The Break the Silence: Talk about AIDS campaign was launched at the Confederation of East and Central African Countries (CECAFA)'s Under-20 Youth Football Tournament. The tournament that drew seven teams from six countries, took place in Nairobi, Kenya. This HIV/AIDS prevention campaign was designed to reach men in Africa who watch, respect and even emulate the behavior of their favorite sports heros, especially national and league players. A variety of international donors and agencies, and local non-governmental and governmental organizations came together to produce male-friendly materials, including television and radio spots featuring young football stars conveying HIV/AIDS prevention messages, as well as posters, calendars, brochures, and banners encouraging people to develop personal "game plans" to prevent HIV/AIDS. Telephone hotlines, training sessions for soccer players on HIV/AIDS, health information and referral booths at the stadium, speeches by national leaders, and community mobilization sessions were also launched at this high-impact campaign. Initial findings show that over 76% of the fans had heard about the campaign before coming to the stadium. Nearly all of the fans, 91%, said they liked having health messages and services available during the football matches; 97% of the fans were exposed to the campaign materials, and 87% received take-home print materials. Sixty-two percent of the respondents said they would discuss HIV/AIDS with someone. Additional statistics documenting the impact of the campaign on men's behavior, together with lessons learned and the campaign's creative materials will be shown at this presentation.
Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be: 1) able to identify strategies to reach and involve men in reproductive health initiatives; 2) familiar with the impact of the Break the Silence: Talk about AIDS campaign designed to reach men, through sports, with reproductive health and HIV/AIDS messages; and 3) knowledgeable about a variety of media, advocacy, community and inter-personal communication approaches that can be combined to create a high impact campaign
Keywords: Prevention, HIV/AIDS
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.