This activity is related to HVAB 8502 describing the VOA's Portuguese Service programming for youth. The program is an interactive weekly radio program aimed at -- and largely produced by -- young people across Mozambique. The new show, "Your Health, Your Future,"will focus on HIV/AIDS: Healthy lifestyles, including abstinence, faithfulness, correct and consistent condom use and drug avoidance; safe sexual behavior; treatment and care; testing; mother-to-child transmission; social and political implications of HIV/AIDS in Mozambique and educational issues. With news and information, the program will also spotlight US-funded programs dealing with HIV/AIDS. Besides radio broadcasts, the program will be posted on the Internet at www.voanews.com. VOA will assess the show's impact, ie, the number of people listening to the show, through its annual listenership surveys conducted by InterMedia.

This activity is related to activity 6620. Recent surveys, as reported in the New York Times (August 6, 2006), indicate young people in Africa are "most receptive to an AIDS campaign that was about more than just AIDS." In particular, young people responded to messages that encourage self-worth and and a belief in the future. Radio has the power to deal with social, psychological and cultural aspects of HIV/AIDS.

VOA's Portuguese service will create a vibrant, interactive weekly radio program aimed at - - and largely produced by -- young people across Mozambique. The new show, "Your Health, Your Future," will focus on HIV/AIDS: Healthy lifestyles, including abstinence, faithfulness and drug avoidance; safe sexual behavior; treatment and care; testing; mother-to-child transmission; social and political implications of HIV/AIDS in Mozambique and educational issues. With news and information, the program will also spotlight U.S. -funded programs dealing with HIV/AIDS.

Using a network of young stringers, trained medical doctors and professional journalists, the lively format will give a voice to Mozambique's young majority, allowing them to have a say in helping combat HIV/AIDS.

The 30-minute show, targeting Mozambicans between 15-25, will be divided into several segments: 1) Stringer reports 2) a radio drama 3) a call-in segment with a local medical doctor receiving and answering questions related to HIV/AIDS 4) Public Service Announcements (PSAs), and 5) Man-on-street discussions. Stringers will produce local reports on HIV/AIDS clubs, innovative treatment facilities, interview segments with experts and local people, educational activities. The show also will report on social projects as they affect HIV/AIDS, such as sports and music, to poetry and drama. Panel discussions and public service announcements will be included.

The junior correspondents will file stories to an editor/coordinator based in Maputo (Radio Klint.) The local coordinator will work with a lively youth host who will anchor the call-in segments and provide bridges between segments. The coordinator will assemble the show and send it to Washington by FTP where a VOA staffer will check the show for accuracy and content and provide the opening and closing segments. To promote and advertise the show and its content, VOA will organize "health summits" outside Maputo in the places where VOA has affiliates: Nampula, Beira, Quelimane and Chimoio. Events will be covered by VOA. VOA will organize a training session for the new correspondents joining the program as stringers around the country.

VOA's Portuguese service reaches about 38 percent of adults in the five major cities in which VOA surveyed. It also reaches millions with shortwave broadcasts, according to research conducted by InterMedia. VOA programs are broadcast by shortwave, and by local FM affiliates. The new program, which will be rebroadcast several times a week, will target youth in a country of nearly 20 million people. Some 14.9 percent of people between the ages of 15 and 49 are infected with HIV/AIDS. The country's median age is 18.3.

Besides radio broadcasts, the program will be placed on the Internet at www.voanews.com.

Monitoring and Evaluation VOA will assess the show's impact - i.e. the number of people listening to the show - through its annual listenership surveys conducted by InterMedia.

This activity is related to activity 6620. Recent surveys, as reported in the New York Times (August 6, 2006), indicate young people in Africa are "most receptive to an AIDS campaign that was about more than just AIDS." In particular, young people responded to messages that encourage self-worth and a belief in the future. Radio has the power to deal with social, psychological and cultural aspects of HIV/AIDS.

Background VOA's Portuguese service will create a vibrant, interactive weekly radio program aimed at - - and largely produced by -- young people across Mozambique. The new show, "Your Health, Your Future," will focus on HIV/AIDS: Healthy lifestyles, including abstinence, faithfulness and drug avoidance; safe sexual behavior; treatment and care; testing; mother-to-child transmission; social and political implications of HIV/AIDS in Mozambique and educational issues. With news and information, the program will also spotlight U.S. -funded programs dealing with HIV/AIDS.

Using a network of young stringers, trained medical doctors and professional journalists, the lively format will give a voice to Mozambique's young majority, allowing them to have a say in helping combat HIV/AIDS.

The 30-minute show, targeting Mozambicans between 15-25, will be divided into several segments: 1) Stringer reports 2) a radio drama 3) a call-in segment with a local medical doctor receiving and answering questions related to HIV/AIDS 4) Public Service Announcements (PSAs), and 5) Man-on-street discussions. Stringers will produce local reports on HIV/AIDS clubs, innovative treatment facilities, interview segments with experts and local people, educational activities. The show also will report on social projects as they affect HIV/AIDS, such as sports and music, to poetry and drama. Panel discussions and public service announcements will be included.

The junior correspondents will file stories to an editor/coordinator based in Maputo (Radio Klint.) The local coordinator will work with a lively youth host who will anchor the call-in segments and provide bridges between segments. The coordinator will assemble the show and send it to Washington by FTP where a VOA staffer will check the show for accuracy and content and provide the opening and closing segments. To promote and advertise the show and its content, VOA will organize "health summits" outside Maputo in the places where VOA has affiliates: Nampula, Beira, Quelimane and Chimoio. Events will be covered by VOA.

VOA will organize a training session for the new correspondents joining the program as stringers around the country.

VOA's Portuguese service reaches about 38 percent of adults in the five major cities in which VOA surveyed. It also reaches millions with shortwave broadcasts, according to research conducted by InterMedia. VOA programs are broadcast by shortwave, and by local FM affiliates. The new program, which will be rebroadcast several times a week, will target youth in a country of nearly 20 million people. Some 14.9 percent of people between the ages of 15 and 49 are infected with HIV/AIDS. The country's median age is 18.3.

Besides radio broadcasts, the program will be placed on the Internet at www.voanews.com.

Programme Description Through this variety of interventions "Your Health, Your Future" will tackle high risk sexual behaviour thought to be the drivers of this generalized epidemic and which are considered relatively ‘normal' in Mozambican society. With the split funding across the AB and C&OP program areas VOA can develop more holistic ABC approaches to the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV.

AB funding (FY07 $114,167) C&OP funding (FY07 $85,833)

Through this show VOA will address youth and young adults as it is at this stage where incidence is thought to be highest and where youth are transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. They are sexually active or becoming sexually active with the intention of forming relationships, identifying as couples, marrying and beginning family formation and it is at this stage where they can be targeted to change harmful population-level norms to support risk avoidance and risk reduction.

One of the primary behaviours to be targeted are multiple concurrent sexual partnerships which is thought to sustain the kind of generalized epidemic found in Mozambique and which is exacerbated by the high level of infectiousness that accompanies new infections. Protective behaviours to be explored by this show includes abstinence and secondary abstinence, being faithful and correct and consistent condom use. VCT and knowing ones status should be highlighted, especially in relation to being faithful as it is only protective if both partners are HIV negative and mutually faithful. This show should encourage a move away from moral rationale for abstinence and being faithful to more evidence based approaches.

Other social and structural factors that may increase HIV risk or vulnerability should be identified with a specific focus on cross-generational sex as well as informal transactional sex both of which are important priorities and which are often not seen as being particularly risky behaviours.

Many studies have also shown that alcohol abuse is associated with increased HIV risk. C&OP funding can be used to address social norms and behaviour change related to HIV risk and risk perception related to alcohol abuse.

Gender norms should be addressed as they relate to HIV risk and should identify opportunities to empower women and men to reduce their risk, and address norms of male behaviour that place men and women at risk. AB funding may be used for activities addressing gender based violence, coercive sex, and legal issues that impact women's ability to respond to challenges of HIV. Gender should also be taken into account to ensure that activities will not impact either males or females negatively.

Monitoring and Evaluation PEPFAR dropped indicators for mass media because they are difficult to quantify and to assure VOA will assess the show's impact - i.e. the number of people listening to the show, demographics - through its annual listenership surveys conducted by InterMedia.

Table 3.3.05: