Digital Pulse - Ch 3 - Sec 2 - loveLife

Development Issues: Youth, STD's and HIV, Reproductive Health, Gender

Programme Summary

lovelife is South Africa's national HIV prevention programme for youth. It is a multi-media, edu-entertainment programme aiming at positively influencing adolescent behaviour to reduce teenage pregnancy, and STD's including HIV/AIDS. A collaborative program between international foundations working in HIV/AIDS prevention, major South African media organizations and private corporations, the government of South Africa, and leading South African NGOs aimed at youth aged 12-17. Launched in September 1999, loveLife seeks to substantially reduce the HIV infection rate among young South Africans – and to establish at the same time a new model for effective HIV prevention among young people. loveLife's approach integrates three key components:

• Innovative nationwide media campaigns of unprecedented scale and intensity, including youth-focused television and radio programming, weekly youth news sheets, billboards and taxis that promote sexual responsibility and link young people to counselling and clinical services.
• Service and support programmes, including a network of youth centres that provide HIV prevention services, and accessible adolescent health services in public clinics nationwide. loveLife also works with over 100 community-based organisations know as loveLife franchise-holders.
• Extensive monitoring and evaluation of the programme's impact and results, with independent external oversight.

Summary of ICT Initiatives

loveLife combines well-established public health approaches with innovative marketing techniques, reaching young people by:

• Speaking in language that young people relate to and understand.
• Using a tone of optimism, rather than relying on scare tactics – which have little credibility with youth.
• Harnessing the power and influence of South African's youth culture, including television, music, and sports to promote healthy living.

loveLife's projects are diverse and multifaceted and attempt to communicate with youth using a powerful mixture of advanced ICTs as well as personal interactions between young people. Throughout all of its projects it attempts to convey the feeling of youth talking to youth. Programmes include:

Radio - With radio reaching 97% of the populace, loveLife produces weekly radio programs on South Africa's most popular youth radio stations and partners with radio stations that broadcast in all eleven official languages to broadcast culturally sensitive programmed segments on popular shows.

Print - loveLife's radio and television programming are supported by print materials, produced and distributed through cost-sharing partnerships with media companies and include S'camtoPRINT, a youth lifestyle magazine published and distributed nationally; loveFacts, a youth orientated booklet encapsulating information and advice on sexual health topics, Tell Me More, a glossy-format booklet tackling a range of youth issues; and Love them Enough to Talk about Sex, a booklet designed to help parents and educators understand the importance, of discussing issues of sexuality with their children.

TV - Three of every four South African households have access to television, and television programming is a key component of the loveLife strategy. loveLife's television programming includes: S'camto groundBREAKERS, a weekly television series on South Africa's leading youth network which evolves to meet current viewing trends. S'camto means “talk about it,” episodes feature young South Africans talking candidly about issues such as HIV/AIDS, sexual health, relationships, and overcoming peer pressure. loveLifeGames, a weekly half-hour television show that documents loveLife's major sports competition. Parent-focused public service announcements, airing on television and radio nationwide, that encourage parents to communicate openly with their children with the tag line, “love them enough to talk about sex.” loveLife maintains an operating partnership with the South African Broadcasting Corporation including joint campaign development and coproductions on radio and television.

Web - loveLife's youth website www.lovelife.org.za, is an interactive source of information about sexual health and loveLife's services. Although Internet access is still relatively limited in South Africa, the site averages 50,000 hits per month and has interfaces for young people, parents and organisations.

Observations

loveLife has had a measurable impact on the behaviour and awareness levels of many young Africans Over three years into the programme, loveLife is already making a difference in the lives of young people. A survey conducted in 2001 by Africa Strategic Research Corporation and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that:

• 62 percent of young South Africans say they have heard of loveLife. Awareness of loveLife is high among young people in all key demographic groups, including urban and rural youth.
• 89 percent say loveLife is good for South Africa's young people.
• 76 percent say loveLife made them more aware of the risks of unprotected sex.
• 67 percent say loveLife caused them to talk to their friends about sex and relationships.
• 65 percent report making behavioural changes as a result of loveLife.
• 69 percent say loveLife has caused them to abstain from sex or reduce their number of sexual partners.
• 78 percent say loveLife has caused them to use condoms.

Partners: Planned Parenthood Association of South Africa, Reproductive Health Research Unit, Advocacy Initiatives, Media Training Centre, Health Systems Trust, Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, William H. Gates Foundation, Old Mutual, The Department of Health, The National Youth Commission, UNICEF, SABC, The Sowetan

Source:loveLife corporate website.

For More Information Contact:

174 Oxford Road

Melrose 2196 PO Box 45

Parklands 2121

Tel: +27 (11) 771-6800

Fax: +27 (11) 771-6801

Email: talk@lovelife.org.za

Or Michael SinclairE-mail: MSinclair@kff.org