Dialogue on Shelter Presentation Health & Housing Workshop September 2014

Dialogue on Shelter - Background DoS is a registered trust that was set up in DoS works on urban poverty issues targeting low-income neighbourhoods and using security of tenure/housing as the entry point. DoS works in partnership with a CBO - Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation whose membership is 80% women. DoS’s thematic areas include; land, housing, health, enumerations, exchanges, capacity-building, savings and income generation activities. To date, DoS works in 52 local authority areas, with households that are constituted into 682 housing savings schemes.

HIV & AIDS Context A majority of the membership are women who constitute the hardest hit demography due to feminization of HIV/AIDS. To date, 8578 individuals have gone through the VCT programme and of these 3713 are receiving treatment across the country’s treatment centres. Feminization of poverty also means that the bulk of the target constituency is vulnerable and hence less equipped to deal with impacts of HIV/AIDS. Security of tenure challenges compounds impacts of HIV/AIDS as infected/affected families are stigmatized and sometimes thrown out of rental accommodation. In the context of these challenges, DoS and ZIHOPFE has rolled out a number of community-led interventions anchored and centred around the housing savings groups.

DoS Interventions DoS promotes the establishment of housing savings groups and these are used as instruments for social organizing by the urban poor. Housing savings groups also act as support groups that create socioeconomic safety nets - Harare Health Fund Savings groups are also used as vehicles for income generation activities, access to business trainings and learning platforms through exchanges households have accessed loans amounting to US$124, since Established community clinics and mobile clinics providing affordable health services to the urban poor - Crowborough North Clinic. Promoting the establishment of nutritional and herbal gardens in places like Crowborough North, Gwanda and Kariba Establishing linkages with other treatment institutions such as Newlands Clinic, River of Life and Eden (Mhangura).

DoS Interventions Harvesting of herbs at Crowborough North Clinic Processed herbs being showcased at the Harare Exhibition

DoS Interventions (Contd) Housing construction and secure land tenure are used as a cross-cutting strategies to address HIV/AIDS-related issues through providing spaces for micro-business enterprises, nutritional gardens and home visits by the mobile clinics.

DoS Interventions (Contd) Alternative WASH options are used to provide affordable and accessible water and sanitation services through the construction of ecological sanitation toilets (Ecosan Toilets) and installation of boreholes and this reduces incidences of opportunistic infections and other water-borne diseases.

DoS Interventions (Contd) Community-led enumerations that put urban poor communities at the centre of data collection and enable them to identify challenges, define solutions and thereby determine the development agenda for cities. In the case of HIV/AIDS issues, these household surveys help to establish the numbers/statistics that highlight the magnitude of the crisis as well as creating scope for safe dialogue spaces.

DoS Interventions (Contd) The partnership of DoS and ZIHOPFE has rolled out women empowerment initiatives eg. through the Property and Inheritance Rights Programme supported by UNWOMEN. The critical role of women in the housing savings group also ensure that women are at the centre of accessing land, housing and income generation loans which in turn strengthen their position in the household and community. The alliance of DoS and ZIHOPFE have also been supporting youths who undertake various activities which include sports, drama, capacity-building. HIV/AIDS awareness and VCT programmes are coincided with sports galas. The alliance is also actively involved in policy uploading initiatives eg. contributions towards Public Health Act, 2013 Revised National Housing Policy and City of Harare’s review of regulatory framework for housing development. Linkages other like-minded institutions - UNHabitat, Ministry of Health, ZAN, NAC, etc.

Challenges and Way Forward Income generating activities have been affected by the macroeconomic situation leading to either low repayments or collapsing of some business ventures. Macroeconomic situation has also impacted negatively on the housing development in terms of high construction costs Most of the initiatives have been done on a pilot level hence there is need for upscaling these interventions. There is need to consolidate the gains of pilots through policy uploading Localized health contributions give communities more control and can be disbursed expeditiously Housing savings groups create a very strong social safety nets that act as support groups Stigma and lack of research around the efficacy of herbal therapy as an alternative treatment option

Thank You!!