Africa Wins, Every Time You Prevent HIV

Building on the successes of Africa Goal 2006, the Africa Goal team was excited to implement the 2010 Africa Goal Project to coincide with 2010 World Cup in South Africa – the first time the tournament was being held on the continent.

Starting in Nairobi, Kenya and ending in Johannesburg, South Africa, the team’s journey followed a similar route to the 2006 campaign but focused on the higher density and higher HIV prevalence communities of the region, where impact would be maximised. Broadly, the 2010 journey followed the ‘AIDS Highway’, known as such because of the very high levels of HIV infection along this central transport and trade route where transactional and casual sex are common. The focus of the 2010 campaign was on building and strengthening relationships with local and regional partners and supporting them to leverage the Africa Goal platform to increase the reach and impact of their HIV activities. During the 2010 campaign, Africa Goal partnered with over 20 different organisations in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa, offering HIV information and services at every event – including on-site HIV testing and counselling. During the events, comprehensive “World Cup” branded HIV Information packets were distributed. Each event was documented in detail through the Africa Goal blog which includes feedback and anecdotes from audience members and partners.

The Africa Goal 2010 campaign was a huge success, with over 24,000 people reached with HIV information and services in just one month. The feedback received from partners was overwhelmingly positive, the project’s successes were widely recognised in both international and regional media and Africa Goal was proud to receive a recognition of achievement from the United Nations Office on Sports for Development and Peace (UNOSDP).

Africa Goal 2010 was made possible through the generous support from the Government of Canada, The Southern African AIDS Information and Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) and the Danish AIDS Foundation, as well as numerous corporate and media partners. Please check out website and campaign blog links below to find out more about Africa Goal 2010.

Africa Goal 2010 Website:
http://www.africagoal.com/home.html

Africa Goal 2010 Campaign Blog:
http://www.africagoal.org/blog/

Africa Goal: The Next Generation

As we approach the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament kick off, the Africa Goal team is busy preparing for another successful campaign, which will build on the lessons learnt, experiences and partnerships formed during the previous two campaigns. Africa Goal has set itself an ambitious target of exceeding the impressive 24,000 people reached during just one month in 2010, to make 2014 the biggest impact Africa Goal campaign to date. Hugely positive feedback, as well as the level of enthusiasm and cooperation, from partner organisations showed their recognition of the benefits of the project and the way that the project events could help to achieve their own targets and goals. The team is excited to build on these relationships to reach even more people with life-saving HIV information and services.

During the upcoming campaign, a special focus of activities will be on supporting elimination of paediatric transmission of HIV and promoting couple’s HIV counseling and testing, alongside a continued commitment to reaching hard to reach and most at risk groups. These strategic focus areas complement international, regional and national priorities.

Africa Goal 2014 will follow a similar route starting in Kenya and Uganda and ending in Swaziland. The team will visit many of the same locations as in the previous two campaigns as well some new ones – focusing on the high HIV prevalence areas of border towns, fishing villages and rural outposts.