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Developments in the use of the mass media at the national level for HIV/AIDS prevention in South Africa

Do mass media campaigns in South Africa help to prevent HIV/AIDS?

Authors: Coulson, N.
Publisher: Communication Initiative

Full text of document

This paper describes and analyses three major programmes that utilise the South African national mass media platform for HIV/AIDS prevention. These are the Beyond Awareness II campaign, the multimedia edutainment programme Soul City and the youth programme loveLife.

The author states that access to radio and television in South Africa is high and therefore has great potential to reach the country's population with important messages about health. This review examines three areas for mass media work

  • conceptualisation and strategy
  • the research and development phase
  • evaluation, impact and cost effectiveness of mass media work for HIV/AIDS prevention

The paper analyses the programmes mentioned above in the context of these areas. International developments in this field mean that there are now models of best practice to help ensure the appropriate application of health promotion and communication theory to this field.

Overall, the author finds that there are strengths and weaknesses in the application of theory and research in South African campaigns. A number of recommendations are made to help programmes

  • improve the sharing of expertise across programmes
  • develop best practice in new areas beyond prevention, namely human rights, stigma and care and support
  • a review be commissioned to establish what is happening in rural and very poor communities to ensure that they do not remain behind in prevention indices and to identify media gaps.

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