If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

If I kept it to myself
At the Namibia Red Cross I managed a health
and development communication partnership
with a South African NGO called Soul City. This
partnership aimed to encourage behaviour
change through high quality communication tools
including radio, television and print material.
In Namibia, over 90% of the population cite
radio as their primary source of information.
Mass media reached the people and kept
them informed, as well as influenced the public
agenda. In relation to the HIV pandemic in
Southern Africa, mass media has already proven
to significantly increase public awareness and
influence attitudes. My technical knowledge
and experience with radio, television and
print material development was a significant
contribution to the five year Desert Soul, Health
and Development Communication Project. In the
two years I was there, we developed the media
plan and mapped which vehicle to use for which
audience, and which health and development
topics were most relevant to the Namibian
context. We researched and developed a brand
for the project, which would be the driving force
behind the credibility and recognition of the
products. I coordinated formative research for the
adult HIV and AIDS booklet, ‘AIDS Action Now!’
and commissioned the television aspect of the
project, the production of a Namibian children’s
segment. I negotiated the radio partnership
and the layout of the print booklet, with over 1,5
million copies printed.
The Desert Soul Project was created from the
development, in 2001, of a youth booklet by
the Namibia Red Cross called ‘Choose Life’.
With 400 000 copies printed and distributed to
all corners of the country, this booklet had the
biggest print-run of any print material in Namibia.
An evaluation of the booklet has shown that
‘Choose Life’ has been quoted by a majority of in
and out of school youth as one of their primary
sources of information on AIDS, issues affecting
orphans and vulnerable children, and on general
life skills.
At the end of 2003, two years after joining
the Namibian Red Cross I moved to Geneva,
Switzerland to join the International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC) Secretariat as Coordinator for the
Federation’s global HIV and AIDS Anti-Stigma
Campaign. ‘The truth about AIDS - Pass it
on...’ campaign works to reduce stigma and
discrimination against people living with HIV
and AIDS (PLWHA) through partnerships with
the global network of people living with HIV
and AIDS (GNP) and its regional and national
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affiliates. With advocacy for the human rights
and empowerment of PLWHA as one of its main
objectives, this campaign supports national Red
Cross and Red Crescent societies in making
use of advocacy opportunities to reduce stigma
in their communities.
As coordinator of the campaign, I coordinate
global coherence of Red Cross and Red
Crescent anti-stigma campaigns, produce
resource material, and support national societies
in implementing activities. Since beginning
work on the campaign, I have developed
two communications packs, three campaign
newsletters, and coordinated three key date
events, which include supporting National
Society events for World Red Cross and Red
Crescent Day and World AIDS Day. At the XV
International AIDS Conference, in 2004, I also
contributed to our partnership with PLWHA
and raised the significance of the greater
involvement of PLWHA in all aspects of the HIV
and AIDS response.
The bulk of our anti-stigma work is implemented
by volunteers and staff and aimed at reducing
stigma within the organisation and in
communities. With more than 200,000 PLWHA
within the organisation, the Federation itself has
had to go through a significant change process to
become a better home for PLWHA and a better
partner for GNP+.
I help raise the profile of people living with HIV
and AIDS by creating a platform for their voices to
be heard at international fora. One such an event
was the marking of the 10th anniversary of the
greater involvement of people living with HIV and
AIDS (GIPA) Principle on the 1st of December
2004 through a joint project with GNP+. I also
support the voices of people living with HIV and
AIDS through media materials including press
releases, opinion pieces and stories for different
internal and external audiences.
I work very closely with young people in the
Red Cross and Red Crescent who have great
enthusiasm and commitment to the cause. In
many countries our stigma reduction work is
driven by young people who use innovative
activities like ‘riding the bus’ in Jamaica,
concerts, candle light marches and sporting
activities around the rest of the world. Because
of their enthusiasm, commitment and creativity,
young people have been able to examine their
respective contexts and identify issues of stigma,
and ways these can be addressed in their
communities. Because our movement is built on