Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA September 11, 2004: September 10 has been designated as Addis Ababa VCT Day by the City Council. The VCT Day falls on the eve of the Ethiopian New Year. Events around the VCT Day theme were organized by Addis Ababa HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office (AAHAPCO), Addis Ababa Health Bureau, CDC-Ethiopia and AIDS Resource Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (CCP/ARC). On the occasion, ARC released a two-hour radio program (9:00 am to 11:00 am) on 97.1 FM Addis and a 30-minutes television docu-drama (9:30pm - 10:00pm) on Ethiopian National Television (ETV) promoting voluntary counseling and testing (VCT). Considering a 190 km radius coverage for FM Addis and a 47% viewership for ETV, the impact of the programs was anticipated to be high. As expected, ARC was flooded by callers seeking information on counseling and testing following the transmission of the radio program.
In addition to the radio and television programs, there were a number of activities implemented on that day including the unveiling of a billboard depicting Mayor of Addis Ababa, Arkebe Equbay, while publicly testing for HIV. The event was given a wide media coverage which further enhanced the message being articulated by the VCT day. The billboard was mounted near the Municipality and close by a popular shopping center of the city - Piazza. The primary purpose for the billboard is to provoke the city residents to join the Mayor in getting tested and know of their HIV status in order to take control of their and families' health. The Mayor's picture was accompanied by messages such us "The HV Test I Took Benefited Myself and My Family" and "New Life in the New Year." AID Resource Center produced the billboard in close collaboration with CDC-Ethiopia, Addis Ababa HAPCO and Addis Ababa Health Bureau.
Furthermore, banners were hung on the main roads to publicize the Addis Ababa VCT Day to city residents. Additional billboards depicting young men and women attesting to the benefits of voluntary counseling and testing were also unveiled on the same day. The billboards were mounted in five different sites in Addis Ababa to encourage young men and women to become beneficiaries of VCT services in the city. Posters and brochures with same messages were also produced and distributed to various organizations along with a variety of materials on HIV/AIDS.
Pictures from left to right(Mayor Arkebe's Billboard, Officials and Youth)