HIV prevention project evaluation

Identifying inhibiting and facilitating factors of youth participation in the AIDS Toto Clubs, TfaC Malawi

The AIDS Toto Clubs -AIDS nono in Chichewa, are participatory theatre workshops that promote Sexual and Reproductive Health amongst youth in Malawi. Implemented weekly by Theatre for a Change (TfaC), the AIDS Toto Clubs are held in primary schools across the country.

What we did

In 2015 we evaluated the impact of theatre workshops on the knowledge, attitudes, abilities and behaviours of the target audience. The evaluation employed different qualitative social investigation methods that captured the impact of activities on both pre-established performance indicators, as well as emerging ones. The investigation techniques included: 16 non-participatory observations, 46 semi-structured interviews and 16 group discussions; capturing the impact of activities on both pre-established performance indicators, as well as emerging ones.

Evaluación de un proyecto de prevención de VIH

What we discovered

The evaluation revealed an increase in target population´s knowledge about HIV transmission, the need to use contraceptives to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies, as well as their right to abstain from unwanted sexual relationships. In addition clear indicators showed that girls and boys that participated in the clubs had developed positive attitudes towards behavioral change objectives, such as how to behave with people living with HIV.

However, the investigation also revealed unequal impact on the target audience´s ability to develop key behaviours to deal with specific situations such as saying no to unwanted sexual relations; abilities that, following TfaC’s method, refer to use of Voice, Body and Space during personal interactions.

The investigation discovered that the unequal impact on the target population’s abilities and behaviours was due to a significant difference in teachers facilitating capacities. The main conclusions of the research offered actionable recommendations for the design and implementation of participatory tools to monitor teaching capacities, as well as the development of a constant reinforcement and support teacher training system. Our recommendations were included in the TfaC project method through participatory skill reinforcement workshops.