Developments in the Use of the Mass Media at the National Level for HIV/AIDS Prevention in South Africa: Conclusion

The next phase of government HIV/AIDS communication has been awarded to the AIDS Communication Team (ACT). There have been a number of strategic interventions at the national level to ensure that the expectations of this consortium meet best practice in communication andhealth promotion. The collective experience of the three programmes reviewed here does provide an informed basis from which to develop a powerful intervention. There will be a number of critical decisions facing ACT, one of which will be how best to brand government. Secondly, as a new player in this arena there is an opportunity for sharing of ideas and expertise across programmes. For example, the model for behaviour change developed by Soul City could easily be applied by loveLife to their communication strategy. This is because the first step in thismodel is improved communication which is also foundation block for the loveLife strategy ("Talkabout it").

It is the author's opinion that one of the most difficult challenges facing the next round of HIV/AIDS communication is how to utilise the mass media to directly impact on community action. As the HIV/AIDS epidemic unfolds, HIV/AIDS prevention can no longer be the only focus for mass media work. Human rights, stigma and care and support are critical areas for communication work. There is an urgent need to develop models of best practice for community action in HIV/AIDS. Many HIV/AIDS activists and communication practitioners make much of the mass mobilisation that accompanied the anti-apartheid struggle and the success of the American gay movement in combating HIV/AIDS in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, itis "pro-social" modeling developed by Soul City that is presently showing results for community action through use of the mass media in South Africa.

Lastly, the framework developed by UNAIDS for African communication campaigns is notreflected in the present documentation of the programmes reviewed here. Given the conclusionof this review and of the UNAIDS review that communication strategies need to unfold at acommunity level, this may be an appropriate moment to consider the application of the fivedomains discussed earlier in this chapter.

Recommendations

There are a number of recommendations that can be made as a result of this review. These are:

1. That the establishment of an independent national behavioural surveillance programmelinked to biological indicators is fast tracked. This will help provide a more definitive picture,help monitor the impact of HIV/AIDS prevention programmes and improve decision making.
2. That donors, government and programmes become more familiar with models of best practicein the utilisation of the mass media for public health so that research is properly appliedespecially in the development phase.
3. That greater investment is made by the public and private sector in the "pro-social" modelingdeveloped by Soul City which is showing positive results for HIV/AIDS prevention both inindividuals and at a community level.
4. That a study be commissioned to explore the possibilities for "AIDS Action" at a communitylevel to inform the use of the mass media for both government and those in civil society.
5. That a review be commissioned to establish what is happening in rural and very poorcommunities to ensure that they do not remain behind in prevention indices and to identifymedia gaps.
6. That the role of health workers in campaigns be strengthened so that their contribution toimproved interpersonal communication is maximised.
7. That a national forum be hosted to encourage exchange and learning between programmesin relation to research, application of the mass media, theoretical frameworks and impactassessment.