February 2, 2009

In accordance with the GOT concerted efforts on youth HIV prevention , as a top strategic priority, T-MARC, under the sponsorship from President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), through the Global AIDS Program of the National Center for HIV, STI and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through funding opportunity number CDC-RFA-PS08-846, Grant Number 1U2GPS001147 – 01, have taken initiative to implement a project titled “Engaging Parents in Sexual Risk Prevention Efforts Targeting Youth” – Families Matter aimed to empower parents with the necessary skills to communicate with their adolescents about reproductive health and avoidance of sexual risk behaviors to enable adolescents to delay onset of sexual debut. The proposed programme, Families Matter will be implemented with two core partners: WAMA Foundation and Africare Tanzania. The Project Period is estimated to be 5 years, commencing from 09/01/2008 to 08/31/2013, with a funding of upto USD $ 2,000,000.

The overal goal of the project is to increase the ability of parents to promote abstinence and reduced sexual risk, including delayed onset of sexual debut. This goal can be achieved through Increasing the knowledge and skills of adolescents aged 9-12 years to effectively practice abstinence and to reduce sexual risk behaviors; Enhance the knowledge and skills of parents/guardians to be effective primary sexuality educators for their children through Zungumza Nae tools and skills; Create a supportive environment that increases adolescents’ self efficacy to delay sexual debut and avoid risk; and lastly, Build local human and material capacity to roll-out and scale-up the Zungumza Nae intervention.

T-MARC will be responsible for overall project management and development of the curriculum and materiasl. The two partners will be responsible for community mobilizaiton, recruiting project participants and facilitators, conducting training and eduacting communities through sub – grants to local NGO partners, recruitment of community members and assitance in implementation of trainings.

The Families Matter programme will be adapted in Mtwara and Ruvuma regions, where life planning skills activities conducted by Ministry of Education and Vocational Training – Tanzania Institue of Education (MOEVT/TIE) are under way and HIV risk is high.

The Tanzania Marketing and Communications (T-MARC) Company Ltd. is an independent Tanzanian-owned and run organization registered as a not-for-profit business in Tanzania. The Company works with Tanzanian businesses to develop or expand markets for health products for HIV/AIDS, family planning, child survival and infectious diseases; and designs and implements health communications campaigns to increase the adoption of healthy behaviors.

For more information, please contact:
Program Manager – Families Matter Project
T-MARC Company
Tel: +255 22 2700 782 / 772/4
Email: info@tmarc.or.tz