Regional Workshop on HIV AIDS and Gender Mainstreaming in Local Authorities: 21- 23 March 2004, Holiday Inn Hotel, Harare, Zimbabwe

The regional workshop on HIV/AIDS and gender mainstreaming in local governments was held from 21 – 23 March 2005 at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe. The workshop was organized by the Municipal development Partnership for Eastern and Southern Africa with funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

The workshop was aimed at sharing experiences regarding mainstreaming HIV/AIDS and Gender and to demonstrate effective strategies in managing the challenges of HIV and gender disparities. It was also aimed at validating two regional scans on HIV/AIDS and Gender mainstreaming in local governments. The regional scans were a result of desk studies carried out by MDP-ESA in seven sub-Saharan countries namely Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The specific objectives of the workshop were:

• Discuss the two reports by the MDP-ESA;

• Share lessons learnt from the studies;

• Share regional experiences in mainstreaming and implementing projects on HIV/AIDS and gender from other countries in the region and demonstrate effective strategies for mainstreaming the two issues; and

• Develop some regional proposals on mainstreaming HIV/AIDS and gender

Group Photo: Participants attending the Regional Workshop on HIV / AIDS and Gender Mainstreaming

Ms. Sekesayi Makwavarara, Mayor of the City of Harare
Officially Opening the Workshop
 

In all 46 participants from 10 African countries namely Benin, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe attended the workshop. Participants included representatives of national associations of local governments, AMICAALL technical advisors and experts in the areas of HIV/AIDS and gender.

Ms. Ona Jirira of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Zimbabwe and Principal Researcher of the Gender Study  making a presentation while Mr. Kudzai Chatiza of SNV and Principal Researcher of the HIV/AIDS study (left) takes notes.  
 

At the end of the workshop participants had reached consensus on the issues raised in the regional scans. They had also managed to share regional experiences in mainstreaming and implementing projects on HIV/AIDS and gender. Participants also agreed to develop proposals for regional support to local initiatives on mainstreaming HIV/AIDS and gender developed by national associations and other partners