Regional OneLove HIV Prevention Campaign - 2010 Update

From SOUL BEAT AFRICA - where communication and media are central to AFRICA's social and economic development

In this issue of The Soul Beat:

* LATEST NEWS from the Regional OneLove Campaign
* NEW - Mozambique and Namibia OneLove Campaigns
* 2010 UPDATES on OneLove Campaigns in the region
* POLL on MCP and communication campaigns

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This issue of The Soul Beat is about the OneLove Campaign, a regional HIV prevention campaign which is currently being rolled out across southern Africa. This 5-year campaign, led by a range of HIV/AIDS non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and their partners, aims to, amongst other things, reduce the prevalence of multiple concurrent partnerships (MCP), which have been identified as one of the main drivers of HIV infection in the region. The countries involved in this campaign are Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

This newsletter seeks to update you on the most recent activities of the OneLove campaign in the region. It also features the latest campaign materials as well as some evaluation results from the South Africa OneLove campaign.

Click here to view the previous Soul Beat newsletter on the Onelove Campaign from October 2009.

Click here to view the first Soul Beat newsletter on the regional Onelove Campaign from March 2009 (which also offers more background information).

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To subscribe to The Soul Beat, click here or send an email to soulbeat@comminit.com with a subject of "subscribe".

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SOUL BEAT HIV/AIDS THEME SITE

The Soul Beat Africa HIV/AIDS theme site provides a specific focus on information related to HIV/AIDS on the Soul Beat Africa site. The theme site also has a special focus area on MCP in order to support the work of initiatives such as the OneLove Campaign. Click here to view the theme site.

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REGIONAL ONELOVE CAMPAIGN - OVERVIEW

While each country is implementing their own campaigns based on the local context of the country, there are some initiatives that are being carried out on a regional level.

1. OneLove Partners with The Champions
The Champions for an HIV Free Generation have become a partner on the regional OneLove campaign. The Champions, an organisation formed to provide positive, more visionary, and outspoken leadership on HIV and AIDS, is lead by Mr. Festus G. Mogae, the former President of Botswana, and includes other champions such as former African presidents, a Nobel Laureate, and other high-level African leaders.
Click here for more information on The Champions.

2. Love - Stories in a Time of HIV/AIDS - Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
"Love - Stories in a Time of HIV/AIDS" is a series of ten half hour films produced by the 10 countries involved in the OneLove campaign in Southern Africa. The films explore the many facets of love in the context of HIV/AIDS and aim to create awareness about the effects of MCP, as well as to encourage youth to take responsibility for their lives and their actions.
Click here for more information.

3. Untold: Stories in a Time of HIV & AIDS - Audience Reception and Capacity Building Report
The above-mentioned Love Stories series is based on the success of the "Untold: Stories in a Time of HIV & AIDS" series, which was produced by the Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication regional partners (now partners on the OneLove campaign) and was broadcast across the region in 2008. This report, published by Soul City in November 2009, presents a summary of an audience reception study conducted to assess the impact of the series of films. The report also provides an overview of the capacity building programme which was part of the series production.

NEWLY FEATURED ONELOVE CAMPAIGNS

NAMIBIA

4. OneLove Campaign Namibia
The OneLove campaign in Namibia, implemented by Desert Soul Health and Development Communication, seeks to prevent HIV infection by encouraging the reduction of sexual partners amongst the general population, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups such as young women, youth, and mobile populations. The campaign has been actively implemented since September 2009, but was officially launched in April 2010 with the launch of a booklet and the locally produced short film that forms part of the Love Stories series. The OneLove campaign in Namibia seeks to highlight the HIV risks associated with having MCP and explores the complicated dynamics of gender, culture, and migration in relation to HIV risk. Besides film and print, campaign activities also include a radio drama, billboards, public service announcements (PSAs), and media advocacy.
Click here for more information.

5. OneLove: Life And Love With One Partner
Published by Desert Soul as part of the OneLove campaign in Nambia, this booklet seeks to help readers understand why loving relationships with one person are important when it comes to preventing HIV infections. The main aim of the book is to help readers think and talk about their relationships.

MOZAMBIQUE

6. "Amores a mais é demais! Yuuh! Não vale a pena!" Campaign
In November 2009, N’weti Communication for Health launched this campaign which translated from Portuguese means that it's not worth having many sexual partners. The campaign in Mozambique intends to raise debate around social and culture norms which perpetuate and encourage MCP. It uses radio and television debates and talk shows, PSAs, billboards, banners, print materials, and community mobilisation. It also involves advocacy to place MCP as a priority in HIV policies and programmes in the country. While the campaign operates under a different name, it is implemented through N'weti in partnership with the OneLove regional campaign.
Click here for more information.

UPDATE ON OTHER ONELOVE CAMPAIGNS IN THE REGION

The following are updates of campaigns previously featured in The Soul Beat e-newsletters. They are listed with the longest running campaigns first, highlighting the latest activities in 2010.

TANZANIA

7. OneLove Tanzania
Launched in October 2008 by Femina Health Information Project (HIP), the OneLove campaign in Tanzania focuses on the need for couple communication and involves special focus segments in the Fema TV Talk Show and in magazines, as well as billboards, road shows, and radio spots. As part of the Tanzanian broadcast of the "Love - Stories in a Time of HIV and AIDS" series (see item #2 of this Soul Beat), each broadcast of the 10 films was introduced and concluded with the Fema TV Talk Show OneLove vignette characters, Bwana Ishi and Tuli, in order to tie the films in with the campaign and to bring out the messaging after each broadcast. The Tanzania campaign has also been integrating OneLove MCP messages into an existing radio soap called Pilika Pilika. In 2010, a second MCP related storyline was introduced into the Pilika Pilika series which deals with the issues of cross generational and transactional sex between a young man and an older woman.
Click here for more information.

SOUTH AFRICA

8. OneLove South Africa
Launched in January 2009, the South African OneLove campaign uses mass media, which includes the Soul City television drama series, a radio drama, print materials, and social mobilisation and advocacy. As part of its more recent social mobilisation activities in 2010, the OneLove campaign is offering a train-the-trainer programme that culminates in community dialogues that encourage discussion around HIV and MCP. The programme involves training master trainers who in turn train community workers, who then roll out community dialogues in their communities. The trainees are given OneLove toolkits, which include OneLove booklets, t-shirts, DVDs of the Soul City series 9, posters, and OneLove merchandise. Soul City is working with 18 partner organisations nationally to implement community dialogues through the train the trainer programme. Overall, the focus of the OneLove campaign in South Africa in 2010 has been on establishing partnerships with governments and organisations to roll out the OneLove campaign in all provinces and districts in South Africa. In these partnerships, Soul City provides training, OneLove materials, and skills support to partners who want to run OneLove activities in their communities.
Click here for more information.

9. OneLove South Africa Interim Evaluation - Fact Sheet
Published by Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication in June 2010, this factsheet offers some key statistics, observations, and insights drawn from a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the OneLove campaign in South Africa. In terms of reach, OneLove multimedia, which is comprised of Soul City 9 television and radio, and booklets, reached 61% of the South African population. According to the research, the campaign sparked debate amongst youth and parents as well as couples in sexual relationships, and was responsible for a 6% (1,644,600 people) increase in knowledge around partner reduction or faithfulness to one partner.

LESOTHO

10. OneLove Lesotho
Launched in January 2009, the OneLove campaign in Lesotho includes a radio and a television talk show, PSAs, a radio drama, and booklets and billboards. In conjunction with the broadcast of the "Love Stories in a Time of HIV and AIDS" series from March to May 2010, the campaign ran a 15-minute radio talk show programme. A summary of the film shown the previous week would be given in the first 8 minutes, followed by listener call-ins with questions and comments. At the end of the programme, a competition question was asked and the winners of the previous week's competition announced. The "Meet Joe" booklet, which is being used across most OneLove campaigns in the region, was distributed in collaboration with two migrant worker recruiting agencies. Events were held in three districts where migrant workers could view the "Meet Joe" DVD, participate in educational talks, and receive copies of the booklets. The "Meet Joe" PSA is also being broadcast on national television.
Click here for more information.

11. Men, Women and HIV and AIDS - Booklet
Published by Phela Health and Development Communication, this booklet has been re-released as part of the OneLove campaign in Lesotho. The book is intended for use by both men and women, parents, teachers, and health and community workers. It seeks to increase understanding of how gender issues are linked to the spread of HIV and AIDS, tackling issues such as gender roles, relationships, violence against women, and culture.

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ONELOVE CAMPAIGN WEBSITE

Click here for the Onelove Campaign website which offers up-to-date information on each country campaign and related activities and products. The website also offers quizzes, interviews, articles, blogs, and photos related to OneLove and MCP.

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SWAZILAND

12. OneLove Swaziland
Launched in March 2009, the campaign's mass media has made use of role models as a strategy to influence people's behaviour. In March and April 2010 as part of their social mobilisation activities, Lusweti, in collaboration with Khulisa Umtfwana, carried out community dialogues. The campaign reached 2,320 people and 184 community leaders in communities in the four regions of the country. The objective of the dialogues thus far has been to establish community knowledge and understanding of MCP as well as establish their concerns on the issue of MCP. Upon completion of the first phase, two more rounds of dialogues will be carried out in the same communities, where communities will be expected to interrogate the concerns raised in the first phase, and map out plans on how to address these concerns and ultimately reduce the practice of MCP in their communities. In March 2010, Lusweti also started broadcasting a 45 episode radio drama series called "Kuncono Munye", which seeks to highlight the dangers of MCP, looking at how practices like transactional sex and intergenerational sex increase risk to HIV infection. The "Love Stories in a Time of HIV and AIDS" film series and the "Love Sex and You" booklet were launched in April 2010.
Click here for more information.

ZIMBABWE

13. OneLove Zimbabwe
Launched in June 2009, the OneLove Zimbabwe campaign consists of print, radio, and television components which are produced by different implementing partners of the campaign. In April and May 2010, Action Institute for Environment, Health and Development Communication (IEHDC) distributed the "You Haven’t Met Joe" booklet at border towns, and in mining and farming areas in Zimbabwe. The booklet was produced as part of the regional OneLove Campaign and is being distributed across Southern Africa. Action IEHDC is currently producing a radio drama entitled "Yellow Dust". The drama is set in a mining area called Yellow Dust and centres around a couple who own a mining company. The drama looks at issues of intergenerational sex, transactional sex, unprotected sex, sexual dissatisfaction within relationships, deceptions, and how all this is contributing the spread of HIV.
Click here for more information.

ZAMBIA

14. OneLove. Kwazila!
Launched in June 2009, the OneLove. Kwasila! campaign in Zambia consists of a television mini drama series called Club Risky Business and other multimedia elements involving radio, television talk shows, a feature-length film, print materials, a website, and bus campaigns. In March 2010, the campaign started broadcasting a 26-part radio drama series in English and Bemba on national and community radio stations. The drama series explored the issues of love, lies, peer pressure, and sexual networks in the time of HIV and AIDS with the aim of reducing MCP. The radio series incorporated an MCP SMS radio quiz competition where winners could win mobile phones and T-shirts, caps, and pens branded with OneLove messages. The campaign launched it's social mobilisation activities, which involved consulting the traditional leadership in both Solwezi and Chongwe districts prior to involving broader stakeholders in the mobilisation process. The second phase involved the engagement of district and community stakeholders through community dialogues around issues of HIV in general and MCP in particular.
Click here for more information.

15. You and Your Relationship Booklet
Published in October 2009 for the OneLove Kwasila! campaign in Zambia, this booklet seeks to reduce HIV transmission by discouraging MCP and encouraging partner communication. The booklet seeks to get people talking openly about love and sex and gives tips on how to build healthy relationships that are fulfilling.

MALAWI

16. OneLove Malawi
Since its launch in October 2009, the Malawi campaign has developed a six-track collection of songs by various artists featuring lyrics about OneLove and issues related to MCP. The campaign is also working with 72 out-of-school youth clubs to address MCP through awareness raising activities, skills building in efficacy and decision making, and by promoting gender equality. For broadcast in the second half of 2010, a second radio drama is being developed that will also focus on building strong sexual relationships - highlighting how such relationships can prevent people from infecting and getting infected with HIV. In addition, the OneLove Malawi campaign is developing a radio and television talk show that will aim to both raise awareness about MCP and help people to make healthy choices in the context of HIV.
Click here for more information.

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PLEASE VOTE IN THE NEW SOUL BEAT HIV/AIDS POLL

In Southern Africa, HIV prevention communication campaigns, messages, and activities that focus on multiple concurrent partnerships are: (you can choose more than one option)

Options:
- very visible
- not very visible
- well coordinated
- not well coordinated
- reaching the correct age group
- not reaching the correct age group
- concentrated in urban areas
- concentrated in rural areas
- well balanced in relation rural/urban
- focused too much on mass media
- focused too much on interpersonal communication
- well balanced in relation to communication strategy

Click here and see the top right side of the page to vote and send comments.

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To view more HIV and AIDS related previous issues of The Soul Beat newsletter see:

The Soul Beat Issue 153 - Children and HIV/AIDS

The Soul Beat Issue 142: Communication and HIV/AIDS

The Soul Beat 119 - HIV Prevention - Multiple Concurrent Partnerships (MCP)

The Soul Beat 112 - Materials - HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health, and Lifeskills

The Soul Beat 94 - HIV/AIDS Communication

Click here to view all archived editions of The Soul Beat Newsletter.