helped him to cope with abuse at home, suffered at the hands of his father who would also beat his mother to a pulp whenever the two would have an argument.

“My father was the cruelest man I’ve ever met. He use to kick my mom, one time, he hit her with a hammer, and I thought she died that night. But it was a norm in the ghetto, no one came to help. My father died and I never asked why, I didn’t cry and my mother kept me under her wing because I was all she had until my sister came along” John related in an emotional interview.

John’s story was substantiated by his mother and his counsellor, with both women claiming that despite a report being made about the incident of rape, nothing was ever done.

The player, who features for one of Georgetown’s popular football clubs, said he tried not to relate his story to anyone about being raped by men, since people would say he’s gay, “but I’m not. I am not homophobic, but I don’t endorse that kind of lifestyle, which is why that day still haunts me and If wasn’t for football, my mother and some really, really close family and my counsellor, I would’ve been dead by now because I attempted to take my life a few times.”

FINDING OUT BEING HIV POSITIVE

Almost a year after the incident, John fell ill and his mother who works in the medical field, thought her son had pneumonia, “I never thought about HIV” the player’s mother revealed to Chronicle Sport, adding that she thought he probably got some other form of autoimmune disease.

A trip to Georgetown Hospital would change the family’s life after John’s blood test showed that he was HIV Positive. Several tests done at a number of medical institutions in Guyana by the family didn’t change the positive result.

“I can’t even explain the amount of things that went through my mind. But I never had sex before that incident and I never had sex in my life. I met a girl while studying, and I told her I had HIV and she stopped talking to me” John said.

SCARED OF DISCRIMINATION

“Football is my life, understand, there’s nothing that brings me more joy right now other than playing football, even if it’s on my PlayStation but right now, we are searching for ways to come out; come out and tell my teammates ‘hey, I’m HIV Positive’, but I know this game and how unwelcoming it is to people who aren’t seen as normal, be it sexual orientation or their health.”

There has never been a player in Guyana who came out publicly or even hinted to his teammates that he’s HIV positive, but, there have been highly speculated instances of players who died as a result of contracting the virus.

Reports are prevalent from outside of Guyana, where players lose their professional contract after being tested positive, as is the case of Cameroon International Samuel Nled who, just days after signing his contract, was released by his club after his HIV results returned positive.

President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Wayne Forde, when asked if there are provisions to deal with players like John, said “the position of the GFF is very clear when it comes to discrimination, we insist that there’s no place for it in football. I think with the case of HIV, the GFF will not stop anyone from playing the beautiful game unless concrete evidence and medical guidance. I think thanks to more tools of education, people now, unlike the old times, know how to co-exist.”

However, John disagrees with the GFF president, stating “there’s no education for sportsmen and women in Guyana about a lot of things, and HIV happens to be one of them. I know, in football, locally, there are no medical done on our players, clubs and the federation here pay no interest in that part of the game. Take me for example, people don’t know when I was really sick, but, thanks to my mother and close family, I have my antiretroviral drugs; tenofovir, lamivudine, emtricitabine, efavirenz and other drugs that keep me well, along with eating healthy.”