Engaging Men at the Community Level [Manual]

This interactive manual offers master trainers approaches for working with community-based health outreach workers, and offers gender activists a means to mobilize community members to take action related to HIV, AIDS and gender. Following a brief section defining male gender norms’ linkage to negative health outcomes, the manual offers numerous strategies for community engagement for change, such as conducting a needs assessment, conducing marches and rallies, engaging theater practitioners, among others. Utilizing an ecological model linked to the formation of “community action teams” (CATs), the manual offers strategies to reach various community members for actual and sustain change specific to HIV, AIDS and men. This manual highlights the importance of linking educational activities to action. It introduces the Ecological Model. This tool, often used during action-planning in workshops, allows the participants to take the knowledge and skills gained in the workshop and put them into action for social change. At the end of every activity, participants can make a record of their suggestions for addressing the issues they have raised.

The manual is intended to help participants develop activities at a community level to create a supportive environment for work related to male engagement and HIV and AIDS. In addition, Chapter 3 of the manual focuses on mobilizing community members to engage men against HIV. The activities are intended for use with program staff from different organizations interested in working on male engagement and HIV. All of the activities in the manual can be used with groups of men and women.

Last modified: July 23, 2021

Language: English