Here is a report on a workshop held at Fairview Hotel, Lusaka, November 2003 \u2013 April 2004.<\/p>\n
In many countries, including Zambia, initial responses to the HIV\/AIDS epidemic seem to have been based upon the assumption that the fundamental problem to be addressed is one of lack of knowledge, and that, in itself, the provision of information will lead to changes in behaviour.\u00a0 Hence, drawing upon experiences of other health and developmental issues such as population and reproductive health, countries have invested in large-scale “Information, Education and Communication” (IEC) campaigns, sometimes in combination with more focused programmes for specific groups.\u00a0 In Zambia, mass awareness IEC campaigns have been initiated on HIV\/AIDS using drama and theatre shows, radio talk shows, posters, flip charts, printed leaflets, transparencies, and messages inscribed on items of every day use such as combs, mirrors, rulers and now on fertilizer bags.\u00a0 However, the large scale nature of such activities has resulted in content which tended to be general rather than specific, complex rather than simple and externally determined rather than individually generated.<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, impact evaluation consistently reveals significant achievement in terms of creating changes in awareness, but much less convincing evidence to demonstrate any significant impact upon behaviour.\u00a0 One broad conclusion from this experience is that while awareness is necessary, it is rarely a sufficient step in the process towards behaviour change.\u00a0 Another broad conclusion is that risk-associated behaviour such as unprotected sexual intercourse is heavily underlain by deep-rooted factors such as negative cultural norms that have essentially become social behaviours involving individuals\/society as a whole.\u00a0 Thus the focus of HIV\/AIDS programmes and efforts need to shift from:-<\/p>\n
The workshop aimed at strengthening HIV\/AIDS awareness, gender sensitivity and individual\/collective action among participants.\u00a0 Participating groups were tasked to come up with new insights on the following:<\/p>\n
You can read the rest of this report here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here is a report on a workshop held at Fairview Hotel, Lusaka, November 2003 \u2013 April 2004. Background In many countries, including Zambia, initial responses to the HIV\/AIDS epidemic seem to have been based upon the assumption that the fundamental … Continue reading