Capacity building and training activities form an integral part of providing and developing competencies and skills of the INERELA+ Country Networks members. To push this mandate forward, INERELA+ Madagascar conducted a three (3) days SAVE training workshop from the 7th to the 9th of August 2023 at Isoavina Ambanistene in Madagascar. The Training was attended by 15 Religious Leaders, 7 males, and 8 females from all the regions of Madagascar’s capital city, Antananarivo. The training was facilitated by INERELA+ Madagascar Country Coordinator, Pastor Vololona Randriamanantena, and Pastor Randrialiva Seheno.
The training focused on the Stigma, Shame, Denial, Discrimination, Inaction, and Misaction (SSDDIM) and was followed by more in-depth modules on some aspects of SSDDIM. Pastor Vololona Randriamanantena stated that SSDDIM remains a massive challenge in some parts of the country and it affects the uptake of services associated with HIV and gets in the way of PLHIV living a healthy productive life. The aim of the workshop was to empower Religious Leaders with accurate information about HIV to enable them to challenge the stigma and discrimination that can make the lives of people with HIV so difficult. All 15 participants at the workshop committed themselves to training women and men in their respective communities and also committed to include SSDDIM in their sermons and in their discussions and outreach activities within faith communities.