Reaching men: at work and in social settings
Robinson, E.T.
Network 12(1): 9; 15-16
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0270-3637 PMID: 12316893 Document Number: 314668
Targeting men with the message of AIDS prevention is vital because men are the major sexual decision makers in developing countries; reaching them at work and social settings is an effective way to intervene. Men who work as truckers, police, miners and other migrant workers, soldiers and seamen are highly mobile, spend time away from home and are likely to engage in high risk behavior. A targeted intervention operated by the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) with the assistance of AIDSTECH has trained peer educators, usually barmaids, bar owners and health workers, to talk to transport workers driving between Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Zambia. Thousands of AIDS prevention posters, stickers and flyers, and 130,000 condoms per month have been distributed. KAP surveys have been conducted on the project by graduate students from University of Dar es Salaam. Condom distribution points were opened in offices of 2 major trucking companies, a fat in Tanzania where condoms are only supplied by medical outlets. AIDSTECH has also helped set up AIDS interventions for the Ghana Armed Forces, involving HIV testing, condom distribution and education. The military is a conducive milieu for communicating AIDS health messages because of the authoritarian structure.