it begins with you
 

our mission  

 
objectives & targets


The ABMP campaign focuses on the principal drivers of HIV infection such as:

  • gender inequity,
  • peer pressure
  • sexual coercion
  • multiple concurrent partners
  • stigma
  • lack of hope for the future.

By promoting a sense of optimism and the vision of an HIV-free future, the YOU campaign aims to:

  • Encourage new leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa
  • Re-engage all Africans and young people in particular in efforts to combat the epidemic
  • Increase hope for the future among young people
  • Promote more open communication about HIV/AIDS between parents and teenagers
  • Increase demand for information on HIV/AIDS and access to HIV/AIDS-related services such as HIV testing.

  *The YOU Campaign is developed and produced with the support of the Coca Cola (Africa) Foundation. The ABMP receives major operational and funding support from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the David & Lucile Packard Foundation and Johnson & Johnson. Member companies of the ABMP are committed to provide a minimum of 5% airtime daily for HIV/AIDS-related programming, as well as other personnel, production and financial resources in support of the campaign.


ABMP programming is anchored by the first multi-year pan-African broadcast media-led HIV/AIDS public education effort. Using the tagline Imagine the Possibility of an HIV-Free Generation: It Begins with YOU! the campaign promotes a theme of hope and possibility. The campaign emphasizes personal initiative in combating HIV/AIDS and urges all Africans to consider their role in helping realise the vision of an HIV-free future.

The YOU campaign uses public service announcements (PSAs) on radio and television renewed every six months. The PSAs are reinforced by longer form programming such as talk shows, magazine and public affairs programs produced by member companies. For more information, go to www.itbeginswithyou.com/ads/index.html

To give added substance to the YOU campaign, the ABMP launched the first authentically African reality show - Imagine Afrika – in 2007. Filmed in community locations in different African countries, the series provides a platform for more substantive discussion of the key factors driving HIV/AIDS in the context of overall African development. A third season of Imagine Afrika will begin broadcast in 2009. For more information, go to www.itbeginswithyou.com/imagineafrika/

The ABMP also piloted a radio mini drama series in 2008 titled Can Tru Love Withstand the Test? The highly dramatized series features the typical circumstances most young people encounter as they negotiate relationships and the social and economic pressures of early adulthood. Based on the success of the pilot, this series is being continued with 2 new episodes each month through May 2010. To listen to clips of the series, go to http://itbeginswithyou.org/ads/edudrama.html

The YOU campaign is also part of a special continent-wide initiative building on the excitement around the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup. Using the tagline Football for an HIV-Free Generation, this pan-African initiative uses the power of sport as the impetus for innovative large-scale youth focused HIV prevention. F4 combines outreach programs for youth including educational, leadership and life skills development with a sustained pan-African HIV/AIDS education and information media campaign. For more information, go to www.f4hivfree.org