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Katherine Fritz

Reducing Alcohol-Related HIV Risk in Kabila, Namibia

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Alcohol use is associated with HIV risk behavior, according to a growing body of research. Programs that address the link between alcohol and HIV are urgently needed, but extremely rare.

ICRW and its partners will design and monitor a community-based intervention the informal settlement of Kabila, Namibia, located on the outskirts of the capital city, Windhoek. Many residents have migrated from rural areas in search of a viable income, and brewing and selling alcohol is one of the few profitable businesses.  

The project goal is to design, implement and assess the feasibility of an intervention to reduce the prevalence of heavy drinking and decrease alcohol-related sexual risk behavior among bar patrons in the community. ICRW will conduct formative research to better understand the impact of alcohol and related risky behavior on women and men. Research findings will inform the design of a demonstration program that applies multiple strategies to decrease alcohol-related HIV risk behavior. The results of this study will be used to inform future programming targeted at addressing links between alcohol and HIV risk.

This project is coordinated by AIDSTAR-One. As an AIDSTAR-One partner organization, ICRW provides technical oversight for this project.

Duration: 
2010 – 2012
Location(s): 
Namibia
Related Publications: 
Prevention of Alcohol-related HIV Risk Behavior
Wising Up to Alcohol-related HIV Risk

Prevention of Alcohol-related HIV Risk Behavior

Prevention of Alcohol-related HIV Risk Behavior
Technical Brief

Katherine Fritz
2010

A growing body of research suggests that alcohol consumption is associated with the sexual behaviors that put people at risk for HIV. In developing countries battling severe HIV epidemics, addressing harmful drinking in conjunction with interventions to reduce sexual risk behavior may reduce HIV transmission more quickly than conventional HIV prevention interventions alone.

This technical brief reviews the evidence on new and innovative programs in this emerging area. Developed for program planners and implementers, the brief catalogs what is known about the relationship between harmful alcohol use and HIV sexual risk behavior and offers a critical analysis of interventions to address the issue.

This brief was prepared by the AIDSTAR-One project. As an AIDSTAR-One partner organization, ICRW provided technical oversight on this publication.

Related publications:
Wising Up to Alcohol-related HIV Risk
Alcohol Consumption and HIV Risk

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We encourage the use and dissemination of our publications for non-commercial, educational purposes. Portions may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). For questions, please contact publications@icrw.org; or (202) 797-0007.

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Wising Up to Alcohol-related HIV Risk

Wising Up to Alcohol-related HIV Risk
A Counseling Program for STI Patients Attending Primary Health Care Clinics in Cape Town, South Africa

Katherine Fritz
2010

Programs that specifically address the link between alcohol and HIV are extremely rare. However, a small number of promising interventions have recently been developed and implemented in sub-Saharan Africa and India. These provide valuable lessons about the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of several approaches to reducing alcohol-related risky sexual behavior.

This case study examines a program in South Africa, where rates of alcohol consumption and HIV are among the highest in the world, and sexual risk taking and drinking frequently intersect. In Cape Town, the Phaphama (“Wise Up”) program demonstrated dramatic behavior change in the months following a single, 60-minute counseling session offered to repeat patients at a sexually transmitted infection clinic.

This case study was prepared by the AIDSTAR-One project. As an AIDSTAR-One partner organization, ICRW provided technical oversight on this publication. An online, interactive version of this case study is available at AIDSTAR-One.

Related publications:
Prevention of Alcohol-related HIV Risk Behavior
Alcohol Consumption and HIV Risk

(867.47 KB)

We encourage the use and dissemination of our publications for non-commercial, educational purposes. Portions may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). For questions, please contact publications@icrw.org; or (202) 797-0007.

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Recreating Success

Submitted by Katherine Fritz on Tuesday, November 30, 2010
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Ugandans Draw on Past Triumphs to Fight HIV Epidemic

In November, I found myself retracing footsteps I last traveled 15 years ago through Mbale, a small town beautifully situated at the foot of Mt. Elgon on Uganda’s northeastern border. I lived in Mbale for a year in the mid-1990s when Uganda was considered the epicenter of the global HIV epidemic. At that time, the world watched and wondered how Uganda would bring itself back from the brink of disaster.

AIDS Support and Technical Assistance Resources (AIDSTAR-One)

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ICRW is a partner on AIDSTAR-One, which provides rapid technical assistance to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and U.S. government country teams to build effective, well-managed, and sustainable HIV and AIDS programs and to promote new leadership in the global campaign against HIV. AIDSTAR-One leverages the expertise of its diverse partner organizations to provide targeted assistance in knowledge management, program implementation support, technical leadership, program sustainability and strategic planning.

Through this partnership, ICRW draws from its expertise on gender and women's vulnerability to HIV to develop gender-responsive HIV programming. ICRW also provides technical leadership in the area of preventing alcohol-related HIV risk.

Duration: 
2008 - 2012
Location(s): 
Colombia
Location(s): 
Ecuador
Location(s): 
India
Location(s): 
Kenya
Location(s): 
Mozambique
Location(s): 
Nicaragua
Location(s): 
Peru
Location(s): 
Rwanda
Location(s): 
South Africa
Location(s): 
Uganda
Location(s): 
Zambia
Related Publications: 
Implementing Multiple Gender Strategies to Improve HIV and AIDS Interventions
Prevention of Alcohol-related HIV Risk Behavior
Wising Up to Alcohol-related HIV Risk
Alcohol Consumption and HIV Risk
Earning Their Way to Healthier Lives

Strengthening National HIV/AIDS Policy & Programming

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Global stakeholders recognize that HIV/AIDS policies and programs must advance gender equality in order to effectively slow the spread of HIV. However, few concrete tools have been developed to guide policymakers and programmers in creating gender-responsive strategies at the national level. ICRW is collaborating with partners from civil society, government and donor organizations in Uganda and Cambodia to demonstrate how to develop national HIV/AIDS plans that address the unique needs and constraints of women and men.

In each country, ICRW is analyzing current national policies, strategies and programs to identify strengths and gaps in addressing gender-based vulnerabilities in the context of HIV and AIDS. The project team also is collaborating with a core group of government, donor and civil society representatives to form an advisory board. The board will use findings from the analysis to create recommendations and a plan for strengthening attention to gender in the national response to HIV and AIDS. The advisory board also will host a series of meetings to launch the action plan and garner support for its implementation.

Duration: 
2008 - 2011
Location(s): 
Uganda
Location(s): 
Cambodia
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