AFRO-NETS> HIV/AIDS Communication debate

["Warren Feek" <wfeek@coastnet.com>]

HIV/AIDS Communication debate
-----------------------------

HIV/AIDS - Effective Communicaiton?
To: Drum Beat network participants engaged/interested in HIV/AIDS 

We have launched a debate on HIV/AIDS communication strategies. It is 
being moderated by James Deane from Panos with opening contributions 
from Phyllis Piotrow [Johns Hopkins University ] and Alfonso Gumucio 
Dagron [ author of Making Waves]. Below I have included a copy of 
James' opening note and brief extracts from Phyllis and Alfonso's 
comments.

James sets the tone in his introductory note " The debate takes place 
against a grim backdrop, not only in the international situation, but 
also in the recognition that humankind's efforts to combat HIV/AIDS 
have so far largely failed." The challenge of this debate will be to 
critically examine, based on practice, experience and research the 
most appropriate and effective communication strategies for positive 
action on HIV/AIDS. Both Phyllis and Alfonso address this question in 
their "scene-setting" comments. 

Do you agree with them or disagree? What is your experience? What 
have you learned? What strategies do you recommend? 

To contribute please send your comments and reactions to 
mailto:roundtable@comminit.com 
To subscribe to be part of this process either send an email to:
James Deane 
mailto:jamesd@panoslondon.org.uk [highlighting your name and email ad-
dress] 
or go to 
http://www.comminit.com/roundtable2/discussion.html 
for a simple on-line process.

James note and extracts form the Phyllis and Alfonso contributions 
follow.

Best wishes - Warren

******

FROM JAMES DEANE

Debate on Communication Programming around HIV/AIDS, particularly 
evaluation

Welcome to this five week debate.

This debate is designed to provide insight and illumination around 
the merits and problems associated with different approaches to 
HIV/AIDS communications, and particularly around the challenges and 
opportunities of evaluation in this field (see 
www.comminit.com/roundtable2 for further details of the background 
and purpose of this debate)

This is a field which is often described in dry, technical, abstract 
language, a language of models, numbers, norms and frameworks. It is 
also a field which arouses intense, sometimes passionate debate among 
those who work in it. Almost all of those who have signed up to this 
debate will have a deep-seated, sometimes personal, understanding of 
what is at stake in getting HIV/AIDS communication programming right, 
and what the human consequences are of getting it wrong.

The debate takes place against a grim backdrop, not only in the in-
ternational situation, but also in the recognition that humankind's 
efforts to combat HIV/AIDS have so far largely failed. There are many
reasons for this...the resources have been too few, the epidemic has 
been too complex, the changes required in society have been too 
great.....but our discussions are inevitably informed by the sheer 
scale of the epidemic, a scale of human misery that has exceeded most 
of the worst predictions made
of it.

Although the international community has recommitted itself at UNGASS 
to the struggle to contain HIV, and although we can point to many ex-
amples of success over the last fifteen years, this debate and the 
roundtable which follows it provide us with an opportunity to reas-
sess our communication strategies, programming and thinking. 

The purpose of the early part of this discussion is to ground the 
discussion, to be clear what we are talking about and to identify 
more clearly the fault lines in different approaches both to communi-
cation programming and evaluation of that programming. Recent debates 
in this field have focused particularly strongly between those who 
are perceived as advocating a principally behaviourist model of com-
munication programming, and those who believe in a more social change 
and advocacy oriented view of communications.

The debate starts off with two perspectives on "behaviour change com-
munications", one from Dr Phyllis Piotrow, Director of Johns Hopkins 
University School for Communication Programme who, in arguing the 
case for this form of communications also argues in an accompanying 
note that she sees "no major distinction between behaviour change, 
social change and advocacy communication. In good programs they are 
combined". 

The second is from Alfonso Gumucio, author most recently of "Making 
waves: stories of participatory communication for social change" pub-
lished by the Rockefeller Foundation who has been asked to set out 
his criticisms of the behaviour change model.

To comment, react and contribute to the debate, send an email to 
mailto:roundtable@comminit.com

Please be brief (no more than half a page) and please refrain from 
using jargon. Personal attacks or abuse are strongly discouraged. 
This debate is a moderated debate, and we will seek to keep the num-
ber of posted contributions to a manageable number (no more than five 
per day). I will be 
moderating the debate and will seek to reflect as wide a range of 
perspectives as possible, particularly from the South.


James Deane
Moderator
mailto:jamesd@panoslondon.org.uk


*****


extract from Phyllis Piotrow - Johns Hopkins University Center for
Communication Programmes

"Finally, in evaluating behaviour change communication we might well 
ask: How can we develop indicators of ethical issues as well as indi-
cators in behaviour change and process? A century of effort has been 
devoted to removing issues of individual sexual behaviour from reli-
gious, government and even medical control to a process of informed 
individual choice that includes women and young people as well as 
men. This shift is well reflected in numerous United Nations declara-
tions of human rights. Is it appropriate in the face of a major epi-
demic to use behaviour change communication to strengthen community-
based controls on individual behaviour? If so, what indicators are 
needed to measure the difference between establishing new social 
norms and stigmatising those who deviate from them? In other words, 
what indicators can measure when any program crosses the line between 
creating an enabling environment within the community and building 
social pressures that coerce rather than empower individuals?"

***

extract from Alfonso Gumucio Dagron - Communication for Social Change
consultant and author

"Origin: Social Marketing is the result of the marriage between be-
haviourism (Skinner) and the advertising theories of the post-war, 
with a touch of social sensibility. It is entirely an invention of US 
think tanks; it was not developed through dialogue with groups or in-
dividuals in Third World countries. It has been pushed on developing 
countries, especially on Africa and in a lesser extent on Asia and 
Latin America, and imposed on us through USAID funded projects, as 
part of the cooperation package: "Take it or leave it; this is what 
we want and how we want it. We know better what you need. We have a 
great experience convincing people; we are the masters of persua-
sion".

****

Their full contributions will be seen on-line tomorrow [Wednesday] at
http://www.comminit.com/roundtable2/discussion.html

We look forward to your participation. Please forward this to inter-
ested colleagues and others in your network.

To repeat the joining and contributing discussions:

To contribute please send your comments and reactions to
mailto:roundtable@comminit.com To subscribe to be part of this proc-
ess either send an email to: 
James Deane 
mailto:jamesd@panoslondon.org.uk [highlighting your name
and email address] or go to 
http://www.comminit.com/roundtable2/discussion.html for a simple on-
line process.


Thanks 
Warren


Warren Feek
Director - The Communication Initiative
wfeek@comminit.com
http://www.comminit.com
Tel: +1-250-658-6372
Fax: +1-250-658-1728

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