A quarterly international newsletter on sexuality, sexual health, and sexuality education.
Volume 2, Issue 1 - Winter 2001/2002
South Africa: National HIV-Prevention Program LoveLife and Independent Newspapers to Join National Fight Against HIV/AIDS
During the past 20 years, the world has come a long way in its understanding of HIV and AIDS.
This has helped in the identification and treatment of the infection and subsequent disease, has led to many amazing advances in the fight against AIDS, and has had a profound impact on improving the lives of people with AIDS.
Despite the advances in treatment of HIV/AIDS and prevention efforts, sub- Saharan Africa is still overwhelmed and burdened by the epidemic. South Africa, in particular, has suffered. Consider the following statistics:
South Africa is one of the hardest hit countries in this ever growing dichotomy of the AIDS epidemic.With 45 percent of the population under 20 years old, South African youth will be hit the hardest.
Although the risk of HIV/AIDS looms large in the lives of South Africans, three quarters of its young people responded to a survey by LoveLife, an innovative program on sexual and reproductive health, that they are positive about the future of South Africa. Most young South Africans say they are happy with their lives while also struggling with very serious issues.
A new partnership between the public and private sector seeks to deal with these issues and aims to prevent new HIV infections among the new wave of teenagers by promoting healthy, positive lifestyles.
South Africa’s largest newspaper publishing company, Independent Newspapers, and LoveLife have announced a five-year partnership to facilitate the groups’ fight against the nations’ HIV/AIDS epidemic.
LoveLife is a peer education program that conveys positive messages on sexual behavior through popular culture such as television, radio, publications, entertainment, and sports.
While this approach is not altogether new, its scale and intensity are. It is the largest effort ever launched in South Africa to positively influence adolescent sexual behavior with the aim of reducing teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and other STDs.
Launched only two years ago, LoveLife has quickly gained recognition as a new lifestyle motto for young South Africans. Already more than 70 percent can readily identify the LoveLife image and can accurately describe its purpose.
LoveLife employs a multimedia campaign to reach youth with HIV-prevention messages combined with a nationwide drive to build prevention awareness by stimulating open and informed communication about sex, sexuality, and gender relations, as well as by developing adolescent sexual health services, outreach, and support programs.
A biweekly newsletter targeted to youths titled Thetha Nathi (Speak to Us), is the centerpiece of the partnership with Independent Newspapers. It will assist LoveLife in expanding its media reach and educational efforts. It was scheduled for publication in various provinces in early November 2001.
In addition to Thetha Nathi, LoveLife’s other major programs include S’camta (slang for “Talk about It”), a weekly television program. It encourages teens throughout the country to talk openly about sex and relationships, both with their peers and their parents. S’camta is part road movie, part documentary, and part music program with hosts traveling throughout South Africa sharing stories about life, sex, and being young.
LoveLife also reaches youth through LoveLife radio, which partners with three commercial radio stations and six public services radio stations in South Africa. It has established youth-friendly health services in public clinics, a free sexual health help line, and sexual health education programs in the most remote parts of South Africa.
LoveLife’s goal is to reduce substantially the incidence of HIV, STDs, and unwanted pregnancy among 15- to 20-year-old South Africans. At the current rate of infection, more than 50 percent of young South Africans could die from AIDS. That is 6 million young people.
Overall, South Africa is home to more people living with HIV/AIDS than any other country in the world (4.2 million South Africans are HIV positive according to UNAIDS).
There is sufficient evidence to suggest that LoveLife is making a major mark on young people in South Africa. For the post-apartheid generation, which is exposed to the global economy and a pervasive media, LoveLife has become a national movement calling South African youth to both community and personal action. A particularly poignant comment by one teenager in a recent survey was,“When we drive past the billboards, we feel so proud because they give us a sense of belonging.”
Resources from LoveLife include:
For more information:
LoveLife
P.O. Box 45
Parklands 2121
Phone: +27 11 771 6800
Fax: +27 11 771 6801
Web site: http://www.LoveLife.org.za
E-mail: talk@LoveLife.org.za
For more papers and information on LoveLife and South Africa, visit the Kaiser Family Foundation Web site at http://www.kff.org/docs/sections/lovelife.html
Web Master: siecus@siecus.org