Horizons Projects | A Retrospective Assessment of the COPE 1 Program in Namwera, Mangochi District, Malawi

HORIZONS PROJECT
A Retrospective Assessment of the COPE 1 Program in Namwera, Mangochi District, Malawi

In 1995 Save the Children US/Malawi introduced COPE 1 (Community-based Options for Protection and Empowerment). This program aimed to build on the Malawi government’s decentralized approach to HIV and AIDS by strengthening AIDS coordinating committees and catalyzing community responses to support children, families, and communities affected by HIV and AIDS. Save the Children US/Malawi phased out its presence in Namwera in July 1997, seven months after it began working in the area.

The Horizons program worked with Save the Children US/Malawi to conduct a retrospective assessment of the impact of COPE 1 in Namwera on the ability of communities to mobilize and sustain community-based responses to HIV and AIDS.

Data were collected in November 1998 and March 1999. Researchers used several methods of data collection, including group and individual interviews, review of reports and records, and observation. Residents from ten Village AIDS Committee (VAC) villages and three non-VAC villages in Namwera were interviewed.

Key findings:

The link between HIV and AIDS and the growing problem of orphans and chronic illness was better understood in VAC villages than in non-VAC villages.
Unlike villages reached by COPE 1, villages without a VAC have not taken any tangible, collective action regarding the care and support of orphans and people living with HIV.
Over time, the Namwera AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC) and VACs have lost credibility regarding their coordinating and facilitating roles.
Youth subcommittees play a pivotal role in HIV and AIDS activities and are poised to do more.
Home-based care subcommittees have remained active in VAC villages, but morale is low because of the increasing number of ill people.
The need for income-generating activities is great, but inputs and expertise are limited.
HIV prevention activities for high-risk groups are the weakest component of the COPE 1 Program.
Views differ regarding the groups with whom donors should work directly and support in order to generate community responses to HIV and AIDS.
The phase-out of COPE 1 in Namwera occurred too soon to build adequate capacity and trust.

Recommendations that emerged from the study have implications for the NACC, VACs, government agencies, Save the Children US/Malawi, and other donors working on community-based responses to HIV and AIDS.

Location

Namwera, Mangochi District, Malawi

Duration

November 1998–March 2000

Horizons and Population Council researcher

Eka Esu-Williams

(For more information about this study, please contact horizons@popcouncil.org.)

Non-Council collaborators

Joan Duncan (consultant)

David Chilongozi, Stan Phiri (Save the Children US/Malawi)

Lisanne Brown (Tulane University)

Donor

US Agency for International Development

Publications/Resources
Horizons and Population Council researchers' names appear in boldface type.

2000
Esu-Williams, Esu, Joan Duncan, Stan Phiri, and David Chilongozi. “A retrospective assessment of the COPE 1 Program in Namwera, Malawi,” Horizons Final Report. Washington, DC: Population Council. (PDF)