|
|
 |
"Drowning in the sea of sex"?– communications, counselling & compassion
Judith King. HIVAN Media Team. 18 July 2003.
|
Tesfagabir Tesfu did not set out to become involved with HIV/AIDS pre- and post-test counselling when he came to the University of KwaZulu-Natal?’s Durban campus from Eritrea nearly 18 months ago. He had been a reporter in his country?’s Ministry of Information for over two years after graduating with a BA in English, when his employers offered him a bursary to study for a Master?’s degree in ?“Health Promotion through Entertainment-Education?” at UND?’s Centre for Culture, Communication and Media Studies.
Now in the final stages of his MA programme, Tesfagabir is working on his thesis, which involves an evaluation of the HIV/AIDS Voluntary Counselling and Testing Programme offered by the University of Durban-Westville. In support of his research, he decided to enrol for an HIV/AIDS Pre- and Post-test Counselling course, run during the mid-year vacation by Kerry Frizelle of UND?’s School of Psychology in association with HIVAN, the Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking.
?“The content of the Counselling course will inform the development of a questionnaire that I am composing for use in the evaluation process,?” explains Tesfagabir, ?“and I feel much more confident now about my levels of knowledge, in terms of both basic facts and broader knowledge about the HIV/AIDS epidemic. But the eight days of training has brought me so much more than this research support ?– I have learnt many things beneficial to my personal and professional development.?”He reflects that the most significant lesson he will take from the course is the awareness of the need, when engaging fully with a person seeking counselling, to suspend personal judgement and to set aside one?’s own deeply held attitudes and beliefs. ?“This is not an easy thing to do,?” he admits. ?“In my country, sex is not an ?‘open?’ topic of discussion; it is never explicitly portrayed in movies or on television, and pornography is banned in video-shops. One doesn?’t even see ?‘deep kissing?’ in public, and there is no exposure regarding alternative sexual orientations or lifestyles.?”
Eritrea has a population of approximately 3,5 million, roughly half of whom are Muslim and the other Christian, and incorporating nine different ethnic groups. According to a UNAIDS briefing on AIDS prevention interventions amongst youth in Eritrea (Best Practice Collection Issue 2, September 2000, Page 14), HIV prevalence has been growing rapidly since 1998, doubling every 18 months.
The study confirms that traditionally, young people have difficulty in obtaining information on health education, social and sexual matters; the family is typically unprepared to deal with such subjects and the school system does not cater to the physical and psychological needs of the young. The National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students (NUEYS) is working to address these problems, through educational and media programmes incorporating discussion around dating, friendship, love and sex, school and peers, as well as basic facts about HIV and AIDS.
Tesfagabir believes that the media have a vital role to play in fighting the epidemic in his country, and specifically in the use of entertainment to educate and truly engage audiences. ?“Although my impression is that our media focus on HIV/AIDS is more active in Eritrea than in South Africa, I?’ve found the CCMS programme so inspiring, as it?’s taught by prominent experts in the field. I?’ve also come to understand that one can achieve so much using ?‘edutainment?’ to inform the public about the epidemic, whether through TV characters, celebrity messaging, integrating HIV/AIDS with music, into news broadcasts and also relaying ?‘human-face?’ stories.?”
The full text of this document and further information about the Health Promotion Through Entertainment Education Programme offered by the Centre for Cultural and Media Studies, can be accessed via the hyperlinks on the righthand side of this page. |
| Was this article helpful to you? |
 ?100%???? ?0%
|
|
Back
|
|
|
|
