BBC News - November 4, 2003
Graciela Damiano, BBC Focus On Africa magazine

Brazilian journalists are running a media campaign on the state channel Naçao Coragem (Brave Nation), including regular radio programmes, TV spots and in-depth reports on different aspects of the virus.

Angola, like several other southern African countries, relies on Brazilian expertise in dealing with HIV/Aids. Brazil's campaign against the illness is regarded by the World Health Organisation as one of the most successful.

"Communications when dealing with Aids is very difficult because it cannot be just propaganda," Sergio Guerra, a managing director of Marketing Link, one of the advertising agencies involved, told BBC World Service's Focus On Africa magazine.

"It is not about creating some sort of pun to gain visibility. It has to be didactic and correct because you cannot let HIV-positive people be stigmatised."

Migration risks

Although Angola's Aids prevalence rate is believed to be far lower than in the countries around it, at 5.5 per cent of the adult population, there is concern that the virus could rapidly spread - partly due to the return of large numbers of Angolans who fled to neighbouring countries during the country's civil war.

According to the UN High Commission for Refugees, 200,000 fled to Zambia, 163,000 to DR Congo, 24,000 to Namibia and 16,000 to Congo-Brazzaville.

These countries are among the worst affected by HIV/Aids, with an infection rate of more than twenty per cent.

But Brazil's HIV prevalence rate is 0.7 per cent - and it is that success that is causing other countries to seek their help.

Brazilian journalists also produce a TV programme in Botswana with documentaries and live discussions on the subject, and the country is considering setting up a factory in Mozambique to produce cheaper anti-retroviral drugs.

Mr Guerra said he found the challenge to promote awareness in Africa even bigger than in Brazil.

"Here, sex is seen as leisure and children as wealth. Men want many children," he stated.

And he added that other problems included the high level of illiteracy - especially in the Angolan countryside - and catering for the different languages, which makes any health campaign much more complex and expensive.

"[To do a proper campaign] you need to have multiplication agents to reach the people in rural areas," he said.

"The authorities, community leaders, they all need to be made aware of the dangers of HIV/Aids.

"We need to be very sensitive to cultural traditions."

'Invest in prevention'

Mr Guerra estimated that an ideal campaign against HIV/Aids in Angola could cost up to US$30m.

He stressed he was disappointed that Angola was not a priority when the Aids pandemic is discussed at international forums.

"The United States announced that they are giving US$15bn dollars to fight Aids in the next three years, but they are giving nothing to Angola," he said, adding that he would like to see more money invested in prevention.

"For each dollar that you invest in prevention you save US$10 or US$100 in treatment."

The programme is already having its successes, however.

Naçao Coragem has made a number of stories on how HIV tests are performed part of its broadcasts.

Since then there has been an increase in voluntary testing in many areas of Luanda.

At one health centre, 87 people were tested in 2002 - while the figure for the first seven months of this year is 455.

031104
BB031103

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2003. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2003. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.