Sexually active population, mobile populations, soldiers and other uniformed officials, pregnant women, children under five and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Episodes of malaria averted: 67,000 (explained)

Unintended pregnancies averted: 2,600 (explained)

New Start voluntary counseling and testing services since 2003

Power Tablet net retreatment kits since 1999

Supanet insecticide treated nets since 1998

Maximum Gold condoms since 1997

PSI's local affiliate, The Social Marketing Association (SMA), has signed operating agreements with the Government of the Republic of Namibia and the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the Ministry of Defense.

SMA works directly with the Namibian Defense Force and the Namibian Police on HIV prevention.

SMA also franchises New Start VCT services to various non governmental and faith based organizations in the country including some mission hospitals.

SMA collaborates with various governmental agencies, NGOs, para-statals and the commercial sector for its work with mobile and vulnerable populations on Namibia's borders.

Bristol Myers Squib Foundation

European Commission

The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund)

Norwegian Church Aid

Private foundations

United States Agency for International Development

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

U.S. Department of Defense

HIV/AIDS

Risk Reduction among High-Risk Groups
The Corridors of Hope project focuses on truckers, commercial sex workers, informal traders, young women and uniformed border officials as highly vulnerable populations and takes a regional perspective by programming in Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland. Corridors of Hope is a high-impact intervention to reduce HIV transmission rates. A focus is placed on behavior change messages and edutainment with the target groups including 'saying no', safe sex, condom-negotiation skills for CSWs, STI prevention and treatment, and voluntary counseling and testing.

Defense Force Project
SMA health educators conduct HIV awareness events and train Namibian Defense Force peer educators to be a permanent HIV education presence on each base. Maximum Gold condoms are sold in canteens. SMA has also produced a number of innovative IEC materials, including a film (drama), a sexual health handbook and camouflaged playing cards with HIV prevention messages.

Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT)
VCT was introduced under the New Start brand in February 2003. SMA selects appropriate partners under a franchise scheme to implement New Start VCT services; these are non governmental organizations and faith based organizations which sign Operating Agreements with SMA to run New Start VCT services. SMA provides operational guidelines and protocols, training, mass media marketing, research and monitoring and quality assurance. There are now 16 New Start centers around the country and in 2005 the New Start network provided 33,919 counseling and/or testing sessions, an increase of 118% on 2004. Services are anonymous and highly subsidized, with a waiver for free admission for those who find even the subsidized fee difficult to pay.

Palliative Care (non-ART)
Palliative Care in the form of a nutritional supplement called E-pap has been distributed since 2004. This initiative targeted (in 2004) 180 people via SMA pilot sites (New Start sites) and 200 people receiving ART from Oshikuku, Oshakati and Katutura hospitals. The target for 2005 increased to 1800 people. During the course of 2005, 1439 clients received E-pap.

Police Project
PSI/SMA started working with the Namibian Police in December 2005 on the “Polaction” project, an HIV Awareness and Prevention campaign for the officers. SMA has developed an excellent relationship with the Police and delivers this campaign nationwide. SMA health educators conduct HIV awareness events at police stations and will train officers as peer educators in 2006 to ensure there is a permanent HIV education presence in each station. Maximum Gold condoms are sold to the Namibian Police who distribute these to officers. SMA has also produced a number of innovative IEC materials, including an STI leaflet, calendars with HIV prevention messages, and a PMTCT leaflet.

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Malaria