Research Proposal printable pdf download

Research Proposal

To:

From: Gabriel Ziyambi, Director, African Fathers Initiative

Date: 18 April 2011

Subject: Research proposal

Proposed Research Topic: Fathers’ efforts to secure the future of their children in the

context of multiple stresses involving HIV and AIDS

Research question

What are some of the present barriers to and successful determinants of fathers

involvement and support for women and children living with and exposed to HIV & AIDS

in Zimbabwe?

Purpose:

Global research around the value of involved fathers care for their children and supporting

mothers against the background of HIV and AIDS is growing. Studies in other parts of Africa

are gradually being carried out on male engagement themes including fatherhood yet in

Zimbabwe there has been no available research done so far.

Our proposal will make a start on this and may be strategic in provoking other research into this

area of mainstreaming gendered analysis and approaches.

Apart from anecdotal information and reports we don’t know if and how fathers support can

positively affect the family care environment in dealing with HIV and AIDS, in particular for

supporting women and children in Zimbabwe, for the better. We need to build up a local

evidence base, including widely accepted indicators and MOVs that gives us the ability to make

informed decisions about, proceed with and garner support for male engagement actions and

interventions to be mainstreamed that may positively determine programming that can make a

key difference in reducing the negative impact of HIV and AIDS on women and children in

families and communities.

We hope to enrich the research on fatherhood efforts and impacts in one community , Chiredzi

District and bring forward some of the factors that are involved in positive father support for

women and children within families and communities for further examination and analysis.

We have chosen Chiredzi District because of our previous involvement with communities there,

our institutional linkages with organisations such as Families Aids Counselling Trust (FACT),

African Network for the Prevention and Protection of Children Against Abuse and Neglect

(ANPPCAN) and not least the District Management Administrator and his Team who have

participated in our District Management Team briefing programme on Fatherhood and Families.

Research Proposal