HIV/AIDS in a post-MDG World?
To: The HIV/AIDS Network within The Communication Initiative
How should HIV/AIDS be positioned in a post MDG world?
I was just at a very interesting dialogue (one of many I understand!) on the theme of what should follow the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) after 2015, which is of course the end point for the MDGs. Later this year the UN Member States will make the decision. For now the consultations continue.
How would you complete this sentence?
In the United Nations document that follows on from the Millennium Development Goals, HIV/AIDS should feature in the following ways …
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Hello Waren, Many thanks foe
Hania Bitar from Palestine
Hania Bitar from Palestine responds to the question: How Should HIV/AIDS be positioned from 2015 after the Millennium Development Goals are completed?
1. Awareness raising on HIV/AIDS is still very slow and minimal in many places around the world specially the Middle East. I would recommend including educational material at the school and university levels in addition border exit points.
Many thanks
Below Jafar Danesi in Nigeria
Below Jafar Danesi in Nigeria shares his view on the HIV/AIDS in a post-MDG World? theme.
Dear All,
I quite disagree with most of the comments that there is still low level of awareness. We conducted a study on HIV/AIDS Awareness and Sexual Behaviour Among the Nigerian Youths and the result of that study revealed about 92 percent awareness but very low level of usage of prevention during sex which was about 22 percent and high percent of the respondents (about 75 percent) keeping multiple sex partners.
I think what we need now is attitudinal and behavioural change education and not just awareness creation that is currently the focus of most of the intervention programmes especially in Nigeria and other African countries. We need to refocus on educating the people especially in rural and urban poor communities in Africa that are already aware about HIV and whose level of awareness does not reflect in their sexual behaviour.
I also want to point to the fact that very high level of poverty, unemployment and survival instinct is becoming more acute and driving young people to do anything (including unprotected sex, prostitution, armed robbery etc) to survive the harsh socioeconomic conditions in their environment. So, HIV education as it is currently in Nigeria and other developing countries need to integrate livelihood policy and education in order to become effective.
Thank you.
Jafar Danesi
Executive Director
Policy Research
Lagos, Nigeria
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Thomas Ofem in Malawi adds
Thomas Ofem in Malawi adds his assessment of what is needed related to the HIV/AIDS in a post-MDG World? http://networks.comminit.com/hivaidscommunication/node/183908 theme:
To: The HIV/AIDS Network
To: The HIV/AIDS Network within The Communication Initiative
Dan Rutz supports Thomas's view on the HIV/AIDS in a post-MDG World question
Thomas is a wise man; we need to listen to him. Part of this horizontal engagement must include empathizing with those whose behaviors we seek to influence, so our appeals can address their values and aspirations. Effecting social change involves a similar approach.
Dan Rutz CDC
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Glen Williams suggests what
Glen Williams suggests what is needed related to the HIV/AIDS in a post-MDG World? http://networks.comminit.com/hivaidscommunication/node/183908 theme:
Dear Jafar,
I agree with your suggestion that what is needed, not only in
Nigeria but also in other African countries (and elsewhere), is not
just awareness creation but attitudinal and behavioural change
education, and that efforts on this front have to deal with harsh
economic conditions which predispose many people to risky sexual
behaviour.
I wonder if you know about the information and training materials
about HIV, gender and related issues produced by the Strategies for
Hope Trust. Many of these materials, e.g. the film 'What can I do?'
and the 'Called to Care' toolkit, are designed for use by
faith-based organisations and communities but are also used by many
secular organisations. Others, e.g. the 'Stepping Stones' training
package, are designed for use by both secular and faith-based
organisations. If you are interested, we could send you evaluation
reports and sample copies of some of these materials. Some of the
'Called to Care' workbooks are also distributed by ACTS in Jos.
You might also be interested in visiting our website
(www.stratshope.org).
With warm regards,
Glen
Glen Williams
Series Editor
Strategies for Hope Trust
Oxford, U.K.
www.stratshope.org
Networks wrote:
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On Mar 27, 2014, at 8:01 PM, "Development Networks" <oa-incoming@comminit.com> wrote:
To: The HIV/AIDS Network
To: The HIV/AIDS Network within The Communication Initiative
Hania Bitar from Palestine responds to the critique of her initial post on the HIV/AIDS in a post-MDG World question
Dear Colleagues,
I am glad that my comment has intreagued so much genuine comments and action-oriented suggestions. I have to remind you however that CONTEXT plays a big role in deciding the kind of intervention needed. In the Middle East Context, which is totally different when it comes to HIV/AIDS, unfortunately denial is still a phenomenon.
If it weren't for Global or UN related agendas pushing the issue of HIV/AIDS, we would never consider it a priority and in many Middle East countries, the issue is being dealt with as a donor-driven agenda. The context of Africa is totally different and thus the measures needed has to comply with it. Despite the many interventions related to HIV/AIDS in a context like Palestine for example, statistics are not clear, death caused by AIDS is a taboo, media rarely highlight or discuss the issue and unfortunately not enough measures and policies -except an HIV/AIDS blood test before marriage-are in place to ensure prevention.
Hania Bitar
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purityngare from Kenya with
purityngare from Kenya with proposals related to: How HIV/AIDS should be positioned from 2015 after the Millennium Development Goals are completed?
Dear Warren, Dear all,
I agree with comments here that good results have been achieved in awareness, sensitization and education. And there has been commendable efforts to translate that to behavior change. Behavior change and attitude change are long and often complex processes.
I am a psychologist and I live and work in Nairobi, Kenya. In my off-the-cuff discussions and chats with friends and people, I pose the question why people are quick to swat mosquitoes and faithfully repellents and nets to avoid getting malaria BUT they do not apply the same diligence and caution in HIV prevention. Malaria is a deadly disease. Far worse stats than HIV and AIDS. But everyone knows that patients with Malaria are treated with more loving care, there are no whispers, no aspersions cast, no stigma. Besides, there is no 'sexual guilt' associated with Malaria. People are more compelled to make attitudinal changes and behavioral modifications if there is a perceived benefit or gain. Simply put - Motivation.
Future educational programs should include sessions that explore what an individual personally and collectively gains by staying negative, or using positive prevention. HIV and AIDS service organizations need to understand that their target community members are at different awareness stages and states. And design specific and targeted interventions to respond to the person in his stage and state. And I mean both HIV and AIDS awareness and Self Awareness. Let me use the Malaria analogy again.
People in Malaria endemic areas make an effort to avoid the mosquito bite. People who live in areas where Malaria is uncommon know that they MUST make efforts to avoid the mosquito bite when they go to areas with Malaria. And they make a deliberate effort to know which areas have Malaria and take prophylactics.Everyone is motivated to know the signs and symptoms, and will seek medical help when they feel ill.
We can do the same for HIV and AIDS.
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Dear warren Thanks for your
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 14:58:36 -0700
To: samirkallini@hotmail.com
From: oa-incoming@comminit.com
Subject: [HIV/AIDS Communication ] HIV/AIDS in a post-MDG World?
Below Virginia Williams joins
Below Virginia Williams joins the HIV/AIDS in a post-MDG World? theme discussion.
Very interesting and informed discussion! The statistics that Jafar mentions in Nigeria are not surprising to a social behavior change practitioner. Knowledge, or "awareness" that something is prevalent or a danger to your health or life is not a precursor for behavior change. We learned that from cigarettes and countless other public health problems. That said, what Hania has observed in Palestine and the Middle East is in fact true—there is not the awareness level or let’s say level of knowledge that there is in many African countries. In places where this is the case, an education campaign should accompany or be a precursor to a behavior change or social marketing initiative, and this includes creating media guides to arm the media with correct information and ways to report about the issue, so they can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
What purityngare mentions about the success of malaria communications initiatives likely stems from, as he says, lack of stigma, but also possibly an entirely different behavior determinant. One of the reasons HIV/AIDS prevention is so much more difficult than malaria prevention to address aside from the stigma issue, is that there are multiple behaviors attached (condom use, pre-exposure prophylaxis, HIV testing, etc.) as well as multiple behavior determinants (social norms, perceived risk, self-efficacy, etc.) Not to mention the many different regions of the world with unique target audiences (sex-workers, women, men, plus region and cultural factors) So, a one-size fits all communication plan simply won't work. The huge awareness campaigns like ONE and RED are not behavior change campaigns, rather they are fundraising tools targeted to wealthy folks, and if similar campaigns are used at the local level, they can have a perverse effect on social norms (i.e. HIV/AIDS is unstoppable and those with HIV are "victims" who need to be "saved.")
It's the initiatives like those Glenn mentions, like Stepping Stones, that use participatory, community-based interventions that have proven success with behavior and attitude change. Love Life, a campaign and community intervention program targeting youth in SA has had its share of controversy in that it’s struggled to provide a direct link between its campaign and lower HIV infection rates amongst teens, but it’s worth investigating what is working and learning from those lessons. Hombres Sanos, targeting hetero-identified Latino men who have sex with men and women in California, was able to show a direct link to its campaign and a decrease in infection rates in its target audience.
The new site health communication capacity by Johns Hopkins School of Public Health has a list of studies on the efficacy of HIV/AIDS prevention communications initiatives, they also have a sister site full of toolkits and resources for prevention: Population Services International (PSI) is also a great resource for data on the efficacy of social marketing/behavior change on HIV/AIDS prevention. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but getting back to the question of post-2015 goals, I think applying participatory, tailored community based interventions, including social marketing should be a priority, with the added caveat that funding be included for extensive formative research and evaluation of communications initiatives to determine their impact.
For links to some of these tools please use the attached document, I think you need to be an IT geek to figure out the tags to make a link work in these posts! (Warren? : ) )
Virginia A. Williams Owner/Consultant www.newviewmedia.tv Where Media Meets Mission Google Voice: 1+ 415-787-2129 Mobile: 202-297-1777 E: virginia@newviewmedia.tv Skype: newviewmedia
Connect with me: http://about.me/virginiawilliams