The document discusses strategies for reducing HIV risk among young people in South Africa. It argues that limited opportunities in education, employment, and entrepreneurship fuel the HIV epidemic by constraining choices and creating a perception of scant opportunity. The proposed strategies aim to change this perception by developing a mindset of seeking opportunity, building skills to negotiate pressures, and finding new links to opportunities through programs, peer networks, and media campaigns. The goal is reducing risk by empowering personal initiative to respond to circumstances.

1. loveLife
Social and Behavioural Interventions Workshop
30 November 2009

2. Rationale of new approach
• Young people have ‘got the message’
message
• What continues to drive HIV is not their response to the message,
but response to their circumstances
• Perception of limited day-to-day opportunity – social, educational,
economic – is the core fuel for the epidemic
• Their context must change, but so must their response
• Risk can be reduced by personal initiative; this means to negotiate
initiative
day-to-day pressures and expectations; and new links to opportunity
expectations

3. What continues to drive HIV is
not their response to the
message, but response to their
circumstances

4. Perception of limited day-to-day
opportunity – social, educational,
economic – is the core fuel for the
epidemic

5. Factors influencing sexual decision-making in
school-leavers
WHO YOU THINK YOU CAN WHO SOCIETY THINKS
BE: YOU CAN BE:
Perceptions of gender
Self-esteem empowerment
Sense of purpose Perceptions of
Being ‘complete’ womanhood
Sense of excitement & Tolerance of violence
exploration 19 yr old woman in Tolerance of social
Ability to seize opportunity Khayelitsha: polarization
WHO WILL YOU BE?
WHO SOCIETY LETS YOU BE:
Opportunity:
•Educational
•Employment
•Entrepreneurship
Need for security:
•Physical
•Material

6. The chain of mediators between structural
inequality and high risk behaviour
Constrained
choices
Inadequate Knowledge
Perception sense of: and
Structural of scant - Purpose perception of
inequality opportunity - Belonging risk
- Identity
Low social
solidarity
High risk behaviour

7. The challenge is changing perception of
opportunity in such a polarized society
Cumulative household income distribution 2000
120
100
80
Actual household
Percent
income
60
Equal income
distribution
40
20
0
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Quintiles
Source: Statistics SA (2002). Earnings & spending in South Africa. Selected findings from the income
& expenditure surveys of Oct 1995 and Oct 2000, Pretoria

8. HIV highest in high-transition communities

9. Risk can be reduced by
personal initiative;
the means to negotiate day-to-
day pressures
and expectations;
and new links to opportunity

10. The loveLife generation - Make YOUR Move
AIM:
Change perception of opportunity among young people
OBJECTIVES:
1. Develop a look-for-opportunity mindset
2. Build ability to negotiate day-to-day pressures & expectations
3. Find new links to opportunity

11. loveLife strategies
Programmes strategies
Connect young leaders
Grow the Foster Mobile social networks
networks leadership Mentorship – linking young people to
influence
Create new opportunities ‘Packages of opportunity’ e.g. service-linked
bursaries
Package & parachute information about
Strategies
opportunities
Create new links to opportunity Open up precedents and pathways to
personal growth and development for school-
leavers
Develop better ‘transition Focus on response to circumstance:
navigators’ for young people Sense of opportunity, anticipation of pressures
and trade-offs, resilience
Use peers, parents and other Focus on most marginalised in high-
significant motivators in transition circumstances
comprehensive life enrichment Achieve >70% face-to-face coverage
programs Young people directly affected by HIV/Aids
Shape social expectations through High-profile media campaign
media & community mobilization linked to community and parental
mobilization,

12. Community Mobilisation

13. loveLife MEDIA

14. 2007:

15. Outdoor

16. Television
2008: Make YOUR move: Media Support
Year-long Public Service Announcements (SABC)
External broadcasts on partner stations
Broadcast video clips (SABC, website)
TOTAL REACH: + 1 million daily

17. Radio
Year-long 60” Public Service Announcements (13 SABC stations)
Weekly programmes (11 SABC Language Stations)
Extended weekly broadcasts (Jacaranda, YFM, Community Stations)
PR-targeted interviews (commercial stations)
TOTAL LISTENERSHIP: +7 million weekly

18. Radio Ys Programme

19. Print
2008: Make YOUR move: Media Support
UNCUT (in association with Jumpstart & SAIE)
Youth Publication (in association with Sunday
Times)
Born Free Dialogues (Sunday Sun)
Business publications
Community Newspapers (National)
TOTAL READERSHIP: +2 million monthly

20. Website
Youth Website: interactive Make YOUR move challenges including
youth portal and mobile content
Parent Website: gogoGetters & parents MYM-themed activities
Corporate: Corporate MYM challenges
TOTAL HITS: +500K monthly

21. Website

22. Trigger behaviour change
• Internal Determinants – [ personal beliefs, attitudes] - individual focus
• External Determinants – [access to resources, social norms] –
structural/societal focus

23. Determinants
Determinants can encourage change or discourage change.
• Behaviour change interventions must build on positive determinants
and reduce negative ones in order to be effective.

24. groundBREAKERS
• Over 7,500 18-25 year-old groundBREAKERS
have graduated from the year-long training
and empowerment programme
• Each cohort is supported by a network of over
5,000 mpintshis (buddies)
• Together they play an important leadershipbecoming groundBREAKERS
Employment levels, before and after
role in their communities that goes well
beyond HIV prevention
• Gives disadvantaged youth opportunities for
personal and professional development
outside of traditional channels
• Extensive motivation, leadership, public
speaking and administrative training
• They run loveLife’s outreach programmes

25. Mobile Social Networking
• Over 75% of South African youth own mobile phones, 71% in
informal settlements and 67% in rural areas.
• 60% use their cell phone to SMS or make calls everyday.
• Internet access via computers is low at 6%, but South Africa’s mobile
internet usage via WAP is one of the highest in the world.
• Social networking plays directly into the three key triggers to behavior
change – sense of identity, belonging, and purpose.
belonging purpose
Sources:
• Kaiser Family Foundation and SABC, Young South Africans, Broadcast Media, and HIV/AIDS. March 2007.
• South African Advertising Research Foundation, All Media and Products Survey 2006.
• WAP Review, Great Mobile Web Statistics from AdMob (http://wapreview.com/blog/?p=416).

26. loveLife
6,000+ 3,700 schools Reach:
peer educators 150 community- 500,000
based partner youth / month
NGOs with direct
(groundBreakers and face-to-face
Mpintshis) 350 government interaction
clinics
Sustained Media: Radio, TV, Print, Web, and Mobile