Crafting prevention messages for the south

Source: IRIN

JUBA, 19 September 2008 (PlusNews) - In Lokony, a suburb of Juba, capital of South Sudan, educational messages about HIV are plastered on the outer walls of a local school, but passers-by barely glance at the posters. This is not surprising as most people cannot read.

Many health workers question whether the 'ABC' strategy – Abstain, Be faithful, and Condomise – can work in southern Sudan. Public health communicators spent part of the meeting brainstorming about how to modify the approach.

"Be faithful to your partner - in a polygamous setting, are you going to tell people to throw away the other wife?" Fredrick Musoke, a consultant to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and SSAC, hired to draft a behaviour change communication policy for the region, asked the meeting.

Polygamy is just one of several practices standing in the way of public health workers' efforts to combat AIDS. Wife inheritance is also widespread. A wife's dowry is sometimes as large as a herd of cattle, so even if her husband dies, it is in the interests of her in-laws to keep her and her assets in the family.

"Use a condom to protect the one you love," suggested one group, but this was quickly shot down by Deng Mathiang, of the SSAC. "Does it mean that if you have sex with someone you don't love, you should not use condoms?" he asked. "Some people have sex just because they want to."

"No condom no sex," recommended another group, while the SSAC's Kuol thought the use of detailed educational drawings was the best way to reach a largely illiterate population.

The meeting in Juba had no easy answers, but for health officials in the region there is relief that a meaningful effort to tackle HIV prevention is finally underway.