2. A Baseline HIV/AIDS Awareness Study Among Church Leaders to Improve Counseling Training by Eleni Seyoum, Long Term Resident Advisor, The POLICY Project, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

3. Ethiopia: located in the horn of Africa Population of 60 million First HIV infection found in 1984 First AIDS cases reported in 1986 Cumulative total of 83,487 AIDS cases reported to the Ministry of Health (March, 2000) Currently 2.5-3 million HIV infected persons live in Ethiopia. Introduction

4. Objectives Assess perceptions of church leaders about HIV/AIDS Determine the level of knowledge of HIV/AIDS among church leaders Gather baseline information to help in the design of counseling training for church leaders in Ethiopia

5. 153 church leaders from the Meseret Christos Evangelical Protestant Church in Ethiopia were selected for HIV/AIDS counseling training The study was conducted among this group of church leaders These leaders were full time gospel preachers in the church Five sites were selected for the study & training: – 3 major urban cities – 2 rural towns Background Information

6. A self-administered questionnaire was developed Prior to the initial training, the questionnaires were distributed to assess the level of knowledge and perceptions about HIV/AIDS among the leaders Data entry and analysis were carried out using Epi-Info software Methodology

7. Age distribution of the respondents

8. Having sex with multiple partners...143 (93.4%) Unsterilized injections ……………..140 (91.5%) Blood & blood products……………139 (90.8%) Through sexual contact...………….123 (80.3%) Sex without condoms..…………..….103 (67.3%) Kissing ……………………………… 20 (13.0%) Casual contact ………………………13 (8.4%) Through mosquito bites…….………10 (6.5%) Modes of Transmission Identified

9. Faithfulness …….………..…….….137 (89.0%) Avoid sharing of needles…….…....133 (86.9%) Avoid using unsterilized needles………………………….….133 (86.9%) Condom use ……...………...….…...96 (62.7%) Receive Jesus Christ as savior….....93 (60.8%) Abstinence ………....……………....59 (38.5%) Avoid contact with AIDS patients…….…………….... 29 (19.0%) Prevention Methods Identified

10. Personal perception of chance of getting HIV/AIDS

11. Reasons for not having high or moderate chance of getting HIV/AIDS No. of respondents

12. Support for condom advertisement

13. Support mandatory testing prior to marriage in the church 116 16 21

14. 88.9% of the respondents said that the church has a high responsibility to fight against AIDS Responsibility of the church towards curbing the epidemic

15. Preachers should teach about HIV/AIDS during sermons HIV/AIDS issues should be incorporated in the existing church agenda Churches should operate in the area of care and support for PLWHAs Home-based care and counseling should be a priority in the church fight against AIDS Interventions suggested by respondents

16. Conclusion The study identified aspects of HIV/AIDS which were well understood by church leaders as well as misconceptions Study results were incorporated in subsequent counseling training The counseling training was found to be an effective strategy to bring church leaders on to the front line in the battle against HIV/AIDS