Download the full document
(pdf format 
)
We would like to acknowledge PACT and UNAIDS, particularly Fekerte Belete, Health Program Manager of PACT-Ethiopia, for all the efforts made to bring the idea of HIV communication framework into reality.
This document was prepared by a consulting team of four people: Ato Asres Kebede, Dr Fahmi Mohammed, Dr Shabir Ismael and W/r Yene Assegid, We would like to acknowledge their efforts and professional contributions.
Our sincere thanks and appreciations go to the Ministry of Health for their immense and timely support.
Last, but not least, we are grateful to all individuals and organizations that participated in different consultative workshops, without their input these communication framework document would not be realized.
National HIV/AIDS Council Secretariat
AIDS |
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome |
BCC |
Behavior Change Communication |
CBO |
Community Based Organization |
CSW |
Commercial Sex Workers |
EPPM |
Extended Parallel Process Model |
FGM |
Female Genital Mutilation |
HIV |
Human Immune-deficiency Virus |
HEC |
Health Education Center |
HTP |
Harmful Traditional Practices |
IEC |
Information Education Communication |
KAP |
Knowledge Attitude and Practice |
MOH |
Ministry of Health |
MOLSA |
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs |
NACS |
National AIDS Counsel Secretariat |
NGO |
Non-Governmental Organization |
NOP |
National Office of Population |
PLWHA |
People Living With HIV/AIDS |
PMC |
Population Media Center |
PMTCT |
Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission |
RACS |
Regional AIDS Counsel Secretariat |
RHBs |
Regional Health Bureaus |
RH |
Reproductive Health |
STIs |
Sexually Transmitted Infections |
STDs |
Sexually Transmitted Diseases |
UNAIDS |
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS |
VCT |
Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing |
BCC
BCC or Behavior Change Communication is an interactive process aimed at changing social and individual behavior, using targeted, specific messages and different communication approaches, which is linked to services for effective outcomes.
IEC
Advocacy
Advocacy refers to communication strategies focusing on policy makers, community leaders & opinion leaders to gain commitment and support. Advocacy is an appeal for a higher-level commitment, involvement and participation in fulfilling a set program agenda. It is also publicity or popularization of important issues; mobilization of support in the defense of a cause.
Message
A message is concise information communicated to address specific issues to a specific target.
Channels
Channels are ways or methods used to communicate information.
Government Policy
Government Policy refers to the role of policy and law prevailing in a country and the extent to which it either supports or hinders HIV/AIDS Communication intervention efforts.
Socio-Economic Status
Socio-Economic Status refers to either a collective or individual income in relation to how such income can allow or prevent adequate implementation of HIV/AIDS Communication interventions.
Culture
Culture is defined as the positive, unique or negative characteristics existing among and within a population which promote or hinder HIV/AIDS prevention and care practices as well as interventions.
Gender Relations
For the purposes of this Communication Framework, Gender relations is defined as the status of women in relation to the status of men and the influence their status plays on their respective sexual negotiation and decision-making power.
Spirituality
Spirituality refers to the role of spiritual and or religious values in promoting or hindering HIV/AIDS intervention programs.
HIV infections were first reported in Ethiopia in 1984. HIV/AIDS prevalence remained low in the 1980s but sharply accelerated through the 1990s, rising from an estimated 3.2% in the 15–49 age group in 1993 to 10.63% by the end of 1999, with similar increases in various population subgroups, making Ethiopia the sixteenth in HIV prevalence.
In response to the massively growing epidemic various behavioral interventions have been implemented. Many of such interventions carried out have not yielded the intended outcome as well as the impact in reduction of HIV incidence and prevalence. In the international literature the use of behavior change models for such interventions is widely cited, and moreover, their usefulness as well drawbacks are largely reported. Most of these theories and models are targeting individual behaviors. The continued use of these “individual based intervention methods” is not allowing organizations and institutions to make head way in the combat of HIV/AIDS.
The generic Communication Framework originally developed by UNAIDS / PENN State University in the USA, consist of five inter-related contextual domains, namely the policy, the socio-economic, the gender, the culture and spirituality. These were identified with the aim of developing future communication strategies for HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care and Support in the respective countries adopting them.
The development of the National HIV/AIDS Communication Framework represents the opportunity to address Individual behavior change within the contexts affecting the life of the individual. Hence, recent research and the results of Consultative meetings showed that the use of this communication framework will imply a better coordinated and guided implementation of HIV/AIDS programs in Ethiopia.
In Ethiopia, communication materials (including print, audio and otherwise) are not produced in a coordinated manner. There is a great lack of communication among the various organizations disseminating such materials as well as a lack of common standard to follow. Thus, the added-value and benefits of this Communication framework will be to offer means to have Quality of Standards in terms of the communication materials as well as aligning communication organizations and their respective programs to shared goals. This is necessary for Ethiopia's ability to have effective communication on HIV/AIDS intervention programs as well as other interventions.
The main goal of this communication framework is to reduce the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and provide appropriate care and support to the infected and affected through comprehensive communication programs. The general objective is to provide a comprehensive contextual, societal as well as personal behavior related information to serve as a tool for the development of a communication guideline in different scopes and levels.
The HIV/AIDS Communication Framework involves a broad range of IEC/BCC and advocacy activities and a variety of communication channels and approaches. It also calls for the active participation of a number of actors and stakeholders both at federal, regional and grass root levels. Therefore, the overall coordination for the implementation of the framework will be the responsibility of the National HIV/AIDS Council secretariat. PACT Ethiopia will be responsible for planning key roles in the implementation of the framework, development of the guidelines including follow up research in-order to refine the framework. The Ministry of Health will be the key collaborating institution during implementation process due to its special mandate in the development of health promotion and owning health infrastructures at the federal and regional levels. Relevant government and non-government organizations at all levels will be active actors in the implementation.
The communication framework addresses major issues in HIV/AIDS, their implications, desired outcome, advocacy and BCC objectives, audience, message, channels of communication indicators for measuring success and possible partners for implementation. It is believed that only by addressing the issues that affect the individual’s ability to achieve change can the goal of reducing HIV/AIDS transmission be achieved in Ethiopia. It is expected that following the development of this Framework, the respective regional and woreda level operating agencies will formulate HIV/AIDS communication guidelines for their implementation.
