Uganda Safer Sex or AIDS Campaign [from Reaching Youth Worldwide]

Entertain to Educate

Uganda's Safer Sex or AIDS Campaign

Adolescents are avid consumers of popular culture and entertainment an ideal channel to reach youth. In Uganda, the AIDS prevention communication project was part of the Delivery of Improved Services for Health (DISH) Project. It was established in 1994 as a five-year, USAID-funded, integrated reproductive health project managed by Pathfinder International with JHU/CCP providing communication technical assistance. When the DISH Project started, a review of the literature revealed that youth (aged 15 to 19) felt they could not avoid HIV/AIDS and had a fatalistic attitude about the disease. Research also showed that adolescent boys had more control in sexual relationships than girls. Adolescent boys, 15 to 19 years old, were selected as the primary audience and adolescent girls, 12 to 19 years old, were the secondary audience.

Under the DISH Project, the Safer Sex or AIDS campaign [10] sought to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS by increasing availability and use of reproductive health services. The campaign's objective was to convince youth they could avoid AIDS by taking various measures to reduce the chances that their sexual activity would result in HIV infection. Specifically, those measures included abstaining from sex, delaying sexual debut, using condoms, resisting peer pressure, reducing the number of sexual partners, discussing protection and safe sex with their partners, and engaging in non-penetrative sex.

The project used multimedia materials and complementary national and district-level activities. A national umbrella campaign was implemented in all ten DISH districts while the Safer Sex or AIDS campaign were radio spots, jingles, and programmes; community participation in local activities; special editions of the newsletter Straight Talk; a music contest called Hits for Hope; a Matter of Fact Quiz; a poster; outdoor concerts; and a video entitled More Time made in the popular dialect. JHU/CCP provided technical support to the information, education, and communication (IEC) component of the project.

How it worked

The audience was involved in the research and implementation of the campaign. Local action committees were established in every district and comprised youth and adults representing a broad spectrum of local groups and interests including local government, businesses, NGOs, church groups, and youth groups. These groups designed and implemented the local activities and used the umbrella of national interventions and media to increase exposure and interest in local activities.

The Hits for Hope music contest captured wide interest: 235 individuals or groups entered the contest in the ten districts. In the second phase of the campaign, the number entering the contest almost doubled.

The song "Hits for Hope" and the concerts performed by Group Africa were an effective combination for reaching youth. The award-winning song was commercially released and became a hit on the nation's three radio stations. The outdoor concerts were attended predominantly by the intended audience, but attracted other age groups as well, particularly adults. Up to 15,000 people, mostly young males, attended the individual Hits for Hope rallies.

Implementing district-level activities was relatively easy because of strong local leadership. The district-level activities such as bicycle rallies, drama contests in schools, and the rap music concert reinforced the campaign's messages.

Evaluation Results

METHODOLOGY: To evaluate the campaign, about 1,700 adolescents, aged 12 to 19 years old, were interviewed before and after the intervention. The Baseline Adolescent Survey was conducted in August 1995 to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices about sexual activity and HIV/AIDS as well as to determine the media habits of the intended audience. A follow-up survey was conducted at the end of the campaign in October 1996. Both baseline and follow-up surveys included interviews with rural and urban youth, in and out of school.

Because of the wide array of other HIV/AIDS messages and activities competing for young people's attention, special care was taken to ensure that respondents who reported exposure to material referred to those produced under the Safer Sex or AIDS campaign. After interviews showed respondents campaign newsletters and posters and played the radio jingle and advertisement, respondents were asked if they saw or heard any of them prior to the interview.

More than 60 percent of the respondents stated that the project influenced them to take some type of action regarding their sexual behavior; almost 28 percent decided to abstain from sex and 22 percent decided to adopt safer sex practices.

Respondents indicated that radio was their most important source of information. After the campaign, respondents reported they were more likely to obtain their information about HIV/AIDS from the radio.

After the campaign, youth who were sexually active said they were more likely to talk to their partners about protection and to use condoms. There was no statistically significant change in the prevalence of sexual activity among the respondents, of which about 50 percent were sexually active. While these behaviors were self-reported, the findings suggested that young people do absorb and understand important health messages.

The campaign radio programmes reached more than two-thirds of all respondents. Within most demographic categories, listenership was high, ranging between 65 percent and 80 percent. In-school and secondary school respondents were much more likely to have heard a radio programme than out-of-school and primary school respondents. Female respondents aged 12 to 14 and primary school children were the least likely to listen to the radio programmes.

Of all campaign materials and events (excluding radio), the newsletter entitled Straight Talk was most influential. A total of 26 percent of respondents indicated they felt most influenced by one of the newsletters.

There was a clear dose-response effect. Among all respondents, attitudes improved as exposure to campaign IEC materials and events increased. There was no plateau or point of diminishing returns as respondents were exposed to more materials and events.

Attendance at district-level activities was high. Of all respondents who lived in districts where special activities were hosted, over 60 percent indicated they attended at least one event. These events reached males (the primary audience) and females, both in and out of school.