TV and radio shows on Aids 'have profound effect' Thomas Hartleb |
Johannesburg, South Africa 06 November 2006 03:58 A survey has revealed
that 14 television and radio programmes and four print media campaigns
to raise Aids awareness have had a "very profound" effect on people's
attitude and behaviour. "The survey shows that communication programmes
have made a significant impact on key areas such as increasing condom
use and HIV testing," Dr Warren Parker, executive director of the youth
drama series Tsha Tsha, said on Monday. Half of those who have been
tested for HIV/Aids in South Africa were tested in the past year. This,
Parker said "with great confidence", was largely due to programmes and
print campaigns. He noted that it was "somewhat cynical" of e.tv to air
wrestling at the same time as the South African Broadcasting
Corporation's (SABC) Tsha Tsha and potentially draw viewers away from
an educational programme. Tsha Tsha was found to have had "significant
impacts" on condom use, HIV discussion and testing and helping people
with HIV/Aids. It had been seen by 14-million people at one time or
another. Soul City reached 70% of the population and had significantly
affected stigma reduction. Condom use increased from 34% among those
not reached by any of the programmes to 60% among those exposed to 10
or more programmes, said Dr Lawrence Kincaid, associate scientist in
the department of health at Johns Hopkins University in the United
States. He said the TV and radio programmes create an environment that
allows communities to discuss Aids. Dr Sue Goldstein, who works on Soul
City, said the lack of a common message and the "large confusion"
created by the South African government since 2000 over whether HIV
caused Aids have ensured the country's Aids death toll is still largely
unchanged. She cited Uganda as an example where "a national response"
has made inroads into combating the spread of the disease. Goldstein
said white people are "particularly under-accessed" by the programmes.
This, she said, is partly due to the SABC's requirement that 80% of
programming be in indigenous languages. Dr Saul Johnson said that
deciding to focus more on black people was partly an "economic
decision" due to budget constraints. It was also due to the fact that
HIV prevalence is much worse in this section of the population. "We
should be spending a lot more money [on Aids-awareness programmes]," he
added. While he predicts a drop in HIV-prevalence rates due to the
impact of media programmes, he said the effects of behaviour change
will take five to 10 years to work their way through the population. He
said more research is needed to increase the sophistication of the
messages the public is sent. He said fear-based messages do not work,
and the ABC -- abstinence, be faithful and condomise -- message is not
enough. "There are a lot of underlying factors about why you can't do
these [ABC] things. You have to start digging down." Johnson is
currently research manager for the consortium managing Khomanani -- the
South African government's Aids mass-media campaign. The survey was
conducted by the Johns Hopkins University, Health Development Africa,
the Centre for Aids Development, Research and Evaluation, and the Soul
City Institute. It questioned more than 8 000 people across South
Africa between the ages of 15 and 65. The survey looked at, among
others, the effect of the SABC's Tsha Tsha, Soul City, Takalani Sesame,
the government's Khomanani programme and the loveLife campaign. -- Sapa