Go Girls! Initiative

According to JHUCCP, the Go Girls! Initiative (CGI) was designed to shift the focus from girls 'individual risk-taking to contextual factors that render girls vulnerable. The purpose of GGI was to develop, implement, and test social, gender, and behaviour change communication approaches, in an effort to reduce adolescent girls’ susceptibility to HIV infection. Approaches included: addressing contextual factors that present barriers to accessing education; increasing girls resilience through building life-skills; strengthening parents and other adults ability to communicate with and support girls; and community dialogue and action.

According to JHUCCP, the initiative began by mapping existing programmes and activities working on HIV prevention and/or gender and HIV related activities in each project country. Formative research was carried out to understand community perspectives on girls’ vulnerability and contribute to programme design and development. Following this, training was undertaken with non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners in mobilising communities to take action on girls’ vulnerability. Teachers were also trained in how to provide a safe and supportive school environment for girls. Toolkits were developed for the interventions, including tools for community mobilisation, school personnel training, community-based life skills for girls, and school-based life skills for girls and boys.

The initiative also included a radio programme using reality programming techniques, as well as training for radio producers.

As part of the project, GGI’s launched the Go Families! adult-child communication programme. This training programme emphasised the need for programming that gives adults the skills they need to build strong, nurturing relationships with their children and other adolescents in the community. According to JHUCCP, there is a need to reach girls before they become sexually active but this approach to talk to girls about sex before sexual debut is met with resistance from parents. GGI developed the adult-child communication programme component to address adults’ reluctance to discuss sexuality with children.

JHCCP adds that a strong process evaluation monitored the programme implementation, and qualitative and quantitative research was designed to examine what makes girls vulnerable to HIV and develop tools to measure vulnerability.

HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health