UK commits R225 m to HIV/AIDS programmes in sub-Saharan countries

The UK Government has been supporting Soul City for the past 13 years with a total spend of more than R200m and has committed an additional R225m (£14m) over the next 4 years.

This funding will support Soul City's ongoing work in other Sub-Saharan countries as HIV and Aids knows no borders and Southern Africa has the highest HIV infection rates in the world. The Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication, the largest HIV and Aids communication programme in South Africa, has been implementing a groundbreaking project to tackle the epidemic across borders.

Together with eight country partners, the Soul City Institute has initiated a complex and innovative initiative to reduce levels of HIV and Aids in the region.

The partners are local NGOs in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe which develop local television, radio and print materials. The programme is also building skills in the region to develop quality and effective health communication.

The adapted Soul City material is already reaching more than 60% of all young people.

In South Africa for an official visit, the UK's Permanent Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Gillian Merron, said today:

“The UK Government is proud to be associated with such innovative ‘edutainment'. I am delighted that my government is going to support the rollout of Soul City programmes across the Southern African region with the commitment of R225m over the next four years. Young people deserve to have access to the information that can save lives and Soul City's approach does just that.”

Says John Molefe Soul City spokesperson,
“Our approach uses mass media entertainment education programmes to get key health messages across. We have not just reproduced the Soul City brand in the region but have worked with local partners and to train them to develop ‘home-grown' communication interventions.”

He continues,
“Effective communication is a key factor in the control of HIV and Aids. It is also widely recognized that locally developed health promotion that is culturally relevant and appropriate, is most effective in creating change. It is the combination of locally driven programmes with a coordinated regional focus and skills building, that makes this project unique.”

Soul City addresses 20 different health and development topics through its TV dramas, print materials and radio dramas. These topics range from maternal health care, xenophobia to domestic violence, as well as having a strong emphasis on HIV and AIDS. As one of the biggest interventions in South Africa doing HIV prevention with adults and children, Soul City can claim to have contributed to the changes in sexual behaviour among young people and the decline in HIV prevalence amongst young South African women under 20. The figure has fallen from 16.1% in 2004 to 13.7% in 2006.