Communication for Development. Health Communications

1. Introduction
Since the 1980s the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been one of the greatest challenges within the field of ‘Communication for Development’.
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which attacks the immune system and prohibits the body from fighting illnesses. When an HIV-positive person has a lowered immune defense it will eventually develop into AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), where a person can get a variety of infections (Singhal & Rogers, 2001: 41). This will in the end lead to death. Since the first cases of HIV/AIDS were identified in United States in the early 1980s, the HIV virus has increased rapidly throughout the world.
The facts of HIV/AIDS from 2006 are shocking:
• A total of 39.5 million people were living with HIV in 2006 (2.6 million more than in 2004).

• The number of new infections in 2006 rose to 4.3 million (400.000 more than in 2004).

• Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most affected region in the world. Two thirds of all people living with HIV live in this region 24.7 million people in 2006. Almost three quarters of all adult and child deaths due to AIDS occurred in sub-Saharan Africa- 2.1 million of the global 2.9 million deaths due to AIDS.

• The number of people living with HIV/AIDS has increased in every region in the world in the past two years. The most striking increases have occurred in East Asia and in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where the number of people living with HIV in 2006 was over one fifth (21%) higher than in 2004.
• Globally and in every region, more adult women (15 years or older) than ever before are now living with HIVAIDS. The 17.7 million women living with HIV in 2006 represent an increase of over one million compared with 2004
(http://data.unaids.org/pub/EpiReport/2006/20061121_EPI_FS_GlobalFacts_en.pdf).

There is no cure for the virus, nor a vaccine expected in the near future. However, there is a way to extent and improve the lives of HIV/AIDS infected people, by using the drug known as ARV, which stands for anti-retroviral. Yet, it is expensive, and demands clinical requirements, and is therefore out of reach for the vast majority of the people living in the developing countries. The battle against HIV/AIDS has mainly been considered a bio-medical problem, but eventually a more multidimensional approach has set the agenda in the intervention programs. Furthermore, communication has been seen as an important and useful tool in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In this project we will elaborate upon the theories and strategies within the field of communication for development and health communication. Our case-study will be the newspaper Trendsetters which is made for the youth in Zambia. We will use the theories and strategies to understand and analyse the possibilities and limitations in our case-study.

1.1. Motivation
Since we are eight people coming from different cultures and backgrounds, we have distinctive motivations for writing this project. Nonetheless, we all have one thing in common, namely the great interest in developing countries and the immense problems they are facing, especially HIV/AIDS. We all have a common desire to learn how the world could be a fairer place, which provides us with an interest in what strategies and methods can be used in combating the epidemic and equalising societies. Frequently, we meet representatives from humanitarian organisations through newspapers, television programs and on the street that aims at increasing our awareness of HIV/AIDS. This has been one of the factors, why HIV/AIDS has always been in the back of our minds. Despite 25 years of trying to fight the epidemic, HIV/AIDS is still on top of the agenda. A lot has been done, but not enough has been achieved, as the epidemic is still increasing. Health communication is interesting to investigate, as we experience it in our daily lives and is seen as a necessary element in improving personal and public health. Several people within our group have experienced the emotional and moral aspect that follows from being infected by HIV/AIDS, by having met people who actually suffers from it. These personal experiences has inspired the rest of the group and sparked the interest even more.
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