From On Air - Spring 2003
They Wrote the Book
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has left a trail of
illness and death for more than 20 years, but remarkably,
misinformation and misconceptions about its transmission and
prevention still remain.
In many parts of the world, people believe
that condom use actually causes AIDS. Some suspect that HIV
is conjured through witchcraft, while others believe that
certain types of people, like overweight people, are responsible
for spreading the virus.
Only reliable and accurate information
can battle these deadly myths. Now two university professors,
Everett M. Rogers and Arvind Singhal, are collaborating on
a groundbreaking book, supported by PCI, that examines the
unique role communication can play in HIV/AIDS prevention,
care, support, and treatment.
In 2001, the authors traveled to Brazil,
India, Kenya, South Africa, and Thailand, and spoke with hundreds
of doctors, program managers, clients and representatives
from dozens of HIV-prevention programs in order to glean best
practices and collect case studies. The resulting book, tentatively
titled Communication Strategies for the AIDS Epidemic, is
designed for scholars, policy makers, representatives of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), researchers, and others interested in
communication and public health.
Hasn’t AIDS already generated far
more scholarship than other, similar topics? “It’s
not a new area,” says Prof. Singhal. “But we don’t
think there’s any book that systematically examines
the role of communication strategies in overcoming stigma,
setting the public and policy agenda for AIDS, targeting vulnerable
groups, and having an impact on cultural elements that influence
AIDS. Our unique contribution is that we looked at best practices
in a variety of ways not readily available to most researchers.
We are advocates for the role of communication.”
According to Prof. Rogers, “Many
communication programs are led by medical doctors, who certainly
know all about the virus and its effects on the human body,
but may be ill prepared for managing communication about the
virus.”
The authors point out that HIV/AIDS prevention
programs are everywhere these days. Indeed, there are hundreds
of such programs in most large cities, and thousands in most
countries. And outreach workers and counselors, many of whom
are themselves HIV-positive, are on the front line of the
war against AIDS. But Prof. Singhal states that additional
lives could be saved if programs would employ “communication
strategies for changing behavior of individuals, communities,
and social systems.”
The book contains many examples. Thailand
has achieved a spectacular success in combating the epidemic.
Following years of denial, the Thai government finally launched
an all-out AIDS Control Program in 1991. A dynamic technocrat,
Mechai Viravaidya, was appointed as a cabinet minister and
led the campaign. Minister Mechai began by working to destigmatize
the use of condoms by leading condom-blowing contests, holding
“Condom Nights” in the Patpong red-light district,
and urging denizens of bars and clubs to practice safer sex.
In many parts
of the world, people believe that condom use actually causes
AIDS.
He mobilized the highest levels of government,
convincing the country’s prime minister to serve as
the chair of the National AIDS Committee and the minister
of public health as the Committee’s deputy chairman.
And he increased the AIDS budget in Thailand from US$2.5 million
in 1991 to $48 million in 1992.
Minister Mechai then directed the country’s
488 radio stations and 15 television stations to provide free
air time for forceful 30-second AIDS messages, one every hour.
One example: “Would you prefer to go to your child’s
college graduation, or to his/her funeral?” This broadcast
communication amounted to an incredible 73 hours of radio
time, and two hours of TV time, every day. The public was
deluged with AIDS information.
This was supported by many kinds of education. Government
employees in every ministry were given HIV/AIDS training.
Teachers incorporated AIDS education into the curriculum for
primary and high school students. All sex work establishments
were required by health inspectors to insist that sex workers
demand their customers use condoms.
The results of this massive communication
campaign? HIV infection rates among Thai army recruits dropped
in half, and rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)
dropped tenfold. Among sex workers, STD rates dropped an astounding
90 percent. Overall, the Thai AIDS Control Program is credited
with reducing the number of new HIV infections from 143,000
in 1991, to 29,000 in 2000.
The two authors have extensive experience
in HIV/AIDS prevention. For 15 years they’ve been advising
UNAIDS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
South Africa’s “Soul City,” and other international
health organizations. They’ve written three books on
the social changes wrought by communications in developing
nations, as well as many journal articles and chapters in
edited books.
Says Prof. Singhal, “In the fall
of 2000, we approached PCI and explained that the focus of
our next book would be on the role of communication in addressing
HIV prevention. We asked if PCI would work as our partner
in this endeavor, and PCI stepped right up.”
“It’s fair to say,” he
concludes, “that we couldn’t have done this book
without PCI’s help and support, for which we are most
grateful.”
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