Strategic Communication in the Hiv/AIDS Epidemic

Neill McKee is a communication specialist with 35 years of experience in international development, 15 of which have been based in developing countries. At the Center for Communication Programs at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University from 2001 to 2003, he was the Senior Technical Advisor for communication on HIV/AIDS and adolescent health, and Associate Director for Communication Sciences, Health Communication Partnership. He is presently the head of CCP's Healthy Russia 2020 Project, based in Moscow. Neill McKee is the author of Social Mobilization and Social Marketing in Developing Communities (1992) and chief editor and contributing author of Involving People, Evolving Behaviour (2000), two important books in the strategic communication field. He has worked with UNICEF in Asia and Africa from 1990 to 2000 and is the originator of the social cartoon characters Meena and Sara who have become popular role models for the empowerment of girls in South Asia and Africa respectively. He has also published a number of articles in the field of development communication and has produced over 30 films in international development in the 1970s and 1980s.

This book promotes the use of strategic communication to fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Focusing on strategic communication for positive and measurable behaviour change, the authors elaborate on a wide range of issues including: the importance of advocacy and community mobilization; comprehensive approaches to prevention and the use of communication in reducing stigma; communication programmes for a wide range of specific groups including intravenous drug users and refugees; the role of communication in support of clinical and social services; the care and support of vulnerable children; and selected communication approaches such as entertainment-education, telephone hotlines and digital communication.

The Challenge of Combating HIV/AIDS
Strategic Communication in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS
Communication for Social and Behavioural Change
Reaching Special Audiences
Communication for Health and Social Services
Selected Strategic Approaches
Present and Future Challenges for Communicators