Invitation to Review - Social Change Communication document from UNAIDS - Draft Technical Update

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

UNAIDS would like to invite you to comment on a draft Technical Update on Social

Change Communication.

This draft has been written by a consultant and guided by the Social Change

Communication Working Group, a group of experts and practitioners working in the

field of health communication.

Over the last few years there has been increasing awareness of the need to scale

up HIV prevention efforts using a comprehensive approach to reducing new

infections. Combination prevention has increasingly come to the fore, showing

how biological, behavioural and structural level factors behind HIV risk and

vulnerability all need to be addressed.

While a good level of sophistication exists within the fields of biological (eg

PMTCT, male circumcision) and behavioural (eg behavioural change communication,

social marketing), there is less known about effective structural interventions.

UNAIDS has developed a draft guidance document on social change

communication, to help outline how and why communication should be used to

tackle societal level factors behind HIV risk and vulnerability.

The document explains the background for social change communication, and

details some basic principles for its application. Designed to be read alongside

UNAIDS Practical Guidance for HIV Prevention, it shows how communication which

systematically tackles the social drivers of HIV, including stigma,

discrimination, rights abuses and gender inequity, can be mainstreamed into

national HIV responses.

If possible, please scan through this document, and send any comments to

Scalway at tscalway@... before October 19th.

We are particularly interested in the views of those working with

communication within national level responses to HIV – but all inputs will be

greatly valued.

Barbara O. de Zalduondo, M.Sc., Ph.D.¦

Chief, Programmatic Priorities and Support,

Division, Evidence, Monitoring and Policy Department

UNAIDS¦ 20 Avenue Appia ¦ CH-1211 Geneva 27 ¦ Switzerland ¦

Tel:+4122 791-1557 ¦ Fax:+4122 791 4746 ¦ Mobile:+4179 329-4081

E-mail: deZalduondoB@...

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scc_tech_update_oct2009.doc