Engaging Local Media in VMMC Scale-Up: A Case Study from Kenya

"The media have the ability to put VMMC [voluntary medical male circumcision] on the agenda for public discussion and to keep it there. Accurate, informed reporting of HIV- and VMMC-related issues can improve policies and outcomes, stimulate action, and bring about change."

This 9-page case study discusses how media can play a positive role in promoting voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) as part of HIV prevention efforts, or can fuel fears and discourage VMMC through sensationalist, inaccurate, or negative coverage. Content analysis conducted in 2012 by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and AVAC (a global advocacy group for HIV prevention) found that Kenya's successes in VMMC roll-out were coupled with strong media coverage. This case study documents the experience of engaging with the media during VMMC rollout to Kenya's traditionally non-circumcising communities, highlighting the lessons learned, to assist other countries in their VMMC scale-up efforts.

The case study notes that "early and ongoing engagement of all relevant stakeholders has been critical to the successful rollout of Kenya's VMMC program". Government, non-governmental organisations, and media organisations all collaborated to support media outreach activities such as conducting roundtables, briefings, and media tours, as well as providing experts and training spokespersons in strategic communications. As stated in the report, "Such collaboration helped ensure that the stories were based on real field experience and expert analysis of communication gaps in the community." It also helped ensure that stories complemented public service announcement (PSA) campaigns and other communication efforts.

The media training to strengthen reporting on VMMC involved a small cadre of more experienced health journalists. They participated in a series of workshops followed by story production and mentoring. An important part of this was explaining the science of VMMC as an HIV prevention method, as well as increasing access of journalists to the "frontlines" - such as visiting VMMC sites, interacting with men seeking services, watching a circumcision being performed, and interviewing men who had been circumcised. Other media engagement strategies included hosting expert radio forums and roundtable discussions, sponsoring a VMMC category in Internews Kenya's StoryFest media awards, and distributing the Male Circumcision Consortium (MCC) News publication to journalists, as well as offering intensive media relations workshops for health NGO's. Monitoring of media coverage of VMMC was also important, as it allowed for rapid responses to inaccurate information.

In terms of outcomes, the case study states that "early and ongoing engagement with journalists in Kenya has paid off with frequent, accurate media coverage of VMMC, which has helped to create a supportive environment for scale-up."

The document highlights the following as key lessons learned:

• "Strong partnerships among the MOH [Ministry of Health], donor, and implementing partners are essential to effectively address misunderstandings and controversy around VMMC.
• When all elements of the 'communications ecology' are connected and each plays its distinct part, their impact is magnified.
• Frequent, accurate coverage of VMMC requires ongoing engagement with a cadre of journalists who already know the basic science of HIV and can be nurtured as specialist health reporters.
• Engaging journalists at the beginning of a programme sets a positive tone for ongoing collaboration between project staff and journalists during the life if the project.
• Consistent attention to interpersonal relations between journalists and government officials helps prevent the escalation of issues - allowing for rapid outreach to allies who can provide correct information when necessary.
• Monitoring media coverage is critical to identify and correct inaccuracies quickly."