Impact of Sida Dans La Cité (AIDS in the City)

'Sida dans la cité' (SDLC), broadcast weekly, is seen by a large number of people. Many of these are at risk from HIV. The show also reaches many poor people and those in rural areas, who have limited access to AIDS information. 'Sida dans la cité' (SDLC) describes the life a family touched by AIDS. The programme promotes condom use and condoms are sold at subsidised prices.

The most effective HIV prevention programmes are those that target high-risk groups. SDLC is designed to reach two main target populations:

• those at risk of contracting and transmitting the virus
• the poor who have less access to healthcare information and services

The researchers investigated whether these target groups watch the show. Is the targeting efficient? Do only poor and high-risk people see the show, or are others watching too? They found that:

• Exposure to SDLC is very high. About 70 percent of urban people know about the programme and have seen at least one episode.
• Although rural populations have less access to television more than half of respondents have seen the show.
• Of the target groups, the show is more successful at reaching high-risk individuals than the poor. A large majority of viewers could be considered to be at risk. While a significant fraction of poor people watch the show, a large proportion of viewers are better-off.
• Over three-quarters of young people who are not yet sexually active have seen SDLC. So possible future high-risk groups are already being exposed to the programme.

Key Points

In rural areas served by electricity, television and radio are often the only significant sources of AIDS information.

SDLC is produced as part of a condom social marketing programme implemented by PSI, Côte d'Ivoire, and its local partner, ECODEV.