The PSI BCC Blog

Men in the Middle: Reaching Non-Gay Identified MSM in Togo

A growing body of evidence around men who have sex with men (MSM) in Africa suggests that this long-ignored population is not only present, but incredibly varied in behavior, beliefs, and lifestyles. One of the few common themes among MSM in this region is - sadly - their enormously high HIV risk, which far outstrips that of the general population in nearly every African country. Identifying MSM -particularly those who don't self-identify as gay - has proved to be one of the larger challenges facing interventions targeting this population.

PSI/Togo’s HIV project for MSM, which is beginning its third year, is currently launching a new initiative to better reach hidden MSM subgroups.

For the past two years, PSI has worked primarily with self-identifying gay men in Lomé, communicating HIV prevention messages through peer education and referrals for HIV counseling and testing.  Initial project design was based on qualitative, peer-driven research, which helped to establish trust relationships between PSI staff and leaders in Togo'sMSM community.  With the evolution of the project, PSI/Togo determined that tapping into subgroups within this community was an important next step. Non-gay-identified MSM are particularly high priority, for a number of reasons. Due to cultural restrictions, many Togolese MSM are forced to marry and have children to be accepted by society, which drives them to engage in poorly planned and oftentimes unprotected sex with men on the side. These men are often difficult to reach due to their clandestine nature and fear of association with other, more open MSM. Motivation around both condom use and HIV testing appears to be somewhat different among this group than men who self-identify as gay.

PSI/Togo has begun to reach this group through the addition of new peer educators and expansion intothree cities in the interior of the country. With this geographic expansion has come a natural inclusion of new, less gay-identified, MSM subgroups. So what does this  narrower segmentation mean in the context of an already-small peer education program? Messages emphasize biological risks to both partners (and children) involved, and avoid referencing gay identity. Non-gay-identifying men are often hesitant to attend activities that cater to gay men, and may prefer smaller, more discrete events. PSI's efforts to target this group are still nascent - but represent an attempt to segment a small and little-understood audience. We look forward to seeing the results of this new phase!

Guest Blogger Ben Clapham manages PSI/Togo's MSM program.

In Kidi Ya Chanza: Modeling Sound Farming Practices through Radio

Small farmers in Nigeria are facing a rapidly changing climate, which poses critical challenges to their livelihood. Lack of information on environmentally appropriate farming methods poses a particular barrier.The challenge to those that possess the knowledge about appropriate environmentally sustainable farming practices—the Nigerian government, research institutions, and civil society—is to find a means to disseminate this information to the farmers that seek it.

In an effort to respond to this problem, the African Radio Drama Association (ARDA), a production and training center that produces entertainment-education programs throughout Nigeria, developed In Kidi Ya Chanza, a 26-episode radio now in its second season.

Each episode of the series begins with 15 minutes devoted to the drama. The drama is set in rural and peri-urban environments in northern Nigeria. Although it centers on fictional locations to enable cross-cutting themes to be applied to locales throughout Nigeria, the drama also references real towns and communities.To complement the messages provided in the drama, the series integrates firsthand expert knowledge into the latter portion of each series. Agriculture extension officers or experienced local farmers provide informative dialogues on new adaptive strategies that can be used in conjunction with farmers’ traditional knowledge to combat the harsh conditions in a region.  In Kidi Ya Chanza uses a variety of channels to promote listener engagement and interaction. Listeners are encouraged to provide feedback via text message, phone and mail, as well as local farmers' associations.

ARDA chose a serial drama format for the following reasons:

• Through multi-dimensional characters, drama can credibly portray models of responsibility, community leadership, and self-efficacy, and at the same time present new social norms to drive behavior change.

• Drama supports household discussions of otherwise difficult topics.

• Drama encourages the audience to be part of the process of change without creating message overload.

The series is produced in two local Nigerian languages, with scripts available in English and French. It is broadcast weekly by five radio stations and will be evaluated to test the effectiveness of informing smallholder farmers of climate change adaptation measures and strengthen their capacity to mitigate the impact on their livelihoods.

In Kidi Ya Chanza draws upon a long history of entertainment education for agricultural development that was first piloted by the BBC series The Archers, a British radio soap opera that has been broadcast since 1950. Originally produced in collaboration with the British Ministry of Agriculture, The Archers was conceived as a means of disseminating information to small farmers to help increase productivity in the post-World War II years of rationing and food shortages. The 15-minute radio series, also set in fictional towns, began as a conduit for announcements from the Ministry of Agriculture. However, the formal relationship with the Ministry of Agriculture ended in 1972 and the show since has expanded its focus to include health and social issues, including  rural drug abuse, inter-racial relationships and civil partnerships.  While In Kidi Ya Chanza continues to focus primarily on agriculture-related themes, the precedent set by The Archers demonstrates the possibility of expansion to other content areas.

For more information see:  African Radio Development Association

Imagine Afrika: A reality TV show promotes a vision of a future without HIV

Imagine Afrika, a reality TV show pitting teams of African young people against each other in a competition to address some of the problems facing the continent, will soon begin its second season. The 13-episode show, which spans five African countries, highlights the experience of twelve young contestants as they work with communities to generate solutions to local problems. The show's challenges focus on factors contributing to the HIV epidemic, including poverty and struggling health services, with the goal of "demonstrating the power of personal initiative, self esteem, and leadership." Each week, audiences across Africa vote for their favorite teams, while a panel of experts score their efforts. A season finale brings together all the teams for a final challenge.

Although the show has been well received, critics have noted the difficulties of developing a pan-African product that reflects the cultural, linguistic, and epidemiological diversity of the continent.The show's creators plan to conduct an impact evaluation of the show during the coming year.

Imagine Afrika was developed by the African Broadcast Media Partnership Against HIV/AIDS as part of its It Begins with YOU campaign, a multi-year pan-African HIV program launched in December 2006.

For more information, see www.itbeginswithyou.org/tv_show/index.html