"It is the first time I see such enthusiasm for HIV testing"

Jean Kabwau is the Head of the Community Section in the National Multisectoral Program against AIDS (PNMLS). The Constellation, RDCCompétence and PNMLS collaborate to spread the SALT approach in 15 cities in DR-Congo. Jean gave an interview to share his impressions.

You accompanied RDCCompétence in the field during learning events in some cities. How did it go?
Right now I'm in West Kasai in Chikapa, one of the cities most affected by HIV with a prevalence of 7.8%. We are training about fifty facilitators. Participants are enthusiastic for this time it is not a scientific or educational training. It's simple; we can even speak in dialect. We can go to the most remote communities at the grassroots level: the women selling on the market, the alumni of a college or an association of drivers. Those who participate are ordinary citizens but also members of NGOs and associations.

Has there a specific moment that touched you?
We experienced a very emotional moment in a prison in Kananga. The director, the superintendent and the prison guards have been trained as SALT facilitators. When we arrived, there were about 600 prisoners and we split into small groups of 60 to discuss about HIV. Immediately after that, 400 prisoners were lined up and they said: "Here we are! Now please let us get tested. We want to know our HIV status." AMO Congo came and did 150 tests but there were 400 people waiting and they are still waiting. We have to bring more tests from Kinshasa. It was surprising to see this high need for testing in the prison. In my career, this is the first time I see such enthusiasm for testing.

I am very confident regarding the project ‘Support to community initiatives’. We planned to reach 220 communities before the end of the year but I am confident that we will go far beyond the target.

What is your experience with local responses in DR-Congo?
I have been working in the field of AIDS over the past fifteen years. At first, the fight in DRC was completely directed towards the medical aspect. Then, the first National Strategic Plan in 2008 emphasis was on preventive action, partnership and management process of the response. The National Strategic Plan 2010-2014 emphasizes the involvement and ownership of the response by communities.

Between 2003 and 2007, I worked with Concern World Wide, an Irish NGO. We worked in Kisenso, a very remote and poor community in the city of Kinshasa. We identified women who grew vegetables. Together with these women we did an analysis of their level of HIV competence. They realized they had no knowledge about HIV and they have requested information. They then went from home to home to spread the message about HIV. Many of these women went for testing and some have even brought their spouses. Among the group, two women were HIV positive. The group decided that these two women would be exempted from work in the gardens. They have arranged vegetable gardens for women with HIV and they give them the income. They started from nothing and they have taken the situation in their own hands.

What do you think of the SALT approach?
The SALT approach operates at the heart of communities. In DRC, the response has long been conducted by formal structures such as government, business and religious denominations. Until now, communities do not yet own the response. When the intervention of these structures stops, everything stops because it is the activity of the health zone, of a particular NGO, ministry, etc. With the SALT approach, you go at the heart of communities and you discuss about HIV. The community itself evaluates and appreciates its level of competence. This community can decide its work plan and its target level. We hit the crux of the problem: the community that owns the HIV response. The SALT approach is one of the most appropriate ways to get there. Interventions can go but the community remains with its competences and it continues to implement.

Jean, how would you describe yourself?
I am a physician in public health. I am married and have seven grown-up children. I am Catholic and I do a lot of sports including walking. I like friendship and I am a very optimistic, resistant to failures. I am very open to everything that is positive.