WUNRN
Tanazania - Dairy Cooperative Empowers HIV Positive Women
By: Lindsey Taylor Wood,
Communications Associate at Women Deliver - October 3rd, 2011
“I learnt that you
need money or a business to generate enough income to be able to travel to town
for regular check-ups and to collect antiretroviral drugs. We do not have these
services at our village dispensary,” said Faith.
The program was
launched in 2009, by the International Labour Organization, a
tripartite United Nations agency that brings together representatives of
governments, employers, and workers to jointly shape policies and programs
promoting ‘Decent Work for All,’ and the Swedish
International Development Cooperation Agency, an organization that
works to reduce poverty and improve living conditions. Centered on facilitating
cooperatives that can help reach workers in the “informal economy,” the program
aims to prevent HIV, mollify its impact, and lead to better conditions for
workers affected by or living with the virus. As a result, it is a welcome
advancement in a country where the national HIV prevalence is roughly 5.6%.
In the northern
Kilimanjaro region, where Faith lives, her SIYB program functions as a
dairy cooperative; which also utilizes the village community bank in
order to provide financial services like savings and credit. Living in a remote
area, these services, in addition to the HIV programs, have been particularly
beneficial to Faith; a widow and mother of five. After testing positive for HIV
in 2005, she took an unconventional approach and was forthcoming about her
condition. In a place where the cultural aversion to HIV is high, this was not
an easy decision.
Through the
cooperative, Faith acquired three dairy cows and brought home US$250 a month by
selling their milk. Consequently, she started a farm and was able to diversify
her income: a variety of vegetables, in addition, to the milk. “It is a lot of
money for me,” she says. “The cooperative trained me and provided a market for
my cow’s milk... I get all the nutritious food recommended by doctors from my
own farm. I use part of the money to pay for school fees for my two nieces.”
Two years into the
program, Faith has also taken on the role of peer educator, mentoring other
HIV-positive people looking to initiate business ventures. Her role as a
teacher, and an investor in her neices' schooling, will produce far-reaching
benefits. Education has as immediate effect on overall health outcomes;
especially, regarding adolescents and sexual and reproductive rights and
maternal health. UNAIDS Country Coordinator for