GABON, April 18, 2007 — Senior government ministers have welcomed a proposal by the Bible Society of Gabon to launch the Good Samaritan program in order to help tackle the country’s escalating HIV/AIDS problem. The Society put forward the proposal last month following a call by Gabon’s Vice President, Didjob Divungi Di Ndinge, for NGOs, civic groups and government agencies to “intensify the national response” to the crisis.
Recent figures published by Gabon’s Ministry of Public Health and Population indicate that there are eight new cases of HIV infection per day. It is estimated that in the main cities of Libreville and Port Gentil, where two thirds of the country’s 1.2 million people live, the infection rate is between seven and nine per cent.
Mr Ndinge and Mrs Denise Mekam’Ne, who leads the government’s recently established Ministry of AIDS Control and AIDS Orphans, responded enthusiastically to a presentation about the Good Samaritan program. The presentation took place during a meeting of REGOSIDA – an association of civic groups dedicated to HIV/AIDS prevention. Many of REGOSIDA’s members, as well as churches and church organisations, will be key partners in the implementation of the Good Samaritan program.
“With the HIV/AIDS infection rate continuing to rise, something needs to be done to help people avoid contracting the virus, and this means encouraging them to change their behaviour,” explains Bible Society General Secretary Georges Thierry Mabiala.
“Through the Good Samaritan program we can offer two resources to help achieve this: Where is the Good Samaritan Today? – a multimedia package for use by churches and NGOs in a variety of contexts; and Take Charge – another multimedia package specifically targeted at helping young people to make the right choices. This material is ideal for schools, youth clubs and universities.
“Research has shown that there is a big difference in what people know and what they do. So the idea that providing information will automatically lead to behaviour change is flawed. The approach of the Good Samaritan program is different: it presents learners, in a non-confrontational way, with their responsibilities as individuals and members of a community and guides them through a change process that is long-lasting.”
The Bible Society plans to take a four-step approach to implementing the program: promoting it among church leaders, training people how to use the packages effectively in HIV/AIDS education projects, helping the Bible Society’s partners to run their own HIV/AIDS workshops, and evaluating the effectiveness of the program.
“As we develop this project, we will be working alongside the government’s strategic plan for 20072012,” says Mr Mabiala. “This approach takes into account factors that exacerbate the country’s HIV/AIDS crisis, such as poverty, ignorance, harmful cultural practices, gender inequality, violence and the exploitation of vulnerable groups in society. Through this program we aim to change people’s behaviour, open people’s minds, put an end to discrimination and stigmatisation, and to help churches and religious communities to engage more fully in social issues.”
Gabon will be the 15th country in Africa to launch the Good Samaritan program. The other countries already participating are Uganda, Cameroon, Togo, Burundi, Rwanda, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Namibia, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Swaziland, the Sahel Project (Mali, Senegal and Guinea Conakry), Sierra Leone and Tanzania.
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