Abstract

PIP: In Uganda, THETA (traditional and modern health practitioners together against AIDS and other diseases), is promoting collaboration between traditional and biomedical health workers in the prevention and care of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS. Its first project involved collaboration in clinical trials to study the effectiveness of herbal treatments for opportunistic infections. The second was to empower traditional medicine practitioners to offer counseling and education on STIs/HIV. This article describes the training curriculum developed in collaboration with The AIDS Support Organization and with the participation of healers and local women, and the strategies in which the healers used the training. Some traditional healers became involved in community education, others in counseling and still others started HIV-support groups. Overall, the community education and counseling increased understanding about HIV and resulted in some behavior change, including an increase in condom use. By respecting their knowledge, experience and beliefs, THETA gained the trust of the traditional healers, and was expanded to cover some 210 traditional healers in seven districts of Uganda.