Alcohol Abuse Counseling Program Funded by ROADS

FEBRUARY 2009 — On a warm February afternoon, Aggrey Abeli, a 36-year-old father of three, walks onto the compound of Busia Parish Catholic Church in Kenya. He and 14 other community members arrange plastic chairs in a circle in an area shaded from the bright sun. They take turns introducing themselves. When it's his turn, Abeli stands. "My name is Aggrey," he says. "I'm an alcoholic."

The Busia Alcohol Counseling Program was launched in January 2007 by a "cluster" of PLHIV groups supported by ROADS, with funding from USAID/Kenya and USAID/East Africa. The cluster comprises 20 groups that jointly plan and implement activities that respond to self-identified group needs. One such need was to assist members who were not adhering to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs due to heavy drinking, a common issue in the community.

"Two years back we recognized an alcohol dependence problem among our members," says Joseph Ochieno, coordinator of the counseling program. "We asked ourselves how we could help." Ochieno is trained in substance abuse programming and identified 15 cluster members who had the potential to become counselors. With support from ROADS, Ochieno trained them to lead nondenominational support meetings based on the Alcoholics Anonymous model developed in the United States.

The counseling groups are linked closely with clinical HIV services through cross-referral. Since its founding three years ago, the program has grown to include 106 groups comprising more than 1,000 men, women and youth. In addition to dramatically increasing adherence to ARV drugs, the groups are improving communication among families and helping members to avoid risky sexual behaviors.

The program is highly sustainable and cost-effective. The counselors are volunteers and the meeting venues are provided at no charge by faith-based organizations and schools. "The group has had a big effect on me and I'm now able to assist others in the community," says Abeli, who has become an alcohol counselor himself. "People are coping better, especially with ARVs. They're changing their lives, earning income. Their children are going to school."

PHOTO: One of more than one hundred community-based alcohol counseling groups established in Busia, Kenya, with ROADS support. (FHI/Kenya)