HIV
and AIDS - Enhancing HIV/AIDS Communication in sub-Saharan Africa
Overview
In December 2005, The UNAIDS Global Summary of the AIDS Epidemic reported that there are currently over 40 million people living with HIV worldwide, and over 3 million deaths as a result of AIDS.
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the hardest hit with almost 26 million people living with HIV. Moreover, nearly 77 per cent of all women living with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, as the disease affects an increasing number of women.
In much of sub-Saharan Africa, knowledge about HIV transmission routes is still low. Generally, women are less well informed about HIV than are men. According to the UNAIDS Global Summary, this is also true of rural areas compared with those living in cities and towns. The unprecedented HIV and AIDS epidemic is having a serious impact on people's quality of life, on community resources and on economic productivity. There is a need for greater sharing and communication of experience and lessons learned between countries and regions, which are severely affected by the epidemic.
Areas that need attention in this regard include:
- Increasing the communications skills of those organisations and individuals actively involved in the response to the epidemic;
- Using information and experience from grass roots practice to influence policy at national, regional and global level;
- Harnessing the untapped communications potential of electronic media;
- Increasing the capacity to monitor and evaluate the impact of communications activities;
- Increasing linkages between individuals and organisations active in the field.
It was to address these areas that Healthlink Worldwide and four partner’s developed and implemented the Enhancing HIV/AIDS Communication in Sub-Saharan Africa project. Funding for the three-year project came from the ICCO, HIVOS and Misereor. The four partners were:
- Southern African AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS)
- Family AIDS Caring Trust (FACT)
- Zimbabwe, Kenya AIDS NGO Consortium (KANCO)
- Hiwot HIV/AIDS Prevention Care and Support Organisation (HAPCSO), Ethiopia
The project aimed to develop strong and effective partnerships in order to improve capacity to communicate effectively about HIV and AIDS by supporting efforts of local HIV and AIDS organisations.
The project included number of focused training workshops and skills exchanges between partners. Workshop themes included resource centre management, development of health learning materials (using Quest participatory communication methodology, see below), child-centred approaches to HIV and AIDS, and communication for advocacy, and monitoring and evaluation.
The partners and Healthlink Worldwide took a flexible approach to the
project. As a result the project was able to support a number of innovative
activities, including FACT’s piloting of the ‘Stepping Stones’ approach
with disabled people in Zimbabwe, and the combining of a ‘Communicating
for Advocacy (CFA)’ workshop in Ethiopia, based on the CFA projects
participatory methodology.
More on the Ethiopia CFA workshop (CFA project)
Quest communication workshop
The Family AIDS Caring Trust (FACT), ran a Quest communication workshop
in partnership with Healthlink Worldwide to develop information materials
about HIV and AIDS. The participants planned to produce a poster campaign
aimed at local young people.
The workshop participants discussed their planned poster with student
teachers at a local college. The students said that they had enough
information about how HIV and AIDS is transmitted and prevented. Their
problem was that they could not always act on their knowledge because
of poverty. For example, “sugar
daddies” often visit the campus and offer a desperately needed source
of income in return for sex. Another problem was that the students found it
difficult to discuss issues around HIV and AIDS and sexual health with their
parents.
By listening to this information and reflecting on other information gathered
through following the stages in the Quest process, workshop participants
realised that in order to improve the lives of young people they needed to
target not young people directly but people in a position to help and support
them, that is parents, teachers and leaders.
Working through the Quest process resulted in significant changes. What
started as a plan to produce a simple poster about HIV and AIDS, developed
into an advocacy campaign aimed at improving the health and well-being of young
people.
A number of publications were also produced as part of the project including the briefing paper ‘Combat AIDS: HIV and the World’s Armed Forces’, which was produced and distributed in partnership by Healthlink and Panos. At the time of the project the international edition of AIDS Action came to an end. A CD-ROM and website of all the issues and other publications was produced. It is still a popular resource today.
Download the Combat AIDS briefing paper (PDF 52 pages, 1.25 MB)