If you are wondering why all this hoopla about AIDS (as I was till just now), today is World AIDS day.
Following Balbir Pasha’a return to the scene, I found this piece of information very interesting – India Enlists Barbers in the War on AIDS. Rediff had carried a similar story recently : Want to learn about safe sex? Visit the barber.
Looks to me the government has finally feebly abandoned its ostrich stance and is ready to face the problem as it is: Some statistics – India with 5.1 million people living with STD / AIDS (and this number is expect to quadruple by 2010) is very close to the world’s laregst AIDS affected country, South Africa.
And one major step in disseminating information (and dispelling misinformation) about the disease is the
identification of that most important element in the communication flow : the right medium, or channel.
Wonder if the government got a tip from The Tipping Point where Malcom Gladwell has described a similar situation where a nurse began a campaign to increase knowledge and awareness about diabetes and breast cancer of San Diego. Aiming to create a grassroots movement towards prevention, she used black churches around the city as communication points. A strategy which failed since church attendance was feeble and people did not seem interested in the message. She needed a place where women were relaxed, receptive to new ideas, and had the time and opportunity to hear something new.
And she moved the campaign from churches to beauty salons.
And she had a captive audience (in more ways than one. You tell me, would you argue with your hair-stylist / barber who is weilding a pair of scissors dangerously close to your ears?)
Reminds me of something I read long ago : three things matter in a piece of communication : who says it, how it is said and what is said – of these, the last matters the least! Think about it, till you get steps one and two right, whatever you say will fall on indifferent ears…..
Interesting logic about Who,How and the What!We shoudln’t stop with just barber shops.Ration shops,markets,tv,radio every resource shud be utilized as there is a chance of saving India from Aids compared to other countries.Also they need to figure out a non-stigmatic rehabilatation program for those with AIDS so they can come live in societies than being abandoned.
Absolutely… I have read about even “modern” Western societies struggling against stigmatisation and for inclusion of those affected. I was personally very impressed with this strategy of using barbers – they should also think of places like dhabas (where lorry drivers stop), small time doctors in rural areas (who may not be necessarily trained) and so on…
thank you for posting it. Coming from Namakkal, the AIDS capital, I am only too aware of how families are affected by AIDS. Innovative ways like above would go a long way in getting the much needed awareness out.