South African Eastenders saves lives
18 March 2008
South Africa’s most popular soap opera, funded by the UK Government, is
helping to save lives. Gillian Merron, Minister for International Development
today visited the set of Soul City, the South African equivalent of Eastenders,
which is watched by over 70% of South Africans - more than 34 million people.
Not just a soap opera, Soul City and the youth spin-off Soul Buddyz are
dramas with a heart. With the majority of their funding from the UK Government's
Department for International Development (DFID), they tackle serious issues head-on. In
a country where 5.5 million of the population have HIV/ AIDS, ‘edutainment’ can
play a huge role in encouraging people to change their behaviour.
Gillian Merron said:
"The UK Government is proud to support such innovative mass ‘edutainment’.
Soul City and Soul Buddyz have the popularity of Eastenders or Coronation
Street, and it is their hard-hitting, realistic storylines that are their
biggest asset. In a country where more than one in ten of the population is
infected by HIV, Soul City and Soul Buddyz make HIV/ AIDS and other issues
central to their storylines. From always using a condom to never sharing
needles, these television, radio and information campaigns are making people sit
up and listen.
"Although it is early days, for some of the target audiences of Soul City and
Soul Buddyz infection rates are falling. For South African women under 20, HIV
prevalence has declined. On its own, this isn’t going to stop the epidemic, but
it is a real step in the right direction.
"I am delighted that the UK is going to support the roll out of Soul City and
Soul Buddyz across the Southern African region with a commitment of £14 million.
Young people deserve to have access to the information that could save their
lives, and Soul City does just that."
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Soul City and Soul Buddyz aren’t just soap operas - they are radio shows,
advertising campaigns and information packs for kids and their parents. They
address some of the most serious health and development challenges facing
Southern Africa, with topics ranging from HIV and AIDS to maternal health care,
xenophobia to domestic violence.
As part of a recent evaluation of the impact of Soul City, young people
indicated that they had changed their behaviour or attitude as a result of
watching Soul City.
DFID has been supporting Soul City and Soul Buddyz for the last 13 years. We
will provide £14 million over four years to support the roll out of the Soul
City package across the Southern Africa region, to countries including:
Mozambique, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Swaziland, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
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Notes for editors
1. Soul Buddyz is aimed at 8-12 year olds and is designed to
promote their health and well being. It has a TV and radio show as well
as accompanying booklets for children and parents. There are 3600 Soul
Buddyz clubs spread through South Africa.
2. Soul City is a TV and radio show, as well an advertising
campaign and information booklets. All series address HIV/AIDS, as well
as issues such as maternal and child health, violence, rape, disability.
3. The Behaviour Change Communication programme, part of Soul City and
Soul Buddyz, is designed to achieve the following:
- Increase percentage of young people (16-24) who are adopting
safer sexual practices from 49% (baseline) to 59%
- Increase percentage of youth and adults (age 15-49) who have
been tested for HIV from 19% (baseline) to 44%
- Decrease percentage of people who hold stigmatising
attitudes from 29% (baseline) to 19% Increased proportion of
people reporting correct knowledge about HIV, TB, sexual and
reproductive health from 69% (baseline) to 79%
- Increased percentage of young people and adults reporting
correct knowledge of HIV and TB management from 70% (baseline)
to 80%.
4. For more information about DFID’s programme in South Africa, please
visit www.dfid.gov.uk
For further information, contact Helle Nordberg on 020 7023 1722 or 020 7023
0600, e-mail h-nordberg@dfid.gov.uk
or call our Public Enquiries Point on 0845
300 4100.
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