/ 6 December 2013

Engaging education

Engaging Education

Finding persuasive ways to engage adolescents and young people on how to protect themselves from HIV and Aids is a great challenge.

When the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), MTV and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) joined forces to promote HIV testing and prevention information for this key audience, they chose one of the world’s oldest delivery systems: a compelling story.

The Shuga series of TV and radio dramas was the result.

The series follows young people as they encounter challenges in urban and rural African settings. African actors and an Oscar-winning production team collaborated to make the stories credible and lively, while technical experts ensured that the content is accurate and up to date.

Shuga became the basis for a multimedia campaign aimed at increasing HIV-related knowledge and testing among adolescents and young people.

The award-winning Shuga TV and radio series has already impacted health-seeking behaviours among the young.

It is estimated that the number of adolescents and young people visiting voluntary counselling and testing sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo increased 50% in the period after the Shuga broadcasts compared to the period before.

This article forms part of a supplement paid for by Unicef. Contents and photographs were supplied and signed off by Unicef