Heading: THE “SIDA NTAHO YAGIYE (HIV/AIDS IS NOT OVER)” SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
By the end of 2021, about 38.4 million people were living with HIV and 2/3 of them were in Africa (WHO, 2022). According to the UNAIDS estimates, 227,356 people were living with HIV in Rwanda by the end of December 2021. Though the HIV prevalence among the general population in Rwanda has stabilized and maintained at 3% among the aged 15-64 over the past 15 years, the high prevalence of new HIV infections among young people and adolescents (aged 15-24) is very alarming.
Research has shown that the use of condoms as means of HIV prevention among sexually active youths have been declining over the past years due to various factors. This is a threat to not only their lives but to their sex partners and their cycles. For instance, the Rwanda Demographic Health Survey (RDHS 2019-2020) reported that 5% of women aged 15-19 have begun childbearing. The figures represent the teenagers who can acquire or transmit HIV/AIDS and other STIs. “Where there is pregnancy, so can be HIV/AIDS or other STIs”.
In addition, RDHS reported that 59% of young women and 57% of young men aged 15-24 have comprehensive knowledge of HIV. While the lack of information about HIV prevention and treatment is thought to be a key contributing factor to the rise of new HIV infections among young people and adolescents, addressing this issue can contribute immensely to achieving zero new HIV infections.
Against this background, UNESCO in partnership with COMMUNITY HEALTH BOOSTERS successfully planned and conducted the one-month “SIDA Ntaho Yagiye (HIV/AIDS Is Not Over) Social media campaign to raise awareness of HIV prevention, reduce HIV stigma, and promote HIV testing, prevention, and treatment among young people and adolescents. The campaign also reminded young people that they have to keep fighting against HIV/AIDS. While Young people and adolescents being the highly affected by this issue and are more on social medias, to reach more of them, this campaign was conducted massively through distinguished social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.).
The campaign was conducted within a period of one month (From 15 May to 15 June, 2023) and throughout this whole period, the daily message posters were shared widely and massively on distinguished social medias. Briefly, the campaign goal was to reach 300,000 people on social media with distinguished messages on HIV Prevention, Treatment, Testing and Stigma but the reach gone beyond expectations and directly reached a total of 430,694 people on Twitter, and 86,780 on Instagram , making the campaign goal to be achieved at 172.5 % without those reached indirectly through other social medias and participation of distinguished individuals.