Real Result: Male Empowerment

Man Enough to Care

Photo: Africare In several rural and urban areas of Zimbabwe, “male empowerment” provides home-based care where, increasingly, families decimated by HIV/AIDS and other diseases are unable to tend their sick. Click here to download original photo (1072 x 1600 pixels, 72 dpi, .jpg format, 915 kb).

A man lies on a blanket in his darkened hut. His head rests on an emaciated arm. You see in his face, inert body and narrow limbs that he is dying, but he is not alone.

Two men have come, on foot, from a neighboring village. They have been here many times, with their small kit of supplies, to wash the man, to treat his many sores, to replenish his pain pills and to give him company. They are what have come to be known in Zimbabwe as “male empowerment volunteers.”

In several rural and urban areas of Zimbabwe, Global Impact member charity Africare has pioneered “male empowerment” to provide home-based care where, increasingly, families decimated by HIV/AIDS and other diseases are unable to tend their sick. The male volunteer caregivers, often members of churches and community groups, have become a godsend to hundreds of sick people and their loved ones.

Zimbabwe has one of the highest rates of HIV rates in the world. The problem is compounded by the country’s economic and political crises, spiraling inflation, widespread food insecurity and social unrest. The decline of health services has shifted the burden of care to the household and family.

Traditionally in Africa, women have had the responsibility for caring for the sick in the home, generally in addition to their other daily duties. If the woman herself is HIV-positive, the extra burden often hastens the progression to AIDS and her own death, leading to further disintegration of the family.

Through its Male Empowerment Project, Africare is transforming traditionally female activities like feeding and caring for a sick person into acceptable male activities. Volunteers learn basic nursing care, including patient assessment, skin/wound care and hygiene. They also learn about HIV/AIDS prevention, general wellbeing and positive living. During their visits, volunteers often help with routine household chores such as gathering firewood and water. These home care volunteers can treat many of the common ailments of AIDS with simple remedies and medicines, and reduce the burden on the primary caregiver.

The men are committed to, and can play an important role in the health of the families. They are realizing that providing care to those with chronic illnesses is an acceptable behavior for men.

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