PROJECT SUMMARY

Bukoba Municipal is growing rapidly with a great potential for commercial activities and other social community interactions. The growth of fish processing industries attracts for booming fishing activities in the islands involving people from different corners of Bukoba. Data obtained from Bukoba Municipal Director’s office show that every month about 50 women seasonally migrate to the islands. This has been due to socio-cultural diversities whereby women are detached from their families due to deaths of their spouses, divorce, young girls who leave the schools without success and young girls who get pre–marriage pregnancies are neglected by their families and societies. However, some cultural practices prohibit women and girls from inheritance of spouse’s/family’s properties. Thus, due to lack of social, cultural and economic support to these gender based groups they find that the only solution is to migrate from their settlements to islands for new lives in which they find nothing to do except sex works of which predispose them to potential cause of promiscuity and other sexual risk behaviours, hence aggravation of presence of commercial sex workers. Apart from that, Bukoba Harbour is another social interactive centre whereby Marine Vehicles make stopovers for loading, offloading, vehicle servicing, rest and leisure purposes attracting drug substance users, excessive alcoholism and presence of commercial sex workers. Also, academic and workplace institutions are hampered by HIV/AIDS scourge. At schools, youth who are sexually active are exposed to unsafe sex practices whereas at work places cross generational sexual practices are increasing due to lack of life skills, reproductive and sexual health education. This has been evidenced by the 2008 National HIV/AIDS Testing Campaign which indicates that HIV/AIDS infection rate for Bukoba Municipal is 8.4% as compared to the neighbouring districts of Muleba (5.0%) and Bukoba Rural (3.4%). This situation calls for urgent interventions for social behavioural change communication campaign among through intensive awareness creation on HIV/AIDS prevention using relevant trainings and dissemination of behavioural change communication skills and knowledge to prevent transmission of HIV among vulnerable groups in the Islands and mainland of Bukoba Municipal.

PROJECT OUTCOMES

As a result of this project, through awareness creation strategy, project target population have increased awareness, knowledge and skills on necessary precautions about HIV/AIDS transmission, able to abstain risky and unsafe sexual behaviours, prevent further transmission of the disease and hence reduce the infection rate of HIV/AIDS in Bukoba Municipal. Access and consistent use of condoms and the evidence about the efficacy and effectiveness of condoms in HIV prevention when used correctly and consistently have reduced the rate of HIV/AIDS among most at risk populations whereas promotion of IGA has catered for socio-economic needs of commercial sex workers and vulnerable women/youth living with HIV/AIDS hence reduction of impact of HIV/AIDS. Through promotion and strengthening of VCT and STI services there is an increase of people turning for early diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control, thus reduction of further transmission of HIV/AIDS, stigma and discrimination among the community stakeholders.