Getting one’s goat – A novel HIV prevention strategy

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"Millions of girls -- owing to their social isolation, economic vulnerability and fragile family structures -- are at significant risk (of contracting HIV)."

This is not a radical statement, but an important one. It was made after a recent Global Health Council forum, who issued a report lamenting the inability of HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives to effectively reach rural Africa’s at-risk girls.

While many of the world’s marginalized populations are difficult to reach, few are more vulnerable than this group.

A project in Ethiopia has adopted a interesting strategy to reach these isolated youth. It engages girls by rewarding them with a goat if they consistently attend school and participate in an after-school girls' club for 18 months.

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which reportedly reached more than four million youth last year, is currently sponsoring similar projects.
(Story taken from http://www.kaisernetwork.org.)