HIV/AIDS is an issue which is very familiar to communities in South Africa. However, each community has both shared and unique challenges, based on a variety of factors. It is communities who are able to identify the problem, come up with potential solutions and organise themselves to put a plan in action who will ultimately contribute to greater community wellness. This defines the NGO community.

This conference is the first of its kind, which will focus on building the organisational capacity of communities to respond effectively to their unique needs. We all have passionate ideas, but sometimes lack the sustainability to maintain programmes and services. This conference will help to build networks and knowledge sharing, with the ultimate goal of increasing community wellness through NGO sustainability and organisational capacity building.

This Conference will:

• assist organisations to build organisational skills
• identify other capacity building opportunities
• provide learning opportunities to expand existing or new skills
• provide an opportunity for organisations to share the best practices
• serve as a major annual networking opportunity for the CBO/NGO/FBO communities

Delegates attending the NGO Conference on 23 and 24 October at the CSIR in Pretoria can expect to go home with tangible tools and knowledge that will put successful and sustainable organisations within their reach.

The conference objectives are to:

• Build the organisational capacity of communities to respond effectively to their unique needs;
• Encourage networks and knowledge-sharing; and
• Increase community wellness through sustainable NGOs.

Presentations by experts in their fields include:

• Entrepreneurial approaches to financial sustainability
• Assessing and planning for NGO success
• Community mobilization - putting planning into action
• Human resource management
• Clarifying the role of boards and committees
• NPO Legal status
• Organisational sustainability from a donor’s perspective
• Taking advantage of non-monetary resources
• Community-based information systems
• Reporting systems: NGO needs vs donor requirements

Other value-adding aspects to look forward to are:

• Skills-building sessions that cover anything you always wanted to know about running a viable and successful organisation.
• Major international donor organisations such as PEPFAR, USAID, German Technical Co-operation (GTZ), DFID and the Royal Netherlands Embassy have been invited to attend and be available to interact with delegates.
• Each delegate will receive a Toolkit worth at least R1000 that includes valuable guidelines on the sound running of non-governmental organisations, including tools to assess the need for services in their own community.

Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille, who has praised and welcomed the initiative for an NGO Conference, will deliver the closing address on 24 October.

For more information, please visit the ac3 NGO Conference website here

The Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking (HIVAN) and The World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP) recently hosted a Capacity Building Workshop. This Capacity Building Workshop introduced forum attendees to Indlu Finlandia’s Skills Training Manual - A Practical Guide to Grassroots Training in Southern Africa.

Aleta Armstrong, the Co-Author of this manual, presented to all attendees on this immensey useful publication. This guidebook is not an Academic work, but rather a practical sharing of the lessons learned to supplement theory with practical guidelines and suggestions. Whilst the manual was created through working in the handcraft sector, the underlying principles can be applied in any grassroots environment. Aleta’s workshop included a general discussion around the manual and a practical exercise which enabled participants to apply the principles within the training manual to their specific organisation and/or initiative.

The manual can be downloaded here

The World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP), Durban Chapter and The Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking, HIVAN recently held a Support Group Training workshop, hosted by the U.S. Consulate in Durban.

The target audience for this training was community service providers wishing to set up Support Groups, with the objective being to build capacity and leadership in the HIV / AIDS Service Community.

Training covered a variety of issues and areas including: Supporting Others and basic foundations for a support group; Supporting Caregivers and conflict resolution within a Support Group.

Please click here for a follow-up presentation on this training, as given by Charles Manda during July 2008.

The XVII International AIDS Conference will take place this year in Mexico City from the 3-8 August. This year’s theme of the Conference “UNIVERSAL ACTION NOW!” encompasses the main objective of the Conference which is to reach out to the Global community. The Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal has been chosen by the International AIDS Organizing Committee to be the only official site outside of Mexico that will host the Conference via Webcast.

Dr Owili, General Secretary of the Society for AIDS in Africa, said “I have been very impressed with the state of organization at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine for this historic event. Many people do not have the resources to attend these types of international conferences. This hub will allow these people to benefit from the conference and will set the trend for access to conferences in the future.”

This amazing opportunity is led by the Enhancing Care Initiative KwaZulu-Natal. See invitation below and please visit the web site for information on the sessions and registration.

HIVAN is proud to be part of the local organizing committee for the International AIDS Conference Satellite Hub at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

For more information on the Video-Link, please click here

The Advanced Health Management Programme (AHMP) is an internationally cocertified, intensive management development short course, tailor-made for the needs of the healthcare executives and professionals in the public or not-for-profit sector. This course has been specifically customised for health managers working in the HIV/AIDS field and is designed to take into account the time constraints of managers who work full-time.

The programme is offered by the FPD in association with the Yale University, School of Public Health. The programme is designed to develop the participants ‘ strategic management capabilities by broadening their views of their roles in the HIV sector and developing key managerial competencies required to successfully manage in such an environment with a leadership role in HIV/AIDS.

Interested candidates have to complete the scholarship application form (please see below to download this form) and return it to FPD at fax: 012-481 2083 or PO Box 74789, Lynnwood Ridge, 0040 before 25 July 2008.

AHMP Scholarship Application Form

EXCEPTIONAL OFFER – IF YOU ACT FAST!!!

Register a delegate for the upcoming TB Conference
in Durban (1 – 4 July 2008) and receive
a full set of 9 HIV-911 Directories of HIV-related support services in South Africa
- valued at R1 800 per set

This offer starts today and is limited to the first 20 organisations to respond to this announcement so act fast …

Registration form available online here
Or download the registration form here

Please make sure you immediately alert the HIV-911 Programme of your registration by sending an email with full delegate details (and date of your registration) to [email protected]

Once HIV-911 has verified your delegate registration with the TB Conference organizers we will notify the first 20 organisations that they have been successful in securing their set of HIV-911 directories. Drectories can be collected from the HIV-911 stand at the TB Conference. A register will be taken.

To learn more about the HIV-911 Programme visit www.hiv911.org.za or call 0860 HIV 911 / 0860 448 911

Message from the Conference Chairperson, Dr Refiloe Matji, Regional Director, University Research Co, LLC
South Africa will host a TB Conference from 1 - 4 July 2007 at ICC Durban with an overarching theme “Working as One”. Tuberculosis continues to be a major problem in South Africa despite availability of medicine to cure the disease. More than 20 000 people die in South Africa on an annual basis from TB. The situation in South Africa has been further worsened by the emergence of multi drug and extensive drug resistant TB. One of the major challenges in South Africa is that systems to support TB patients whilst on treatment are very weak. TB treatment takes a long time; therefore it is important that structures are set up at community level, at the work place or in any place that is convenient for the patients whilst on treatment. It is due to these problems that the Foundation for Professional Development is organizing this conference to bring all partners, both in the public and private sector, community members and the civil society to discuss TB and to come up with solutions to combat TB. It is time that all South Africans unite to fight this disease and finally “WORK AS ONE”.
I look forward to meeting you at the TB Conference in July 2008.
For more information on the TB Conference, please click here

Starts: 1 July 2008
Ends: 4 July 2008
City: Durban
Country: South Africa

The HIV-911 Programme is collaborating again with the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) to bring a course on Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) to HIV/AIDS service organisations based in KwaZulu-Natal.

To be held 10 to 12 June 2008, this course will cover the following themes:

• Infectious diseases;
• Background to Voluntary Counselling & Testing (VCT);
• Principles and methods of HIV testing and test methodologies;
• The professional relationship between the VCT counsellor and the medical practitioner;
• The counsellor & counselling skills;
• Practical aspects of individual patient VCT & AVCCT;
• The counselling environment;
• Pre-test counselling;
• Conducting the test – practical training in rapid finger-prick testing;
• Post-test counselling;
• Post-counselling: HIV-negative patient;
• Post-test counselling: HIV-positive patient;
• Post-exposure counselling;
• Adherence issues and;
• Practical VCT – Case studies & team-based role-play.

The full course outline and registration form can be downloaded here

The HIV-911 Programme is collaborating again with the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) to bring a course on Palliative Care in HIV/AIDS to HIV/AIDS service organisations based in KwaZulu-Natal.

To be held on 12 May 2008, this course will cover:

• An introduction to palliative care
• Pain control
• Pain control in HIV/AIDS
• Symptom control in HIV/AIDS
• The last 48 hours
• Palliative care of a patient with HIV/AIDS – specific challenges
• Palliative care of a patient with HIV/AIDS – psychosocial aspects

The full course outline and registration form can be downloaded Here

Held on 28 February 2008, this forum featured a presentation by Ms Juliette Houghton, Programme Coordinator of the CHIVA KZN Support and Mentorship Initiative.

Ms Houghton’s presentation focussed on Children in ARV Programmes, and outlined the successes, challenges and experiences as found by CHIVA.
To view the Presentation, please click here