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Getting the message across : the mass media and the response to AIDS

JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
December 2005

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The mass media have the potential to provide a platform for discussion, communication and education on HIV and AIDS, giving a voice to people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA), challenging stigma and discrimination, lobbying policy makers and building partnerships and capacity through sharing and transferring skills and expertise. However, mass media can also disseminate misleading messages, while HIV/AIDS communication competes with other topics for broadcasting time and audiences. This report presents three case studies of effective and creative use of the media in South Africa: Soul City and Soul Buddyz adopt an 'edutainment' approach, aiming both to educate and entertain; the Community Health Media Trust produces a series of programmes addressing issues concerning people with HIV/AIDS; Takalani makes television and radio programmes, to encourage small children to develop self-esteem, offer positive models and destigmatise PLWHA. Detailing the lessons learned from these experiences, the report looks at how target audiences are chosen, how partnerships are formed, how topics and ideas are developed and what ethical issues arise

Operational guide on gender and HIV/AIDS : a rights-based approach | Resource pack on gender and HIV/AIDS

UNAIDS INTER-AGENCY TASK TEAM ON GENDER AND HIV/AIDS
2005

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This guide highlights the relationship between gender, rights and HIV and AIDS. The impact of HIV and AIDS tends to be greater in unequal settings and stigma and discrimination, often associated with the disease, intensify and reinforce inequality. This document, aimed at programme managers and development organisations, reflects on how gender inequality affects women affected by HIV and AIDS. It explains why women may be at greater risk of contracting the disease, while having poor access to treatment. Women also tend to assume the responsibility of caring for those who are sick, and girls in households affected by HIV are more likely than boys to be taken out of school as a cost-saving measure, and to help in domestic chores. The guide contains a set of checklists to help evaluate the level of commitment to gender equality in programming, funding, communication, networking and advocacy

Stepping back from the edge : the pursuit of antiretroviral therapy in Botswana, South Africa and Uganda

JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
2004

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This report looks at what is being done to challenge the pace of progress on access to antiretroviral medicines in three very different African countries - Botswana, South Africa and Uganda. It describes who is driving these initiatives at grass-roots level and how. It offers insights and draws on lessons from firsthand experiences that can help those already working towards better access to antiretrovirals, and encourages others to embark on similar initiatives. It is intended for all those with an interest in this issue, from policy- and decision-makers with the power to create a favourable environment for antiretroviral treatment, to those working on the front line in health services, NGOs and AIDS service organizations, as well as those living with HIV, whose role in the battle for wider access is vital

Communications programming for HIV/AIDS : an annotated bibliography

JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
1999

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This annotated bibliography pulls together published and unpublished research and examples from practice based on communication strategies for HIV/AIDS prevention and care. It highlights the literature in both theoretical and practical applications. Researchers and practitioners can use this bibliography to identify key books, articles, and reports that deal with specific communications-related aspects of HIV/AIDS prevention and care.
The first section contains references related to the different theoretical concepts in HIV/AIDS communication, and examples of their application in different settings. The theories considered are the diffusion of innovations, the health belief model, the theory of reasoned action, the AIDS risk-reduction and management model, the sense-making approach, and social learning and cognitive theories. The second section of this bibliography covers examples and reports of HIV/AIDS communication campaigns. In doing so, it provides references dealing with traditional mass media campaigns, multimedia campaigns, and the role of interpersonal and small-group communication in media campaigns; as well as more recent approaches to health and HIV/AIDS communication such as media advocacy and entertainment-education. The third section of this document contains references on community response to HIV/AIDS. Culture and context occupy the fourth section, which includes citations that might help users identify key references associated with some of the issues identified as highly relevant to future HIV/AIDS communication, such as language and different ways of knowing and communicating in varied contexts

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