Honors for HIV prevention campaign
Media campaign for HIV-Free Generation in Kenya awarded top honors. Photo: PATH.
A media campaign on behalf of a PATH-supported initiative called the Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation in Kenya (HFG/K) was recently honored as the best nonprofit campaign and best overall public relations campaign of the year by the Public Relations Society of Kenya.
The campaign was created as a call to action in support of HFG/K’s goal of reducing HIV incidence by 50 percent among youth aged 10–24 years using HIV education and prevention messages. The campaign’s creator, Blueprint PR, Ogilvy East Africa’s public relations agency, was also recognized as the best public relations firm of the year.
The goal: an AIDS-free generation
The nationwide campaign used an interactive approach that combined traditional and digital media to engage youth and promote healthy lifestyle choices and long-term behavior change. The campaign included:
- A series of youth-friendly ads broadcast on national TV stations and entertainment shows.
- Radio jams in four different music genres incorporating HIV prevention messages.
- The use of social media channels to deliver the TV ads and radio jams and engage youth in interactive discussions about reproductive health.
- Daily notices sent to more than 18,000 youth over an SMS platform sharing social media discussions and information resources.
- A radio show produced and hosted by youth broadcast twice a week on radio stations targeting youth.
- A weekly, full-page publication on reproductive health and relationships written by youth and distributed nationwide.
HFG/K, launched in 2008 and implemented by PATH in Kenya, supports the government’s efforts to reduce HIV incidence among youth by 50 percent over five years. The media campaign was promoted under a youth lifestyle brand created by HFG/K called G-PANGE, which uses celebrity ambassadors, social media, TV, and other strategies to encourage youth to take an active role in protecting their health.
The awards were presented December 7 in Nairobi by the Public Relations Society of Kenya at its annual awards ceremony.