WHAT: Thirteen years ago in Zambia, too few people took advantage of available services providing antiretroviral therapy (ART), antenatal care (ANC), and protocols for preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). After a knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey revealed that lack of male involvement in male-dominated Zambian society impeded uptake of these services, we promoted the then-novel idea that a family’s health is also a man’s responsibility. Thus, Men Taking Action™ (MTA™) was born to support women getting ANC and HIV testing and treatment.
To mobilise communities, we enlisted support from traditional chiefs and other community leaders, who in turn selected men to champion the message in their communities. The champions were trained in meeting facilitation and other skills, then were supported as they used those skills at community meetings.
Recognizing that men can positively influence actions taken by their wives, female partners and children, MTA is a programme that educate men on prevention of HIV/AIDS transmission. Through education, the programme addresses male attitudes and practices that can prevent women from attending antenatal clinics and accessing prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services, including essential antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.
Since then, the MTA™ has been pressed into service for other projects, including the Zambia-Led Prevention Initiative, where we trained all project partners in MTA™ methods; and in 2017, generous funding from the Journey Charitable Foundation and Becton Dickinson permitted A2HealthZ to implement trainings for district health staff in Mwandi and Matoya, as well as community health volunteers there and in Situlu, Magumwi, Muskukula, and Masese.
