Makgabaneng Radio Serial Drama

The drama uses education and entertainment in a soap opera format. The script depicts the dilemmas of people growing up in societies where as many as one third of people are HIV-positive. However, the strategy involves introducing HIV/AIDS as a topic only very gradually. The drama focuses on life in a small town.

Media Support manages the drama on behalf of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via its local subsidiary - Nesswana. The production is written and run entirely by the local team who are supported with regular training and workshops to refine storyline development, script writing, acting, and production. The strategy includes plans to 'localise' the production by 2005, probably by setting up an independent local organisation.

Makgabaneng is the pilot for the CDC's MARCH (modeling and reinforcement to combat HIV/AIDS) methodology. On the basis of detailed participatory research, characters and storylines are built up around key behaviour change objectives, which are reinforced by interpersonal contacts with groups being addressed - e.g., young people in the workplace, bars, or other meeting places. Provisional evaluation results indicate that over 60% of the intended audience are regular listeners to Makgabaneng, who are between 3 to 4 times more likely to be tested for HIV (a key behaviour change objective) than occasional listeners.

HIV/AIDS.

"In Botswana, the challenge was particularly hard as people had become so used to hearing - and dismissing - advice on HIV/AIDS that it had become known as the 'Radio Disease'."