Studio 263

This programme uses the medium of television to share information and engage viewers. Airing 5 nights per week, Studio 263 (whose title refers to the international calling code for Zimbabwe) tackles issues of love, relationships, family matters, and HIV/AIDS. The show also brings to light issues related to discordant couples, where one partner is HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative, and highlights how well-trained counsellors at New Start centres assist couples in managing this situation.

By creating what are intended to be interesting and familiar characters, organisers hope to entertain audiences while increasing their awareness. The characters and plots in Studio 263 reflect real-life situations that Zimbabwean youth face every day, such as choosing to abstain from sex or learning one's HIV status. Viewers follow characters as they confront and react to situations that have implications for their reproductive health; they also "experience" the negative and positive outcomes along with the characters. For example, to illustrate that “Disclosure of one's status is an important element in fighting stigma for an HIV-positive person. Individuals can live positively with HIV...", Studio 263 character Tendayi seeks support from her family and friends as she wants to disclose her status publicly to support other HIV-positive people and to share how to live positively. The hope is that exposure to this type of fictional scenario will occur before these experiences/outcomes affect viewers in real life.

Organisers draw on the power of celebrity to effect change for some of the community offshoots of this TV programme. For example, as part of Studio 263's 2-year anniversary celebration (in 2004), the cast and crew of Studio 263 participated in a month of outreach that included hospital, orphanage, and hospice visits. This campaign concluded with a visit to PSI's New Start centre, where the actors chose to learn their HIV status through an HIV counselling and testing (VCT) process. According to PSI, many of the actors are popular with Zimbabweans and have become role models for youth.

HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health, Family Planning, Youth.

Zimbabwe's New Start centres averted over 1000 primary HIV/AIDS infections in the first 10 months of 2004.