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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Clifford Shearing, PhD, Regulatory Institutions Network, Australian National University, 1st Floor Garden Wing, University House, Canberra, Australia, Madeline Jenneker, Community Peace Programme, P O Box 34692, Cape Town, South Africa, and Scott Burris, JD, Temple University Law School, 1719 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122, 215-204-6576, clifford.shearing@anu.edu.au.
HIV/AIDS colonizes poor communities. Communities with few economic resources are often poorly served by government. Unlike the relatively rich, the poor can’t purchase security, health or other social goods. Poor communities have the capacity to fill these voids, but often lack the organizational tools to utilize it. Interventions focused on HIV may not tap this capacity. The Zwelethemba Model is a “cultural virus” that generates an institutional framework in which people cooperate to solve local problems. The basic institution is the Peace Committee, open to all. Members take part in Peace Making (mediation of disputes) and Peace Building (identification of local needs and solutions through micro-enterprise). The mode of operation is the Gathering, bringing together people who can help resolve a dispute, identify needs, or solve problems. Committee members are paid; fees are matched by a two-for-one deposit to the Committee’s microenterprise fund. Initially grant funded, Peace Committees have won public funding. 20 Committees operate in South Africa and Argentina. The Model is a promising vehicle for developing, funding and sustaining community HIV prevention. The Model may also strengthen social cohesion, a determinant of community health. The incentive structure and administrative system of the Model have proven robust after 2 years of operation. Local capacity can be mobilized to fight HIV in poor communities in a framework in which community members are in charge and have economic incentives to devote their human capital. HIV can be well-addressed through governance interventions that more broadly facilitate community efficacy.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Community Health, Disease Prevention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.