Zimbabwe Community Health Intervention Research (ZICHIRE)- Behavior Change (BC) director Walter Chikanya has hailed
the Brotha2 Brotha soccer tournament held over the weekend that
uses sport as a mobilization tool and key component of the program.
By Edward Makuzva
The soccer tournament was held recently in different rural
communities which are Uzumba MarambaPfungwe, Mudzi and
Marondera as pilot project.
In these pilot programmes, boys were mobilized through sport and SRH
sessions as well as Focal Group discussions through the capacitated
mentors (coaches) and over 900 youths were reached.
In an interview, Chikanya said sport is not just used for entertainment
only or scouting of talent in this programme but also young boys have
access to SRHR services and utilize referral pathways in various health
services.
He added that the country aims to “leave no one behind” and yet boys
are not being targeted and these young men are “left out” and have no
other programs specifically targeting them thus the Brotha to Brotha
soccer tourney exposes them .
“This is a mentorship program for adolescent boys and young men that
aims provide accurate and relevant Sexual Reproductive Health Rights
(SRHR) and Gender transformation information provide safe spaces,
nature sport talent and create responsible young men that contribute
towards pa Gender Based Violence free and a healthy community.
“Brotha2brotha clubs are mentorship groups for adolescent boys and
young men, who are usually left out of most health and Gender
Transformation (GT) and SRH programs. These clubs offer safe, youth
friendly and comprehensive GT and SRH information through a sport-
centered intervention”, Chikanya explained.
The ZICHIRE- BC director highlighted that, the goal of the programme is
to groom the youths into responsible men and reduce HIV, STI and GBV
incidences.
“The clubs serve as information centers for troubled young men and
offer referral pathways for Health and GBV services. Each mentor will
have a group of 25 boys who are taught sessions that cover self-
awareness, sexual awareness, social awareness and financial awareness
after a risk assessment are conducted” he said.
The outcomes from the program include male role models positively
influencing peers and community on & SRH including sexual abuse
issues.
In Zimbabwe, only 36% of young men have basic knowledge on how to
protect themselves from HIV, half of the young men in Zimbabwe do
not know their status and are less likely to start HIV treatment than
women (DHS, 2016).
An estimated 60% of youths in Zimbabwe use illicit drugs, with 66% of
them being male users yet these young men and boys are usually
marginalized from health and development focused programs which
mainly target women and girls.
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