PHA-Exchange> "Stigma, HIV/AIDS & prevention of mother-to-child transmission"
George(s) Lessard
media at web.net
Sat Jun 1 11:46:13 PDT 2002
For the full study "Stigma, HIV/AIDS & prevention of mother-to-child
transmission", commissioned to PANOS London by UNICEF, see -
http://www.panos.org.uk/aids/stigma_countries_study.htm
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "The Drum Beat" <wfeek at comminit.com>
To: <media at web.net>
Subject: The Drum Beat - 146 - Strategic Communication and PMTCT -
UNICEF
Date sent: Sat, 1 Jun 2002 06:40:43 -0600
The Drum Beat - Issue 146 - Strategic Communication and PMTCT - UNICEF
June 3, 2002
from The Communication Initiative...global forces...local choices...critical
voices...telling stories...
Partners: The Rockefeller Foundation, BBC World Service Trust, The CHANGE
Project, CIDA, The European Union, Exchange, FAO, Johns Hopkins University
Center for Communication Programs, The Panos Institute, Soul City, The Synergy
Project, UNAIDS, UNICEF, USAID, WHO.
Chair of Partners Group: Denise Gray-Felder, Rockefeller Foundation
dgray-felder at rockfound.org Director: Warren Feek wfeek at comminit.com Website:
http://www.comminit.com
***
THE UNICEF APPROACH TO STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION
http://www.comminit.com/stpmtctmethod/sld-4211.html
1. THE MODEL
UNICEF's "Communication for Development" Model is based on the understanding
that effective communication relies on the synergistic use of 3 strategic
components:
* ADVOCACY to ensure resources and political/social leadership commitment at
all levels
* SOCIAL MOBILISATION to engage civil society organisations (NGOs, Private
sector, Religious organisations etc.) and ensure their participation in the
development issue being addressed
* BEHAVIOUR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION to encourage healthy behaviours and
participation of individuals, families & communities.
2. THE PLANNING PROCESS
The ACADA Communication Planning Process - Assessment, Communication Analysis,
Design, and Action. This process is utilised to develop a research based
integrated communication strategy that considers individuals, families and
communities within their environment & from their perspective; encourages &
fosters community participation; and includes the identification of realistic,
measurable objectives & related indicators.
3. THE TOOLS
Based on the Communication for Development model, and using the ACADA process,
UNICEF has developed a set of tools for developing synergistic communication
strategies for PMTCT, Polio Eradication and a variety of other programmes.
These
tools, while generic in content, allow each individual country to develop a
tailored communication strategy addressing the unique needs of each country
using a consistent and systematic approach to ensure quality. These tools can
be used at the national, provincial/state, district or community levels.
***
...taking the PULSE of international development...
Because it underpins all development issues, addressing economic poverty should
be the only international development priority and programme.
Agree? Disagree? VOTE - http://www.comminit.com/pulse.html
***
PREVENTION OF MOTHER-TO-CHILD-TRANSMISSION OF HIV (PMTCT)
4. The UN Inter-agency Task Team supports a 3-Pronged Strategic Approach for
PMTCT:
ONE - Prevention of HIV in young people; prevention of HIV infection in women
of
childbearing age.
TWO - Prevention of unintended pregnancies in HIV-positive women.
THREE - Prevention of transmission of HIV, from an HIV-positive woman to her
infant.
http://www.comminit.com/stunicefpmtct/sld-4202.html
5. Some of the lessons learned from PMTCT communication interventions in Africa
& Asia include:
* Community relevance is best ensured when strategic communication planning and
overall programme design begins with participatory, community-based research.
* Capacity building & local ownership is key at all levels.
* Simple community dialogue tools can help communities to better identify &
address stigma and discrimination, thus creating more caring & supportive
environments for HIV-affected families.
* Interpersonal communication remains the most effective & powerful tool in
addressing issues related to PMTCT.
* Involvement of male partners is key to women's acceptance of PMTCT services.
http://www.comminit.com/stunicefpmtct/sld-4204.html
6. Conclusions drawn from these lessons:
* Increase variety of participants in communication planning, intensifying
efforts to look at HIV/AIDS holistically and across all sectors, as a societal
issue, not only as a public health issue.
* Begin drawing on rapid social research, incorporating results in programme
design.
* Use community dialogue to help communities address stigma, care & support
issues.
* Increase participation of men, youth & people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs).
* Make couple counselling friendly for men and couples.
* Invest in interpersonal communication interventions.
* Increase understanding of basic HIV/AIDS transmission & prevention facts,
including MTCT.
* Make more effort to research & understand community norms, values & practices
related to PMTCT issues.
http://www.comminit.com/stunicefpmtct/sld-4206.html
***
The next DB Classifieds - Training, Consultants, Materials Events will be June
5. Contact jinnes at comminit.com
***
STIGMA & DISCRIMINATION
7. "Certain people are part of the problem...why do we give them sympathy?
...We know where the problem is. It lies with these girls flirting freely,
spreading HIV...We should do away with human rights for such women...Arab
states’ rules on women seem to be discriminatory but at least they control
sexuality" - citizen of Zambia.
http://www.comminit.com/stunicefstigma/sld-4191.html
8. Despite vastly different cultural realities - experiences & research have
identified similar aspects of discrimination & stigma throughout the regions of
West, East & Southern Africa, South & SE Asia & Ukraine, including:
* the assumption that PLWHAs are members of a pre-determined group, regardless
of whether they are or not...
* public’s vulnerability to infection.
* the most marginalised and excluded groups in many societies - drug users, sex
workers, men who have sex with men, and in general women - bear the brunt of
stigma & discrimination.
* stigma related to HIV/AIDS is often layered on pre-existing stigmas of sexual
conduct & drug use, thereby playing into & reinforcing existing social
inequalities linked to power & domination within communities.
* derogatory name-calling.
http://www.comminit.com/stunicefstigma/sld-4193.html
9. The most extreme forms of stigmatisation being reported are in health care
settings. They include:
* denial of drugs & treatment
* being left unattended in hospital and clinic corridors
* being dealt with last
* being labelled or called names in public areas of hospitals and clinics
* being subjected to degrading treatment
* breaches of confidentiality
http://www.comminit.com/stunicefstigma/sld-4194.html
10. "A woman will never decide to do the testing. If she finds herself
HIV-positive she is signing three deaths: psychological death, social death &
physical death. Don’t you think that is a lot?" - Woman, Burkina Faso.
Stigma surrounding MTCT prevents women from accepting testing and negatively
impacts their quality of family life. In many cases, once a woman is diagnosed
as HIV-positive, she faces rebuke or condemnation for wanting a child, and
often
is denied the right to make her own reproductive choices. The "M" in PMTCT can
foster incorrect perceptions that a woman is solely at fault in transmitting
HIV
to her baby. http://www.comminit.com/stunicefstigma/sld-4197.html
11. Main Causes of Stigmatisation:
* Continued misinformation about basic HIV/AIDS transmission & prevention
creates fear, which in turn results in stigma.
* Many communities see mass media as largely responsible for both creating &
reinforcing stigma, highlighting death & high-risk groups.
* In clinic settings poor, unsafe working conditions & a fear of infection are
cited by health workers as contributing to their stigmatising behaviour towards
PLWHAs.
* Other health workers identify their negative behaviours towards PLWHAs as the
result of their inability to understand & manage HIV/AIDS. They see no remedy
or solution to the despair surrounding the disease & many feel they don’t have
the psychological resources to cope with somebody whose death is inevitable.
http://www.comminit.com/stunicefstigma/sld-4199.html
12. Recommendations for addressing stigma and discrimination include:
* Consider shifting the terminology "PMTCT" to more inclusive terms such as
"PTCT - parent to child transmission", emphasising the responsibility of both
parents in HIV transmission.
* Increase efforts to look at HIV/AIDS holistically, as a societal issue,
encompassing the broader environmental & contextual factors that contribute to
HIV transmission.
* Make more effort to research & understand community norms, values & practices
related to PMTCT issues by beginning communication with rapid, participatory
research & ensuring that results are incorporated into programme design.
* Increase participation of men, youth & PLWHAs in PMTCT.
* Assist communities in identifying realistic, feasible coping strategies for
HIV/AIDS. Simple community dialogue tools have been developed & field-tested,
proving that easy-to-use participatory tools can greatly assist & enhance
community capacity to identify ways in which they can begin addressing HIV/AIDS
& stigma, thus creating more caring & supportive communities...
http://www.comminit.com/stunicefstigma/sld-4200.html
***
For the full study "Stigma, HIV/AIDS & prevention of mother-to-child
transmission", commissioned to PANOS London by UNICEF, see -
http://www.panos.org.uk/aids/stigma_countries_study.htm
***
For general information on UNICEF's approach to strategic communication,
contact
Silvia Luciani sluciani at unicef.org
For information on strategic communication for PMTCT or the Tools developed by
UNICEF, contact Shari Cohen scohen at unicef.org
Many thanks to Ms. Luciani and Ms. Cohen for their assistance with this issue.
***
The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development
activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The
Partners.
Please send material for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann
dheimann at comminit.com
To unsubscribe, reply to this message with "unsubscribe" as subject
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