A study on the Behavior Change Communication in the social marketing of condoms

Abstract

Behavior Change Communication is a process of promoting and sustaining healthy changes in behavior of individuals and communities in the form of healthy messages and approaches. In India the incidence f HIV/AIDS epidemic was alarming in the late 1990s and it was estimated in 1990 there were approximately 2, 00,000 people infected with HIV in India. By the year, 2003 the number had climbed to 5.1 million. As per UNDP 2010 report, India had 2.395 million people living with HIV at the end of 2009. According to the United Nations 2011 AIDS report, there has been a 50 % decline in the number of new HIV infections in the last 10 years in India. Behavior Change Communication was incorporated in the NGO Capacity building Training programme on social marketing of condoms sponsored by TNSACS and VHS-APAC Project of USAID. The objective of BCC in HIV prevention and AIDS mitigation is to address stigma and discrimination and also attempt to influence social responses among high risk groups like Commercial Sex Workers, Industrial workers, Migrant population etc., The effectiveness of BCC was studied by conducting a interview among 40 NGOs who were trained on NGO Capacity Building training programme on social marketing of condoms and working in HIV/AIDS intervention on various target groups since 1998 in the state of Tamil Nadu. According to a data released by NACO 2012, India has an overall reduction of 57 % in estimated annual new Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections (among adult population) from 0.274 million in 2000 to 0.116 million in 2011. From the findings it was found out that BCC could develop positive behaviors, promote and sustain individual, community and societal behavior change and maintain appropriate behaviors. It is suggested that the effective BCC could bring about increased knowledge, promotes essential attitudinal change, improve skills and a sense of self efficacy, and stimulate community dialogue and environmental changes among the target groups. Therefore it is recommended that BCC framed effectively in any health based interventions like life style diseases could bring in necessary behavioral change.