Radio show gets youth talking about HIV/AIDS

With about half of all new adult HIV/AIDS infections taking place among young people, a recently launched radio programme is encouraging young Namibians to let their voices be heard in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Suzie and Shafa Show has been developed by Namibian youth to address HIV/AIDS and other health issues in the capital, Windhoek. The programme was created after a survey of 15 to 25 year olds in Greater Windhoek found that 60 percent of the respondents believed it was possible that they would be infected with HIV during the next 12 months. This was despite high levels of knowledge and awareness about HIV/AIDS and other health issues, according to research from the University of Namibia (UNAM) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Though youth felt fairly confident that they could refuse sex without condoms, almost half also believed that they still could get HIV if they were monogamous (51 percent) and about one-third of the respondents believed they could still get HIV even if they abstained from sex. "Most of my friends on campus have seen all the HIV/AIDS statistics and they think they're at risk, regardless of their behaviour change. People just don't have any trust in the next person anymore," Sara Chitambo, a scriptwriter for the show and a journalism student told PlusNews. The programme is a 26-part series that addresses a "fairly broad spectrum" of lifestyle issues in an entertaining format including dramas, quizzes and testimonials, Nahum Gorelick, country representative for the Johns Hopkins Centre for Communication Programmes (CCP), told PlusNews. According to Gorelick, the show had tried to move away from existing HIV/AIDS campaigns, which had been delivered in an "authoritarian" manner, as most youth felt they were "overkill". "Young people are getting sick and tired of being bombarded by such messages and the sad thing is that they don't understand them," he added. "The campaigns that are targeting us [youth] are vague and they assume we know things we don't actually know," Chitambo said. National projects such as the Take Control Campaign, however, do play a crucial role, Rianne Selle, a coordinator in the ministry of Information and Broadcasting, told PlusNews. Using the slogan "take control" and focussing on the rights of young people, the campaign uses posters, leaflets, information bulletins, red ribbons, stickers, coasters, T-shirts, and television and radio adverts. The radio adverts are broadcast for free by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation, the national broadcaster, and by most private radio stations. "Unlike the radio show [Suzie and Shafa show], we try and target both urban and rural youth and a recent assessment shows that 94 percent of youth in the country know of the campaigns we are running," Selle said. Plans are currently underway to adapt the show's messages into the country's different languages and air it nationally, Gorelick noted. "Radio is an anonymous medium, people can discuss sensitive issues that they have traditionally not been allowed to discuss, so it has made things easier for them," he added. A group of young scriptwriters received training in production skills from UNAM, after consultations with youth organisations, the national college of arts, NGOs and several government departments and were involved in creating the show. The programme addresses practical issues such as where to go for HIV testing as well as lifestyle issues related to alcohol and drug use, relationship problems, and sexual habits. "We try to inject an element of hope into the scripts, one of the messages we try to convey is 'so you're HIV-positive, but you can live positively'. It's not a lecture, it's more of a lifestyle discussion," Chitambo told PlusNews. "Hopefully the show will make people realise that if you protect yourself and have a right attitude, there is hope for the future," she added. The Suzie and Shafa Show airs on UNAM Radio 97.4 FM and will be heard throughout Windhoek. For further information about The Suzie and Shafa Show, contact the CCP's Nahum Gorelick, on Tel: +264 61 224404.