UNAIDS estimates that there are between 280,000 and 870,000 children orphaned or made vulnerable by AIDS living in Ethiopia. These children require comprehensive care and support, yet many of the community caregivers currently working with this most vulnerable of populations lack the knowledge and skills they need to address their complex needs effectively.
The Addis Ababa University School of Social Work is collaborating with Jane Addams College of Social Work and the Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center at the University of Illinois - Chicago to develop and strengthen social work education programs in Ethiopia.
The objective of this partnership is to improve community services, HIV information, and linkages to care and
support for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
The Tanzania Institute of Social Work — an educational institution based in Dar es Salaam that participates in a similar Twinning Center partnership with Jane Addams College of Social Work — also participates in this
partnership, contributing significant knowledge and practical experience providing community caregivers with training in social work and case management skills.
Specifically partners are working to:
- Improve the capacity of partner institutions to
deliver quality pre-service social work education, in particular in the area of HIV/AIDS; and
- Design and implement programs that use highly qualified social workers to train and supervise para-professionals working at the grass root level on case management and HIV/AIDS.
To date, partners have conducted a training on psychosocial care and field supervision skills in healthcare settings. The objective of the training was to enhance the capacity of Ethiopian institutions engaged in
delivering social services within a healthcare setting. Partners are also conducting a situational assessment on the existing training programs related to HIV/AIDS, case management, and social services in the area of psychosocial care and support programs.
Upcoming activities include, dissemination of the
situational assessment findings and the development of an Ethiopia Para-Social Workers Training Manual.
Updated June 5, 2009
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