Abstract
Since the emergence of the deadly HIV pandemic over 30 years ago, advocates and stakeholders in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have implemented diverse tactics to generate unprecedented media, public and political attention to the crisis (UNAIDS, 2011a). This paper examines some of the advocacy strategies undertaken to position HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan African and concludes that the pandemic has reached the peak of its attention as a public health and development agenda on the continent. The post-2015 development agenda, which does not include a specific goal on HIV/AIDS, also raises concerns that public attention to the pandemic might diminish. However, the paper argues that AIDS is still an ‘unfinished agenda’ of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to sustain public attention in the future, advocates need to develop a new narrative for its rebranding and vigorously pursue an integrated and innovative social mobilization agenda. Key words: Issue attention, media advocacy, strategic positioning, HIV/AIDS.
Highlights
Sub-Saharan Africa is the epicenter of HIV/AIDS, and has experienced the worst cases of infection in the world (Gahaku, 2010; Robinson, 2011)
UNAIDS (2015, p. 59) captures the staggering effect of AIDS with the following details: “In 2014, 25.8 million [24.0 –28.7 million] people in subSaharan Africa were living with HIV, accounting for almost 70% of people living with HIV worldwide. ...Across the region, 13.8 million [12.8–16.0 million] women, 9.7 million [9.0 million–11.3 million] men and 2.3 million [2.2 million–2.5 million] children were living with HIV.”
This paper sought to examine some of the approaches adopted by HIV/AIDS advocates to position HIV/AIDS in the media and the public discourse in sub-Saharan Africa
Summary
Since the emergence of the deadly HIV pandemic over 30 years ago, advocates and stakeholders in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have implemented diverse tactics to generate unprecedented media, public and political attention to the crisis (UNAIDS, 2011a). This paper examines some of the advocacy strategies undertaken to position HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan African and concludes that the pandemic has reached the peak of its attention as a public health and development agenda on the continent. The post-2015 development agenda, which does not include a specific goal on HIV/AIDS, raises concerns that public attention to the pandemic might diminish. The paper argues that AIDS is still an ‘unfinished agenda’ of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to sustain public attention in the future, advocates need to develop a new narrative for its rebranding and vigorously pursue an integrated and innovative social mobilization agenda
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