The African HIV prevention handbook: a toolkit for planning HIV prevention activity for African people in England

Duration: June 2008 - March 2009

Sigma Research will work with all National African HIV Prevention Programme (NAHIP) partner agencies to devise a practical planning handbook to accompany their HIV prevention framework document called The Knowledge, the Will and the Power (KWP). The handbook will specify the range of prevention interventions that can be used to reduce HIV prevention need among Africans in England, and specify the options available to someone wanting to make a difference in this area.

The Handbook will:
1. Describe interventions in a way that helps HIV prevention agencies (from managers all the way to volunteer and outreach staff) to put into practice KWP in their own agencies;
2. Outline a process for identifying target groups;
3. Describe simple steps to assessing need;
4. Document and critique a range of interventions and discuss how they might be best combined;
5. Review evaluations and other evidence which helps select the best interventions for specific target groups and needs;
6. Describe the competencies and resources required for particular types of intervention;
7. Illustrate all the above using real interventions collected from agencies carrying out HIV prevention with Africans in England.

Benefits to NAHIP Partners of taking part in the development of The Handbook include developing a stronger shared language with which to discuss interventions; improving the success of funding bids by making clearer intervention plans and arguments for them; and greater familiarity with KWP and planning within it.

Partner agencies will be asked to: undertake an interview with Sigma Research (face-to-face or on the phone) to describe current HIV prevention activities (regardless of who funds them); attend two focus groups to discuss the range of interventions described by the partners; and read and comment on a full draft of the document. The final document will be published in March 2009.

This work has been commissioned by the African HIV Policy Network on behalf of NAHIP, the National African HIV Prevention programme for African people resident in England. NAHIP is funded by the Department of Health.

Key contact:

NAHIP partners
African Communities HIV Research Programme (ACHRP)
African Institute for Social Development
Black Gay Men's Advisory Group
Black Health Agency
Centre for African Families Positive Health
Community of Congolese Refugees in Great Britain (CORECOG)
Congolese Youth Association
The Crescent (Hertfordshire)
Ethiopian Community Centre UK
Health Action Charity Organisation
Leeds Skyline Service
MDC Training & Consultancy
National Institute for African Studies (NIAS)
NAZ Project London
Organisation of HIV Positive Men (OPAM)
Pan-Afrique Centre
Positively Women
Terrence Higgins Trust
Uganda AIDS Action Fund
West African Network Initiative
Youth Projects International