Monitoring and evaluation of sports as a tool in HIV/AIDS awareness programmes: Experiences of five selected Non- Governmental Organisations in South Africa

Abstract

Sport has increasingly been used as a vehicle for Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) awareness programmes, and the use of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) has become evident in the performance assessment of sport and development as well as HIV/AIDS programmes. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of selected Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in monitoring and evaluation of their sport-based HIV/AIDS awareness programmes in South Africa. A qualitative study was carried out among employees of 5 selected NGOs that integrate sport with delivering HIV/AIDS awareness programmes in South Africa. Data were collected through a review of documents, key informant interviews (N=7) and a focus group discussion (N=7). Thematic approach following a descriptive framework was used to analyse data. The findings revealed that the selected NGOs in this study focus on similar HIV prevention messages linked to the key priorities highlighted in the current National Strategic Plan for HIV, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis of South Africa. However, monitoring and evaluation of outcomes of the NGOs’ HIV/AIDS awareness programmes remain a challenge. Of the five selected NGOs, only one has proven to have substantial documents and reports on monitoring and evaluation outcomes. Lack of M&E functions, as well as outcomes indicators, are critical elements limiting NGOs in demonstrating the outcomes of these HIV/AIDS awareness programmes. Capacity building on M&E is required to support the NGOs in being able to reflect accurate information on their sport-based HIV/AIDS activities and improve the M&E of their programmes.