Hitting the target? New study explores HIV/AIDS information needs

Hundreds of media organisations, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and government agencies are producing information about HIV and AIDS. But how much of that information is accessible and useful to AIDS organisations on the ground and who is benefiting from it?

A study commissioned by IRIN/PlusNews, with funding from the Irish government, surveyed 192 organisations in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Swaziland to find out. Respondents described how and where they accessed HIV and AIDS information, whether it met their needs and how they disseminated it to their members and target groups.

Eighty percent of the participating organisations - representing AIDS groups, government agencies and media - rated HIV and AIDS information as essential or very important to their work. They used it to stay informed of the latest developments, policies and statistics, and to educate and inform their local communities and target groups.

However, respondents emphasised that information should be available in a variety of mediums, easy to understand, specific to their countries, and include people infected and affected by the disease. "People ... should involve the target audience in the production of materials," suggested a respondent from a Zimbabwe-based NGO. "What gets reported in terms of programming is idealistic as compared to the real situation."

Most respondents commented on the lack of locally relevant HIV and AIDS information, and said grassroots organisations should have greater involvement in identifying information priorities and testing materials for appropriateness.

"The materials must be developed according to the cultural values of a particular community, and not globally written," commented one respondent from Malawi. Respondents suggested that information could be translated into local languages, with overly technical or academic information modified to make it more relevant to specific groups, such as women or children.

HIV and AIDS statistics, in particular, were identified as difficult to understand and interpret. Many organisations felt such data could be made available in formats more user-friendly to workers on the ground. Respondents also expressed concern about the reliability of conflicting statistics from different sources.

All the AIDS organisations surveyed had access to computers, and nine out of ten had access to the internet and email, but the survey revealed a lack of skills and a need for more training in how to use these technologies.

Print was identified as an important medium for distributing HIV/AIDS information to local communities, particularly rural areas, where accessing information electronically was usually much more difficult, but organisations often lacked the financial resources to reproduce and distribute materials. Many felt their government and national AIDS council should play a more proactive role in disseminating information by setting up a national coordinating body, local resource centres and databases of HIV and AIDS organisations.

The study recommended that HIV and AIDS organisations source additional funding to produce their own materials, which would be more relevant to their target groups and encourage greater involvement of people living with HIV and AIDS.

Commenting on the study findings, PlusNews Managing Editor Obinna Anyadike noted the need for more basic and user-friendly HIV/AIDS information to be delivered in non-electronic formats. "There's also obviously a need to link people up with other organisations that are doing similar work for information sharing."

With this in mind, PlusNews is inviting HIV/AIDS organisations to sign up for 'PlusNews Extra' - a dedicated mailing list through which participating organisations will be able to share news, announcements and information.

CD-ROMS with the complete findings of the information needs assessment and a database of HIV/AIDS information providers in the region will be distributed to all the participating organisations, as well as information providers. The report can also be accessed here: Reaching the target Needs Assessment.

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